fc basel 1893 goalkeeper yann sommer told uefa.com that it would be "a highlight" of his career to qualify from a group including manchester united fc and sl benfica.
with fc basel 1893 firmly in contention to qualify from uefa champions league group c at the halfway stage, goalkeeper yann sommer told uefa.com that it would be "a highlight" of his career to get out of a section that includes manchester united fc and sl benfica.
the swiss champions beat fc oţelul galaţi 2-1 in their opening game and secured a memorable 3-3 draw at old trafford on matchday two. they were stopped in their tracks by a home loss to benfica last time out and, as the two sides prepare to meet again, sommer remains defiant that his team have what it takes to upset the odds.
"it's pretty obvious that in our group manchester united and benfica are the favourites," he said. "it would be a surprise if we go through, but we still believe we can do it. we know that we're a strong team with quality players. everything is possible."
1. manchester united fc...4...2...2...0...8...4...4...8 2. sl benfica...4...2...2...0...5...2...3...8 3. fc basel 1893...4...1...2...1...6...7...-1...5 4. fc oţelul galaţi...4...0...0...4...1...7...-6...0
rodrigo gave the home side the perfect start with a fourth-minute volley but benjamin huggel's well-worked equaliser earned a valuable group c point.
sl benfica missed the chance to secure qualification for the uefa champions league knockout stages as fc basel 1893 fought back strongly to keep their own hopes alive with a valuable group c point in lisbon.
rodrigo put the hosts ahead early on amid a torrent of benfica pressure, but benjamin huggel's equaliser midway through the second half means heiko vogel's side will travel to bucharest to face fc oţelul galaţi on matchday five full of confidence. the lisbon club will attempt to retake control of the section when they visit manchester united fc, with whom they are now level on eight points.
benfica first threatened with less than a minute played, pablo aimar jinking through the defence to find rodrigo, whose shot was turned behind via the outside of the post by yann sommer. from the resulting aimar corner, nemanja matić's header was swatted away by sommer.
rodrigo was not to be denied for long, though, and duly gave the hosts the lead in the fourth minute. nicolás gaitán's intelligent headed knockdown created the opening, and the 20-year-old thumped a crisp left-footed volley into the top corner of the net. the slick playing surface perfectly suited the home team's fluent style and they came close to extending the lead in the 19th minute when ezequiel garay nodded narrowly wide after an excellent delivery from gaitán.
apart from a few speculative long-range efforts from the lively xherdan shaqiri, basel failed to trouble the confident artur, despite clawing back significant territorial advantage as the interval approached. just past the half-hour fabian frei had the visitors' first clear sight of goal, but he headed jacques zoua's cross wide when well placed.
the eagles began the second period looking to give themselves a cushion and they pinned back vogel's side. twice in a matter of minutes rodrigo had the chance to stretch the lead, first blazing aimar's crossfield pass over the top and then heading straight at sommer from a maxi pereira cross.
benfica were made to regret those misses on 64 minutes, frei's header setting scott chipperfield racing down the left. the australian's low cross was met first time by the onrushing huggel, who placed a superb shot inside artur's right-hand post from just inside the area.
the swiss side almost fell behind again immediately as axel witsel slid a pass through to rodrigo, but the goalscorer could only find the side netting from a narrow angle to leave group c finely poised.
yardımcı hakemler: roberto alonso fernández (esp), jesús calvo guadamuro (esp)
4. hakem: javier turienzo alvarez (esp)
çizgi hakemleri: carlos clos gómez (esp), david fernández borbalán (esp)
benfica: artur (gk), luisão (c), bruno césar, pablo aimar (dk. 73 óscar cardozo), maxi pereira, rodrigo, nicolás gaitán (dk. 82 nolito), nemanja matić, ezequiel garay, axel witsel, luís martins (dk. 64 miguel vítor)
yedekler: eduardo (gk), ruben amorim, javier saviola, jardel
teknik direktör: josé raul (por)
basel: yann sommer (gk), park joo ho, aleksandar dragović, benjamin huggel (c), scott chipperfield (dk. 89 genséric kusunga), xherdan shaqiri, david abraham, fabian frei, markus steinhöfer, jacques zoua (dk. 90+3 kwan-ryong pak), granit xhaka (dk. 81 cabral)
