Manchester United vs SL Benfica Tickets

The first of Manchester United’s three European titles came way back in 1968 at the hands of their opponents in this fixture, namely Portuguese giants Benfica.

The two teams battled it out at Wembley on that occasion, with Sir Bobby Charlton and George Best being among the scorers in a 4-1 win that saw the Old Trafford side become the first English side to win the European Cup.

It took another thirty years for Manchester United to secure their next top-tier title, and that came in dramatic circumstances in Barcelona. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side were trailing Bayern Munich as the tie went into injury time, which set up a grandstand finish that fans of the club, and the millions of neutrals that watched the finale unfold, will never forget.

First, Teddy Sheringham and then Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored after the 90th-minute mark to complete a famous win.

2008 saw Ferguson clinch another crown in equally dramatic fashion. This time, he did so via penalties, with Chelsea captain John Terry fluffing his penalty to give United the win.

Final losses to FC Barcelona in 2009 and 2011 were low points, albeit on both occasions, they lost to the better side, and since Sir Alex stood down as manager of the club, they have not made much of an impact in the UEFA Champions League and have in fact spent some time out of the competition entirely, something that would not have sat well with the Scot.

In 2022/23, Dutch manager Erik ten Hag had to settle for UEFA Europa League action, but a top-four finish meant a return to the premier European competition, and fans of the club will no doubt be very keen on seeing their heroes live and in person on another famous European night in Manchester.

Their visitors, Benfica, have won the European Cup twice, those coming back to back in 1961 and 1962, and since then, they’ve been regular participants in the competition, both before and after its rebranding as the UEFA Champions League.

Between 2003/04 and 2022/23, Benfica have competed in the UEFA Champions League on 17 occasions with mixed fortunes.

On some occasions, they have fallen by the wayside as early as the qualifying rounds, but in other years, they’ve made a real fist of it.

2005/06 saw them lose to FC Barcelona in the Quarter-Finals, a feat they repeated in 2011/12 before losing to Chelsea. 2015/16 saw yet another loss in the same round, with Bayern Munich edging them 3-2 on aggregate.

2021/22 and 2022/23 was much the same pattern playing out, with first Liverpool beating them, 6-4 on aggregate, and then Inter Milan by a 5-3 scoreline, and no doubt fans of the As Águias wishing that their side could take that crucial next step.

Manchester United vs SL Benfica Head-to-Head

The two sides have met on many occasions in European action, and by 2023/24, the tally of matches had reached 11, with Manchester United ending up as winners on eight occasions.

The only occasion they have tasted victory in that period came in December 2005 in the UEFA Champions League group stage. In that fixture, Paul Scholes actually gave the away side the lead after just six minutes, but goals from Geovanni and Beto saw Benfica secure a 2-1 win.

The European Cup Final of 1968 was, in fact, far closer than the 4-1 final score would have you believe.

After a goalless first half, Sir Bobby Charlton put Sir Matt Busby’s side ahead on 53 minutes, but Jaime Graca equalized after 79 minutes, and the game was forced into extra time, and that’s when Manchester United went into overdrive.

Legend George Best put United ahead after 92 minutes with a typically stylish goal, and just two minutes later, Brian Kidd made it 3-1. On 99 minutes, Charlton effectively ended the game as a contest when he put away Kidd’s assist.

Manchester United vs SL Benfica Connections

In the recent past, Manchester United have signed a slew of players from the Portuguese Primeira Liga, though it’s worth noting that they have done far more business with the likes of FC Porto and Sporting Lisbon than they have with Benfica.

One player who has lined up for both is Swedish defender Victor Lindelof. He spent four seasons in the Benfica first-team set-up, playing 73 games, before he moved to Manchester United in 2017.

Over the course of his first six seasons with the club, Lindelof amassed 234 appearances, though in the last season or two, he’s been less frequently involved in the starting eleven.