Goncalo Ramos scored twice to lead Benfica to a 5-1 victory over Club Brugge in the second leg of their Champions League semifinal match on Tuesday in Lisbon, resulting in a 7-1 aggregate victory.
Ramos, who scored a hat trick in Portugal’s World Cup victory over Switzerland and rose to prominence ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, set up Rafa Silva’s opening goal. After halftime, the forward, who is 21 years old, scored two straight goals to help the two-time European Cup champions reach the quarterfinals for the second year in a row.
In his fifth Champions League match in a row, Joao Mario scored from the penalty spot. Portugal’s great Eusebio was the last player for the club to accomplish this feat.
Benfica’s fifth goal was scored by David Neres
Benfica’s fifth goal was scored by David Neres, and Bjorn Meijer scored a spectacular late consolation.
Roger Schmidt’s ruthless team won the group, beating Scott Parker’s knockout stage novices and heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.
Benfica has only lost twice all season in all competitions, and they dominated the Belgian visitors from the start.
Chiquinho, who has replaced Enzo Fernandez in midfield since his January move to Chelsea, a Premier League record, returned from injury for the hosts.
Parker paired Noa Lang with Ukrainian striker Roman Yaremchuk against his former team in an effort to make an unlikely comeback.
After just two minutes, midfielder Joao Mario scored with a glorious flicked finish, but the goal was disallowed for offside in the buildup. Mario has been scoring a lot of goals this season.
Meijer then blocked the Portugal midfielder’s shot that was headed for the goal.
At the Estadio da Luz, the hosts eventually took the lead when Silva was picked out well in the box by Ramos after 38 minutes.
Silva beat Simon Mignolet, a former Liverpool goalkeeper, with a deft finish and good close control.
After being set up by Joao Mario, Ramos steered the second goal into the net just before the break.
He was decisive in the box once more and scored twice against Famalicao on Friday to keep the Portuguese league leaders eight points ahead.
Ridiculous victory
Ramos scored his 22nd goal of the season in all competitions by charging inside from the left and firing back across himself into the bottom corner, leaving Mignolet with no chance.
Joao Mario, who has scored 20 goals in his career and is close behind him, is having his best season to date.
Early in the second half, the 30-year-old midfielder hit a volley that was just wide of the mark.
Brugge, who have only won two of their last 17 games, was a surprise package in the group stage and helped get rid of Atletico Madrid, but the Eagles took them out.
Before the hour mark, Ramos scored with a skillful first-time finish from Alex Grimaldo’s low cross.
Following Abakar Sylla’s careless foul on Gilberto, Joao Mario’s coolly converted penalty added gloss to the score.
The midfielder’s sixth goal of the tournament brought him to level with Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid as the tournament’s third-highest scorer, even though five of his goals have come from the spot.
On a bruising night for Parker and his team, Neres scored the fifth goal. Benfica pulled one goal back through Meijer, but Benfica demonstrated that they will not be complacent in the subsequent round.
Hans Vanaken, a midfielder for Brugge, said, “The result hits us hard.”