Bayern Munich midfielder Arturo Vidal. (Photo : Getty Images)
German Bundesliga winners FC Bayern Munich meets Portuguese Primeira Liga titlists SL Benfica in a champion-versus-champion affair at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon on Wednesday, April 13th as the second leg of the 2015-2016 UEFA Champions League quarterfinals gets underway.
Bayern pulled off a very close 1-0 win over Benfica at the Allianz Arena on April 5th during the first leg of their final eight head-to-head competition, as reported by The Guardian.
Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal provided the lone goal for Pep Guardiola's side in the said match as the former Juventus Champions League standout will try to eliminate their Portuguese counterparts on the road this Wednesday.
Vidal made an impressive header right off a precise Juan Bernat assist at the second minute of the game and it proved enough for the Bavarians to come away with the victory in the highly defensive contest.
The 28-year-old Santiago, Chile native had most of the chances all throughout the match as Bayern's top two goal scorers, Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Müller, were effectively covered by Los Encarnado's defenders.
"We had enough goal chances. We'll go to Lisbon with the intention of winning the game, of scoring a goal or two," Guardiola said after the match.
The German champions are aiming to advance to their fifth straight Champions League semifinals appearance while Benfica is longing to achieve a Final Four slot for the first time since 1990.
Meanwhile, águias manager Rui Vitória expressed disappointment about the team conceding an early goal but also disclosed that he was satisfied on how his team responded.
"It's not nice, it wasn't our plan," said Vitória afterward. "But we came with a plan and the players kept it tight. It could have knocked us off our stride but we reacted very well."
"It's all open. Bayern is one of the best teams in the world. But we will give in Lisbon our best. We had our problems, but our attitude was right. I'm very happy with our performance," the 45-year-old mentor added.
Benfica actually had a chance to equalize it later in the match, but the shot of Brazilian striker Jonas was deflected by Der FCB's Javi Martinez, via BBC Sport.
The predicted result is a 2-1 win for Bayern Munich.
Benfica starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Ederson; Almeida, Lindelof, Jardel, Eliseu; Pizzi, Fejsa, Sanches, Gaitan; Mitroglou, Jonas
Bayern Munich starting lineup (4-1-4-1 formation): Neuer; Lahm, Kimmich, Alaba, Bernat; Vidal; Costa, Müller, Thiago, Ribery; Lewandowski
