Benfica maintained its unbeaten Champions league record as Danilo Pereira’s own goal helped the Portuguese side secure a draw against Paris St-Germain at home.
A superb Lionel Messi goal gave the Parisian side the lead in the 22nd minute when Messi opened the scoring with a curling shot after superb interplay with Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
However, Danilo Pereira’s own goal off of an Enzo Fernandez pass gave Benfica a point.
As a result, both teams now have seven points from their first three Group H games.
Due to their intriguing matchup, Benfica and PSG both merit a spot in the round of 16, and it was only the heroics of goalkeepers Gianluigi Donnarumma and Odysseas Vlachodimos that kept the final score from being considerably higher.
The opening came at the 22-minute mark and was classic Messi. Messi took up the ball and brilliantly collaborated with teammates Neymar and Mbappe before curling unstoppably into the goal. This was an excellent team move in from the right side.
The Argentinean struck against Benfica, his 40th different opponent in the Champions League, and it was a goal to rival any of Messi’s best, but it was cancelled out on the 41st minute.
After Neymar carelessly gave the ball away, Fernandez floated a cross from the left wing, which was deflected by Danilo and fell inside the far post for an own goal.
PSG put up a lot of pressure in the second half, and they struck the crossbar in the 50th minute when Neymar attempted a spectacular overhead kick after Vlachodimos denied right-back Achraf Hakimi in a one-on-one situation.
The biggest opportunity for Benfica was lost when Nicolas Otamendi headed wide from six yards, although Vlachodimos made more excellent saves from Neymar and Hakimi.
However, before their upcoming matchup in Paris, both clubs had to be content with a point.
