Atlético Madrid came back to avenge their bitter 2-1 defeat at the hands of Benfica back in October, with the score line reversed and in favor of the La Liga side.
Goals from youngsters Saúl Ñíguez and Luciano Vietto gifted Diego Simeone’s men top spot in their group heading into the next round.
Both sides entered the final group stage match leveled on 10 points from their previous five fixtures and fielded strong teams to get the crucial three points and the more important top spot. Benfica got the better of Simeone’s men last time out at the Vicente Calderón, however, the away side have been in terrific form on the road this season and favored their chances of taking the rewards.
Simeone made changes to the side that comfortably beat Granada on Sunday, with Stefan Savić and Luciano Vietto brought in to replace José Giménez and Fernando Torres. Saúl again partnered with Gabi in the heart of Atléti’s midfield due to the injury Tiago suffered, and it was the youngster who made a strong impact with a first attempt at scoring the vital goal in the 17th minute, yet he was unable to hit the target.
The Spanish U21 international was again threatening Julio Cesar in goals moments later, with Saúl’s long range effort needing the experienced Brazilian shot-stopper to make a fine save. Gabi tried a speculative effort himself straight after with a shot from outside the box, however, again could not beat Cesar who made a save in the top corner.
Much to the relief of Simeone, Atléti finally took advantage of their chances with the impressive Vietto squaring the ball for Saúl, who’s left-footed shot from the center of the box into the bottom corner gave Los Rojiblancos the advantage in the 33rd minute.
The goal seemed to wake Benfica up as their first real threats came from Goncalo Guedes and Eliseu, yet both shots did not trouble Jan Oblak and went well wide. Rui Vitória decided to make a tactical change just before halftime, with striker Kostas Mitroglou coming on to replace the ineffective Goncalo Guedes.
The former Olympiakos striker tried to level the scores quickly into the second-half, yet could only see his effort narrowly miss to the left. This would be costly, as minutes later Vietto, who celebrated his birthday four days ago, scored his first Champions League goal. Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco delivered in a delightful low cross to the near post with the Argentine quickest to react and place the ball in the back of the net.
Benfica looked destined to settle for second place in the group standings, however, some tired legs from the travelling players gave the hosts a slim chance of turning the tables. Former Atléti striker Raúl Jiménez assisted Mitroglou, who turned Diego Godín brillantly before beating Oblak with a calm finish in the 75th minute.
Benfica, who needed a win to move ahead of Atléti in the group table, spurned late chances to equalise with Simeone’s men holding out for an important away win that sees the La Liga side avoid potential difficult clashes with Bayern Munich, VfL Wolfsburg, Manchester City or Zenit St Petersburg ahead of the fixture draw on Monday.
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