Benfica Endure Stun Thrashing To PAOK In Qualifying

Benfica Endure Stun Thrashing to PAOK in Qualifying: UEFA Champions Alliance. Previous European Cup victors Benfica smashed out of the Heroes Group third qualifying round after a stun 2-1 thrashing at PAOK Salonika on Tuesday as Serbia winger Andrija Zivkovic scored against his previous club seven days in the wake of leaving them.

Dynamo Kiev additionally progressed to the season finisher round with a 2-0 home win over Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, as did Belgians Gent after they beat guests Fast Vienna 2-1.

PAOK’S reward is a two-legged season finisher against Russians Krasnodar, while Dynamo faces Gent for billets in the cash turning bunch stage highlighting 32 groups.

Benfica, who won Europe’s head club rivalry in 1961 and 1962, saw last season’s burdens overflow into this term as Zivkovic, who persevered through four troublesome seasons in Portugal, scoured salt into their injuries.

Having seen the homegrown class and cup twofold go to Porto the last term, Benfica botched a series of opportunities against PAOK in an uneven first half as they appreciated 72 percent of ownership.

They were rebuffed after the break as Dimitrios Giannoulis jabbed in the opener from short proximity in the 63rd moment after a one-two with Chuba Akpom and substitute Zivkovic made it 2-0 in the 75th with a sweet shot inside the close to post.

Rafa Silva pulled one back with a stoppage-time header yet it came past the point where it is possible to keep away from a humiliating thrashing which will heap pressure on director Jorge Jesus, who got back to Benfica during the nearby season for a second spell in control.

Having been in control from 2009 to 2015, Jesus proceeded to win the slippery twofold of the Brazilian group title and Copa Libertadores with Flamengo in 2019 however now faces a mammoth errand to get Benfica back to winning ways.

Dynamo absorbed weight on home soil against Alkmaar in the primary half before Luxembourg forward Gerson Rodrigues terminated them ahead soon after the break with a perfect completion into the top of the net gratitude to great work by Vitaliy Buyalskiy.

Mykola Shaparenko fixed their entry with a late header in the wake of visiting attendant Marco Bizot misinterpreted Tomasz Kedziora’s cross from the correct which left the midfielder with the basic undertaking of gesturing the ball into a vacant net.

Niklas Dorsch headed Gent into a 36th-minute lead against Quick from a pinpoint Sven Kums help and Roman Yaremchuk included the second with punishment on the prior hour Yusuf Demir got a stoppage-time encouragement for the guests.

In Wednesday’s champion apparatuses, 1991 European Cup victors Red Star Belgrade visit Cypriots Omonia Nicosia while Dinamo Zagreb is at Hungarian heroes Ferencvaros.