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Two former European champions prepare to do battle in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) as 1991 European Cup winners Red Star Belgrade make their second consecutive appearance in the competition proper. They’ll begin with a clash against two-time winners Benfica after edging out Bodø/Glimt in the qualification play-off, a game which defender Uroš Spajić described as his “most beautiful evening in the Zvezda shirt.”
Red Star have maintained their placing at the top of the Serbian SuperLiga with two wins ‘to nil’ since then and they should feel confident of thinking they can rise above their outsider status here. Vladan Milojević’s men have never lost against Portuguese opponents at the Stadion Rajko Mitić (W2, D1), and they’ll likely need to extend that strong record if they’re to hold hopes of reaching their first UCL knockout phase with games against Barcelona and both Milan clubs to come.
Finishing as runners up in the 2023/24 Liga Portugal, Benfica earned direct qualification to what is their 14th UCL group/league phase across the previous 15 editions. A new era beckons for the Eagles, who recently abruptly sacked Roger Schmidt, a decision followed by the swift appointment of former boss Bruno Lage over the international break, with the familiar face emphatically winning his second Benfica debut 4-1 against Santa Clara over the weekend.
Further progress is by no means guaranteed if Lage’s UCL record with Benfica is anything to go by (W2, D1, L3), with all three away games in that ill-fated campaign seeing Benfica concede at least twice (D1, L2). Even so, the Portuguese giants can draw confidence from the fact that they’ve lost just three times across their last 17 UCL away games (W8, D6).
Players to watch: Red Star’s Bruno Duarte has proven influential so far this season, scoring six goals in nine games with the last three proving decisive - he has also scored twice against Benfica whilst playing in Portugal earlier in his career. For the visitors, Orkun Kökçü already has four goal contributions this season (G1, A3), whilst five of his last six strikes have served to open the scoring in the first half.
Hot stat: Red Star have conceded at least twice in four of their last five UCL home games (W1, D2, L2).
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