Manchester United battled away to a 1-1 draw with Benfica at the Stadium of Light in their first Champion’s League outing of the season. The Portuguese side may well have been underestimated by Sir Alex Ferguson, but his weakened side managed to come away with a point against their main competition in Group C. Oscar Cardozo took the lead for the hosts before Ryan Giggs levelled the game just before the break.
In the same fixture in 1968 Manchester United beat Benfica 4-1 to become the first English club to lift the European cup. This group game didn’t appear to be quite as important to Sir Alex Ferguson; he made 8 changes to the side that hammered Bolton in preparation for his side’s impending Premier League clash with Chelsea on Sunday. Jorge Jesus’s side didn’t look like pushovers though with world class talent such as Axel Witsel, Pablo Aimar and Oscar Cardozo in the team.United had started in composed manner, but all the assurance withered away as the half proceeded and Benfica gained in confidence. The hosts' breakthrough came as Cardozo controlled Gaitan's cross on his chest, before whipping round Jonny Evans and drilling a fine shot past Anders Lindegaard. Giggs, however, wiped out the deficit just before the break.Against the run of play Giggs made it 1-1 shortly before the interval with his eye-catching run and hit. That laid the platform for a better start by United in the second half as they began to keep possession better.United wasn't giving up, though. Luisao had to be quick to stop Rooney's break, then Artur rushed out to keep out Giggs' effort.
At the other end, Lindegaard pulled off a sharp save to deny Nolito.
The introduction of Nani on the United flank unsettled Benfica though it was Lindegaard who was called into action again to stop Gaitan's late shot.
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