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Playoff Review: Eagles of Benfica destory Kyiv, Maccabi & Viktoria qualify

Three (3) more teams have confirmed their spots in the lucrative group stages of the Champions League including Yakubu Aiyegbeni's former club.
Benfica, Maccabi Haifa and Viktoria Plzen are the latest qualifiers for the Champions League group stages.
Benfica, Maccabi Haifa and Viktoria Plzen are the latest qualifiers for the Champions League group stages.

The lineup for the 2022/2023 UEFA Champions League group stages is almost complete after Benfica, Maccabi Haifa and Viktoria Plzen confirmed their places on Tuesday.

Pulse Sports Nigeria's featured game on the night saw Benfica cruise into the group stages with ease while Haifa and Viktoria had to dig quite deep to secure their tickets.

The Portuguese giant SL Benfica secured its ticket to the lucrative group stages following a comfortable win on Tuesday night.

An excellent first-half performance propelled the Eagles to a comfortable 3-0 victory over a poor Dynamo Kyiv side in the playoff second leg.

Former Manchester City defender Nicolas Otamendi opened the scoring just before the half-hour mark with a towering header.

Then, two goals in two first-half minutes from Rafa Silva, who capitalised on a blunder from the Kyiv defence to double the lead, and David Neres wrapped up proceedings.

Neres was the obvious star of the night after he assisted the opener and scored the winner to give Benfica a 5-0 aggregate win at da Lu, Lisboa.

Benfica's coach expresses happiness with how the Eagles handled Kyiv

After the game, Benfica coach, Roger Schmidt, was not just happy that the club had booked its spot in the group stages but with how his boys did the job.

"Of course, I'm pleased, not only for what we've achieved but above all for the way we've achieved it," Schmidt told UEFA.com moments after the game.

"We are a great team that deserves to play in the Champions League. The players showed from the first second that they really wanted to win this game. It's a big relief for everyone. Now let's get ready to play in the Champions League."

Goalscorer, Otamendi added that the Eagles must continue what they have started. 

"I believe we started well, we were strong with a winning mentality. We have quality, and we must work hard to keep moving in the right direction," he said.

"The Champions League is a great competition to be involved in. We have been preparing for this, and now we'll be facing powerful teams, he added.

"The most important thing is to always have a positive mentality as winning gives you confidence for the next game."

Elsewhere on the night;

Yakubu Aiyegbeni's former club Maccabi Haifa returned to the Champions League after a four-goal thriller in Serbia.

Crvena Zvezda let a two-goal lead slip as Haifa came from behind twice to hold them to a 2-2 draw in the second leg to seal a remarkable 5-4 aggregate win.

Zvezda's star Milan Pavkov was the hero for the Israeli side after his own goal at the death gave the visitors a decisive share of the spoils on the night.

Also, Viktoria Plzen came from a goal down to beat Qarabag FK 2-1 to secure the bag in the Champions League. 

Jan Kliment was the hero for the Czech Republic giants after he scored the winner 17 minutes from time. 

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