10-man Benfica snatch last-gasp draw with Rangers as Leicester thrash Braga

Benfica secured what was ultimately an impressive draw at home to Scottish outfit Rangers after battling back from 1-3 down to draw 3-3 despite a man disadvantage, while Leicester City handed Braga a reality check with a comfortable 4-0 victory in England.

Benfica started their clash with Rangers in the perfect manner, getting a goal after just 60 seconds after Rafa Silva’s cross came off Connor Goldson and hit the back of the Rangers net. The Eagles continued to show good endeavour and looked likely to extend their lead over the next 15 minutes of the match.

However, after Nicolas Otamendi clipped the heel of Ryan Kent, the Argentinian defender saw red to reduce Benfica to 10 men, whose lead suddenly looked incredibly precarious.

And it didn’t take long for Rangers to capitalise on their man advantage, pulling the game level just 5 minutes later after Diogo Goncalves’ slashed clearance hit the back of his own net in the 24th minute.

Benfica’s night rapidly went from bad to worse as Rangers found the back of the net again just one minute later, Glen Kamara’s low drive finding the bottom corner of Vlachodimos’ goal to give the Scottish outfit an impressive 1-2 lead over the Lisbon giants.

Benfica maintained a relatively conservative approach for the rest of the first half and went into the break just one goal down - but rescuing anything from the game seemed increasingly unlikely.

Jorge Jesus, clearly looking for more energy in the fullback departments, took off Diogo Goncalves and Nuno Tavares in place of Gilberto and Alex Grimaldo respectively at half time - but it failed to prevent Rangers from increasing their lead just 6 minutes later, some less than inspiring defending from Benfica, including from the two substitutes, ensuring that Alfredo Morelos ended up with an easy tap-in at the backpost.

Benfica looked destined for defeat, unable to create any goalscoring opportunities of note, while Rangers continued to forge good chances, striking the post on one occasion, as well as forcing Vlachodimos into a couple of smart saves.

Nevertheless, Jorge Jesus’ side survived various scares to remain in the game, and the addition of Darwin Nunez to proceedings helped turn the game on its head. After being introduced in place of Swiss international Haris Seferovic on the hour mark, Benfica looked a little more creative in the forward areas, and Darwin was instrumental in Benfica reducing their deficit to just one goal, latching onto the end of a quick freekick before showing the tenacity to round the keeper and get into a position to cross to Rafa Silva, who tapped home in the 6-yard box.

Defeat still seemed the most likely for Benfica, with time very much against them. And after failing to score an equaliser within the alloted ninety minutes, they would have been disappointed to see the fourth official signal for just two minutes of added time.

That proved to be more than enough for Benfica though, with Luca Waldschmidt playing a lovely through-ball into Darwin Nunez, who made no mistake in scoring in a one-on-one position to snatch a point for Benfica in the 91st minute.

The draw ensures that Benfica remain unbeaten at home in the Europa League, having never lost a match at the Estadio da Luz in Europe’s secondary club competition, and keeps them in contention of grabbing 1st place in the standings come the end of the group stage.

Braga, however, did not have as enjoyable an experience in their own Europa League match, with high-flying Leicester City easing past the Minho outfit with an impressive 4-0 victory.

Though Braga showed good quality on the ball and saw much of the possession, Leicester City’s class prevailed as their impressive display provided a crushing blow to Braga’s hopes of topping the group - while qualification to the knockout stages is also far from guaranteed.

Leicester took the lead early on, some less than impressive goalkeeping from Matheus allowing Kelechi Iheanacho scramble the ball over the line. The Nigerian striker then doubled Leicester’s lead in the 48th minute after his deflected shot found the back of the net.

After extending their lead, Leicester only stepped their game up further, playing with even more freedom and flair, striking in the 67th and 78th minute of the game through Dennis Praet and James Maddison to ensure that this was a night to forget for Braga, whose 6-match winning run came to a thumping end.

Braga will have to welcome Leicester to their famous stadium in their next Europa League game, while Benfica will travel to Scotland in a replay with Rangers as they look to regain control of 1st place in their group.