Benfica Makes Every Chance Count as Lukébakio and Kaminski Sink Milan in Europa League

Dodi Lukébakio drifted past everyone from outside the box, then whipped a low left-footed shot just inside the post to make it 0-1 in only the 15th minute. It was the first real warning sign of a night in which Milan had the ball, had the chances, even had ten corner kicks to its name, but never found the net. Benfica, with less possession and fewer shots, did the dirty work of efficiency: two shots, two goals, and a 0-2 win at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza that leaves Marco Silva's side off to a strong start in the Europa League.

The match, part of the Europa League's league phase, saw Milan pushing forward almost from the opening whistle. Gonçalo Ramos headed wide in the 10th minute, Filippo Terracciano tried his luck from distance in the 26th, and Ardon Jashari clipped the crossbar in the 40th. Milan kept creating, but couldn't convert. Benfica, patient, waited for its moment: in the 15th minute, after a Lukébakio shot had been blocked just a minute earlier, the Belgian made no mistake on the second try and put his side ahead, with Jakub Kaminski credited with the assist.

The first half ended with that slim visiting lead intact, despite Milan's persistent pressure, which included a shot that struck the post through Heorhiy Sudakov (though that particular effort actually came off a Benfica shot that rattled the woodwork). The second half followed an almost identical script: barely after the restart, in the 52nd minute, Jakub Kaminski returned the favor, finishing with his right foot from the middle of the box after a cross from Souffian El Karouani, making it 0-2 and putting the result out of reach.

From there, Milan threw everything forward. Christian Pulisic, who had come on at halftime for Omari Hutchinson, tested the Benfica goal twice (61' and 80'), while Adrien Rabiot, Alexis Saelemaekers and Diego Moreira were all introduced to freshen up the attack. But goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin and a well-organized Benfica defense held firm, weathering the storm even after an injury to the goalkeeper himself briefly stopped play in the 62nd minute.

Numbers That Tell the Story

The stats paint a picture of home dominance without reward: Milan controlled 60.5% of possession and fired 17 shots to Benfica's 11, but both sides finished level on shots on target, with just 4 apiece.

The xG calculated after the fact based on the match's shots comes out nearly even: 0.92 for Milan versus 0.96 for Benfica, a figure that confirms the match was far more balanced in terms of clear chances than the final score suggests. In the end, it was the visitors' clinical finishing that made the difference.

The result also runs counter to what was projected before kickoff: our preview gave Milan a 27% chance of winning, 29% for a draw and 44% for Benfica, with expected goals of 1.15 for the home side and 1.53 for the visitors. Benfica delivered as the favorite, yes, but did so with a ruthlessness (two goals from just two shots on target) that exceeded any prior goal forecast.

What It Means in the Standings

With this result, Benfica picks up its first win of the league phase and sits in second place in the group with 3 points, while Milan is left with none after its opening match. It's still only the first matchday of the tournament, so the table says little beyond that: Benfica did its job away from home, and Milan will need to turn things around in the coming rounds if it wants to stay in the fight.