Benfica cruise to 2-0 victory over Dynamo Kyiv in first leg of Champions League qualifier

Dynamo Kyiv‘s unlikely bid to qualify for the Champions League ran up against a tough Benfica team that won 2-0 in the first leg of their playoff on Wednesday.

Dynamo’s fifth game in Champions League qualifying in the past month was played in Poland because it cannot host UEFA games in Ukraine during the Russian invasion that started in February.

The Ukrainian outfit have won both of their two previous qualifying ties in extra-time of the second legs. 

Benfica defeated Dynamo Kyiv 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League qualifying round

Dynamo Kyiv’s clash with Benfica was played in Poland due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Benfica started strongly and led in the ninth minute when Brazilian defender Gilberto overlapped in attack to score with a rising shot.

Portugal Under-21 forward Goncalo Ramos, a transfer target for several teams, doubled the lead in the 37th after taking a pass from David Neres.

Ramos, who scored a hat trick in the third qualifying round against Midtjylland, was replaced in the second half by former Dynamo forward Roman Yaremchuk.

Benfica host the second leg in Lisbon next Tuesday with a place in the lucrative group stage at stake.

Benfica striker Goncalo Ramos scored Benfica’s second goal  with an impressive finish

Maccabi Haifa’s Frantzdy Pierrot celebrates after netting a brace during his side’s 3-2 victory

Ukrainian team Shakhtar Donetsk have already qualified for the 32-team group stage.

In other playoff first-leg games Tuesday, Maccabi Haifa rallied to win 3-2 against Red Star Belgrade, the 1991 European Cup winner, and Qarabag was held to a 0-0 draw by Viktoria Plzen.

Haifa striker Frantzdy Pierrot netted a brace as his side came from behind to claim a scalp over Red Star Belgrade in the first leg.

Meanwhile, chances were few and far between during Qarabag’s stalemate with Viktoria Plzen – making it all to play for in the second leg next week.