Marit Lund's brace sinks Juventus as Benfica wins 2-1 at the Allianz Stadium

The Allianz Stadium offered plenty for Juventus Femminile except comfort: they controlled the ball, created chances and even pushed hard late on, but walked away empty handed. Benfica claimed a 2-1 win thanks to an inspired night from Marit Lund, who scored both visiting goals, and held on through Alba Redondo's stoppage time consolation strike.

Things turned against the home side on a play that started as a foul near the box and ended in a penalty. In the 35th minute, Martina Rosucci brought down Anna Csiki inside the area. The referee waved play on at first, but VAR stepped in and confirmed the penalty two minutes later. Lund made no mistake from the spot in the 39th minute, curling a shot into the top corner to make it 0-1.

Juventus tried to respond before halftime, with Alba Redondo testing the keeper from outside the box and Amaiur Sarriegi hunting for space, but they went into the locker room trailing on the scoreboard. In the second half, Benfica found a way to put the game away without much fuss: in the 60th minute, Lund struck again, this time with a stunning free kick, also with her left foot, also into the top corner, making it 0-2.

Down on the scoreboard and with the sense that they were creating more than the score suggested, Juventus kept pushing. Isaac Guerrero's substitutions injected fresh energy into the attack (Emma Stølen Godø, Remina Chiba, Danique Noordman and Léa Khelifi all came on), and that gamble paid off in the 85th minute: Godø set up Alba Redondo, who finished low by the left post to make it 1-2, the final score. The goal came too late to change the course of the match, though it sparked a frantic finish with a corner kick and one more Redondo shot that found no reward.

Numbers that back up the feeling of fruitless dominance

The stats confirm that Juventus controlled the ball and much of the play, though it wasn't enough to take home the three points.

According to our xG estimate based on the match's shots, Juventus generated 1.792 expected goals to Benfica's 1.652, a minimal difference that pretty accurately captures what unfolded on the field: an evenly matched contest in terms of danger created, decided by the finishing of a single player, Lund, who took both of her chances with real class.

What the result means in the standings

The win leaves Benfica with 3 points after one match played, sharing top spot in the group with Arsenal and Internazionale Femminile, though it's still just matchday one and those positions mean little for now. On the other side, Juventus remain pointless after their opener, 3 points behind tonight's opponent based on the gap between the two sides in the table.

The lasting impression is of a Juventus side that produced plenty of possession, corners and shots, more than enough to have taken something from the Allianz Stadium, but paid dearly for two moments of individual quality from Marit Lund. Alba Redondo's consolation goal arrived, but it arrived too late.