Benfica have been very impressive in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) this season and they are deserving of their place as one of the best eight teams in the world.
Portuguese giants Benfica were responsible for the demotion of Barcelona from the Champions League to the Europa League after they finished ahead of the Catalan giants in Group E as far as the group stage campaign this season is concerned. German Bundesliga outfit Bayern Munich finished at the top of Group E ahead of Benfica, Barcelona and Dynamo Kyiv of Ukraine in that order.
For the round of 16, Benfica were drawn against Ajax Amsterdam who has won all their six games in the Champions League before the draw was made. The Dutch champions were massive favourites after winning all their Group C games, but Benfica had other ideas. In the first leg of their last 16 tie, hosts Benfica battled back from behind twice to claim a 2-2 draw before they won the away leg at the Amsterdam Arena in the Netherlands 1-0 to seal their place in the quarterfinals via a 3-2 aggregate victory. Star striker Darwin Nunez was the matchwinner after he scored a second half header to hand the Portuguese giants victory in the second leg and a place in the last eight of the competition.
Benfica could have gotten seven possible outcomes including Liverpool when the draw was made on Friday. In the end, they were drawn with Merseyside giants Liverpool who are overwhelming favourites to see them off and qualify for the semifinals. Liverpool are not only favourites for their quarterfinal tie with Benfica, they are also one of the top three favourites to win the Champions League this season alongside Manchester City and Bayern Munich. Real Madrid, Villarreal, defending champions Chelsea and Atletico Madrid are the other teams in the quarterfinals.