Belief, magic and unity drove a memorable comeback

The Stade Louis II, with thousands of Glorioso fans in the stands, was the scene of a remarkable comeback by the Reds, with goals from Pavlidis, Arthur Cabral and Amdouni - the last two after 80'! - in the match of round 5 of the Champions League, won by Benfica, by 2-3, against Monaco, this Wednesday, November 27.

Compared to the starting line-up used against Estrela da Amadora (7-0) in the round 5 of the Portuguese Cup, Bruno Lage replaced five players to face the Monegasques: Samuel Soares, António Silva, Rollheiser, Beste and Arthur Cabral were replaced by Trubin, Tomás Araújo, Kökcü, Aktürkoğlu and Pavlidis.

The starting eleven was made up of Trubin, Bah, Tomás Araújo, Otamendi, Álvaro Carreras, Florentino, Aursnes, Kökcü, Di María, Aktürkoğlu and Pavlidis.

As a result, the Reds went into the locker room at an unfair disadvantage. However, it didn't take long for them to change that, with a frantic start to the second half.

After a great chance for Monaco (in the 47th minute, Embolo spun around his marker and hit the post), Caio Henrique tried to head the ball back to Majecki, who failed to collect it. Timely and pressing, Pavlidis won the ball and pushed it into the empty net (1-1, 48').  It was the first boiling point for the Benfiquistas in the Principality, who deserved it so much for their audible support for the Glorioso.

From the left, seeing Arthur Cabral's movement, Di María crossed for the Brazilian striker, who, in the face of opposition from Mawissa, got the better of him and headed the ball into the back of the net (2-2, 84').

Two minutes from the end of regulation time, the result changed hands. Barreiro passed to Di María on the right, who, with another inch-perfect cross, found Amdouni on the edge of the penalty area. The Swiss international rose to his feet and headed the ball in with precision to make it 2-3!

With this result, the Reds returned to winning ways in the Champions League, climbing to 14th place in the competition with nine points from five games.

Benfica will be back in action at 6 pm this Sunday, December 1, when they travel to Arouca (Estádio Municipal de Arouca) on matchday 12 of the Liga Betclic.