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Benfica finish top of Champions League Group H after 6-1 hammering, PSG come second on overall away goals

Benfica finish top of Champions League Group H after 6-1 hammering, PSG come second on overall away goals

Benfica have finished top of their Champions League group on away goals after a stunning 6-1 win away at Maccabi Haifa.

Benfica finished top of their Champions League Group H on away goals ahead of Paris Saint-Germain after a 6-1 thrashing of Maccabi Haifa.

PSG beat Juventus 2-1 away from home with goals from Kylian Mbappe and Nuno Mendes either side of a strike from Leonardo Bonucci.

But Benfica, managed by Roger Schmidt, went goal-crazy away at Haifa on the final matchday. There were six different scorers, with Goncalo Ramos, Petar Musa, Alex Grimaldo, Rafa Silva, Henrique Araujo and Joao Mario all on target.

It was 1-1 at half-time before the Portuguese giants bagged a further five goals without reply in the second half.

Araujo and Joao Mario's late strikes in the 88th and 92nd minute in a dramatic finale means they finished with an identical record as PSG on 14 points, 16 goals scored, seven goals conceded and a goal difference of nine.


It went down to away goals, where Benfica pipped the Ligue One champions to the all-important top spot - meaning they are seeded for the round of 16 draw.

Benfica, who won the European Cup in 1961, will now play one of the second-placed sides from the other groups when the draw is made on Monday.

Image: Alamy
Image: Alamy

PSG will be paired with a group winner and so could come up against the likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Spurs, Napoli, Porto or Bayern Munich in the last 16 when February comes around.

Juventus, meanwhile, won just one game out of six and their third-place finish sees them drop into the Europa League, along with fellow sleeping giants Barcelona.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Paris Saint-Germain, Champions League, Benfica