3-1, Angel Descends!1 Pass and 1 Shot = Champions League Curtain Call, 35-year-old Di Maria broke out, and 1 stunt reappeared
For the 56-year-old former Beijing Guoan head coach Schmidt, his reputation in the new season can be said to have suffered a huge decline! In the last season they were a series of wins, and finally reached the top 8 of the Champions League, and the Portuguese Super League won the championship, but the team is in trouble in the new season: the league is currently falling to the third place, and in the Champions League, they are currently difficult to find a win! In the sixth and final round of the Champions League group stage, they faced a crucial match with Red Bull Salzburg, and if they lost, they would be completely out of Europe.
Benfica finished bottom of the group with just one point, while Red Bull Salzburg were third with four points, and if they want to secure a place in the Europa League play-offs, they must win this game while surpassing their opponents on goal difference, which is not an easy outcome to control! In the 10th minute, in the process of defending Rafa Silva, Red Bull Salzburg defender Gurna Duvat also received the first yellow card of the game, of course, Red Bull Salzburg is also clear about the qualifying situation, as long as they defend well, even if it is a draw, then they can successfully win the third place in the group!
However, in the face of the opponent's strict defense, Benfica's Di Maria stood up, and in the 32nd minute of the game, Di Maria took a corner kick on the right side of the field, and the ball spun directly to the inside of the goal to complete the goal, you must know that the last time he completed such a stunt was in the 2021 season of Ligue 1 Paris! Of course, Di Maria's performance was not over, because in the first minute of stoppage time, he sent a through ball to help Rafa Silva open the scoring, and Benfica would have surpassed their opponents to move up to third place on goal difference if they continued with such a scoreline.
Red Bull Salzburg also didn't want to suffer the pain of being out of the game at home, and in the 57th minute, Sucic made a long-range shot from the edge of the penalty area to change the line, and the ball flew directly into the goal to complete the goal, and once Benfica fans also felt despair! And in the 68th minute, Di Maria's shot hit the goal post, and in the 76th minute, Salzburg substitute striker Koita once broke the goal, fortunately, the referee announced that the offside was invalid in the first goal, in the case of only 1 goal difference, it can only be said that Benfica Jiang is still old and spicy, the whole game came to the 3rd minute of stoppage time, Benfica's substitute Portuguese Super League 0-goal striker Cabral completed the redemption, it was he who received a cross from Olsnes, and completed the goal with an imaginative backheel shot in front of the goal, and finally Benfica defeated Red Bull Salzburg 3-1, surpassing Red Bull Salzburg with a -3 goal difference and a -4 goal difference, the counterattack to qualify for the Europa League play-offs as third in the group.
Of course, the 35-year-old has announced that he will leave the team after the season and return to play in the Argentine local league, so this game is strictly his personal Champions League curtain call! From Benfica to Real Madrid to the unfortunate Manchester United, then to the Grand Paris to Juventus, and finally to Benfica's 120th anniversary back to the first stop in Europe, Di Maria's journey is like a white horse, but this beautiful time he left behind must be remembered by the fans, forever angel.