PSG VS Benfica LIVE Football Match 05 Oct 2022
PSG have not locked horns competitively since the 2013-14 Champions League group stage, where Les Parisiens thumped their Portuguese counterparts 3-0 at home before losing 2-1 away from home, and both managers are putting their unbeaten streaks on the line in Lisbon. Still holding off closest challengers Marseille in the Ligue 1 title fight, PSG were handed a scare against Maccabi Haifa in their most recent Champions League battle but ultimately prevailed 3-1, and they continue to sit pretty at the top of the Group H standings. As is the case with Benfica, PSG have also navigated the 2022-23 season unbeaten so far – winning each of their last seven in all competitions – but not since October 2020 have the capital club kept a clean sheet away from home in Europe’s premier competition.
Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain will both be aiming to continue their perfect starts to the 2022-23 Champions League when they lock horns in Wednesday’s Group H game at the Estadio da Luz. Both teams have taken six points from their opening two games, but something has to give in this week’s top-of-the-table clash in Lisbon. All good things must come to an end, and Benfica were the victims of that age-old saying at the weekend, as Roger Schmidt’s side saw their remarkable winning run halted in a goalless stalemate with their Primeira Liga opponents on Saturday.
Prior to that 0-0 draw, Benfica had begun life in the 2022-23 campaign with 13 victories from 13 matches in all competitions during a sensational start to their new era under Schmidt, who has quickly steered As Aguias to first place in the Primeira Liga table – three points clear of Porto and Braga. After opening their European campaign with a 2-0 success over Maccabi Haifa, Benfica made further waves in Europe with a 2-1 victory at Juventus’ Turin headquarters, as Joao Mario and David Neres cancelled out Arkadiusz Milik’s fourth-minute opener.
Schmidt’s near-perfect side are only in second place having scored one fewer goal than group leaders and upcoming opponents PSG, and despite having to battle past Midtjylland and Dynamo Kiev in Champions League qualifying, Benfica have taken to the group stage like a duck takes to water. The Portuguese giants also have five victories to boast from their five previous meetings with French opponents at home in the Champions League, and they have scored at least two goals in each of their seven home wins so far this term, but PSG know a thing or two about attacking dominance.
When things were going pear-shaped for Christophe Galtier and PSG during the visit of Nice, the Parisiens head coach was blessed with the luxury of bringing Kylian Mbappe off the bench to seal a 2-1 victory in Saturday’s Ligue 1 encounter. Hugo Ekitike was given the nod for the contest at the Parc des Princes, where Gaetan Laborde cancelled out Lionel Messi’s opening free kick before Galtier called upon the cavalry, and Mbappe struck the winner for the French champions eight minutes from time.
Paris Saint Germain, riding high on its near-perfect start to the season will look to stay on course when it faces Benfica in Group H.
Sitting on top of the Ligue 1, PSG comes to the match on the back of a 2-1 win over OGC Nice. It would also take positive from the fact that Messi scored in successive appearances for the club and has reclaim the form that he seemed to have missed last season.
Mbappe, too, was on the scoresheet against Nice and is the leading goal scorer in the Champions League so far.
For Benfica, the challenge is tough, but not improbable. The Lisbon-based club beat Juventus in the previous game week and is in a rich vein of form. Benfica, just like PSG, has won both its games in the Champions League so far.
It has also seen a strong start in the Portuguese league and has won seven out of its eight matches. In the duration, it has scored 19 goals and conceded just 3.
A win against PSG will cement the club’s place on top of Group H and help its bid to advance to the knockouts.
The teams have faced each other twice in the Champions League during the 2013/14 group stage. PSG and Benfica have won one match each.
Paris Saint Germain won the first match 3-0, while the return fixture went 2-1 Benfica’s way.
The teams also went head to head in the 2010/11 Europa League, in the Round of 16. Benfica advanced to the next round with 3-2 aggregate win.
Paris Saint-Germain’s UEFA Champions League trip to Benfica could go a long way towards deciding the final standings in Group H with both sides enjoying a strong start to the campaign.
Two wins each have put the duo in the driving seat to clinch a knockout spot, ahead of Juventus and Maccabi Haifa. The coming two matches between them could settle who finishes in top spot.
PSG find themselves under their traditional pressure to make an impact in the Champions League with their star-studded squad aiming to become kings of Europe for the first time.
Benfica reached the Champions League quarterfinals in 2021/22 and have a crucial advantage over Juventus as it stands — and they will want to stay above the Bianconeri for as long as possible.
These sides have matched each other in Europe this season, with two wins from two games, and Benfica will break new ground if they can start a Champions League campaign with three consecutive victories.
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