Ajax took the lead in the eighteenth minute via Dusan Tadic. The captain volleyed home a cross from Noussair Mazraoui with his right foot.
Sébastien Haller was responsible for the both of the next two goals. Unfortunately, one of them was into his own net, the result of a cross from Jan Vertonghen that the Ivorian couldn’t get out of the way of.
But Haller got his revenge in no time, scoring at the other end only moments later. The goal was his eleventh (!) in this UEFA Champions League campaign. The Ivorian striker finished off a rebound from his own first effort to make it 1-2.
In the second half, Ajax were pushed back as Benfica gained the upper hand. This eventually led to Benfica’s equalizer. As a result, everything is still at play in the second leg in three weeks in Amsterdam.
Benfica – Ajax 2-2 (1-2)
18. Tadic 0-1
26. Haller (own goal) 1-1
29. Haller 1-2
72. Yaremchuk 2-2
Ajax: Pasveer, Mazraoui (90+2. Rensch), Timber, Martínez, Blind (73. Tagliafico), Álvarez, Gravenberch (73. Klaassen), Berghuis, Antony, Haller, Tadic
