Before the opening whistle, Benfica fans will have been hoping for the best and expecting the worst. If earning at least a point at home against Bayern Munich was a difficult task, doing so at the Allianz Arena is even more challenging.

Bayern Munich coming away with the win; I don’t believe it surprises anyone. When the groups were drawn, this was the match on the schedule that everyone would have written off as an inevitable loss.

The changes in the starting XI caught many by surprise, but when you look at the context, it makes sense.

Otamendi, Rafa, and Weigl were all one yellow card away from suspension. Not wanting to risk that happening and losing them for the crucial match at the Camp Nou against Barcelona, Jorge Jesus started Morato, Meite, and Pizzi in their place. On the other side of the attack, Everton replaced Darwin.

Fans, neutrals, and reporters will question his timing to rotate the squad, but again, looking back, this match we all knew wouldn’t be the deciding factor for progression. Of course, there will be an attempt to create a narrative here because of the result, but he would be equally crucified if he took the risk and lost.

Imagine Otamendi, Weigl, and Rafa started and got carded. The narrative would then be, why didn’t he rotate and not risk it because this game was undoubtedly out of reach anyway.

It was a lose-lose situation from the start.

POSITIVE VIBES ONLY

There weren’t many positives here, but I was able to identify three.

Gilberto | I was one of many fans who consistently criticized the Brazilian defender, and in some cases, rightfully so. As time has progressed, he’s improved. He’s not a Nelson Semedo or a Maxi Pereira, but defensively he’s decent, but most of all, he leaves it all on the field.

As was the case at home against Bayern, and as should be the case in every match, while individually your opponent can be better, one thing that can’t be lacking is your effort and dedication to the game.

Once again, he was one of very few who put 110% into every single play he was involved in. Davies turned him inside out a few times, and he got caught out of position as well, but then again, who didn’t? I know someone out of position more often than not that entire match, but I’ll leave that for later in this article.

Gilberto brings that fight, gets into tackles, and shows that regardless of the result, he’s going to make sure you know he’s there. So here is my apology to Gil; he’s not the greatest, he’s not the worst, but if the entire team played with his grit and passion, things wouldn’t be so bad.

Odysseas | Here’s another guy who has had his fair share of criticism over the last 12-18 months. Last year, the Greek international lost his place, made stupid and untimely remarks to a reporter while on international break, but somehow has found his way back into the XI.

In the return leg in Lisbon, he made a few saves to keep the German’s at bay. In Munich, he saved a poorly taken penalty kick from Lewandowski, but then did well coming out of his goal to cut off a few clear-cut chances for the Germans. May we not forget, we’ve all criticized his inability to come out of goal; today, he showed us a glimpse of what he’s capable of.

He’s been an unsung hero for us this season so far. It’s still very early, there is lots of football to be played, but if he keeps this pace, goalkeeping won’t be a valid reason if we don’t collect any silverware at the end of the season.

Paulo Bernardo | Made in Seixal! The young midfielder has been performing well on the B team, and although he’s been practicing with the A squad, he finally got his chance. The scenario won’t have been ideal, but to get his first start in a Champions League match at the Allianz Arena, he won’t forget that.

Glad to see that he finally got a chance, and hopefully, we get to see more of him in the future.

NOW, LET’S BE SERIOUS

As fans, we at times can be quick to criticize when things don’t go well. Naturally, that makes sense. We are passionate about the club; we want the best and always want more; and if we didn’t criticize, who would?

I’m a very optimistic person and have been with Meite thus far, but after what we witnessed at the Allianz Arena…

This guy is a defensive midfielder, built like a tank, yet he doesn’t make a single challenge. He had one recovery of the ball that I noted, and it came in the second half, 48th minute, I believe. And, it was a tackle between him and Gilberto, so he didn’t even manage it alone.

His awareness of space is atrocious, he looks to be jogging around the entire match, and when he does get the ball, he delays, uses his body, and then looks for the foul.

If his terrible performance wasn’t bad enough, please take a look at the fourth goal for Bayern. Let me break this down for you.

Lucas Veríssimo is busting his ass to trackback to cut off Sane. Meite leisurely jogs back as if there’s no urgency nor a care in the world. He finally gets close to the play, looks over his shoulder, sees Lewandowski making his way toward the goal, and somehow manages to let the Polish striker essentially jog past him.

I have so many questions about this signing. We were skeptical about Weigl when he first arrived, but we knew what his history at Dortmund told us. There’s nothing positive from his past, and I don’t see anything positive in his future at Benfica. I’d love to understand what scout suggested him and read through that report.

Positive Attributes; he’s a big guy.
Negative Attributes; too many to write, but we should sign him.

His performance or lack thereof is more infuriating than the result. To the extent that if he plays another match for this club, it would be an absolute scandal.

We now need to turn our attention to Sunday’s match against Braga, which is crucial to steady the ship. Anything less than three points, and we could be looking at a freefall without a parachute.

What would you consider your positive, and let’s be honest moment of this match? Be sure to share them in the comments.