Earlier in the Champions League qualification, Mircea Lucescu's players advanced past Turkish "Fenerbahçe" and Austrian "Sturm". In the playoff round, "Dynamo" faced "Benfica" of Roman Yaremchuk, who had eliminated Danish "Midtjylland" at the previous stage. The forward of Ukraine's national team started the match in Łódź as a substitute. As a reminder, due to Russia’s military invasion, Kyiv-based teams are forced to play their home European Cup matches in the Polish city.

In this game, "Dynamo" could not count on disqualified Sidorchuk and Harmash. The first was replaced by Andriyevsky in the starting lineup, while Popov also returned to the main squad.

"Benfica" started the match actively, wasting a decent chance from Ramaš within the first minutes. However, they did score quickly — after João Mário's entry into the penalty area, Gilberto powerfully connected with the ball. By the way, the Brazilian had already scored against "Dynamo" in the group stage of last year’s Champions League.

The Kyiv-based team responded with a great shot from Tsygankov, which he managed to reach the goalkeeper. On the 24th minute, João Mário barely missed curling the ball into the far corner, and on the 34th minute, a few centimeters separated Tsygankov’s long-range attempt from a goal.

Towards the end of the first half, "Benfica" scored again. Unfortunately, the second goal came after an error by Tsygankov in passing back to his goalkeeper, followed by Neres intercepting and Ramaš finishing past Bushchan. Before halftime, Neres himself could have scored but missed wide off the far post.

At the start of the second half, Bushchan parried a long-range shot from Neres. Generally, "Benfica" was focused on maintaining their lead. On the 67th minute, Dynamo finally created a good chance — after Bouyalskyi’s cross into the penalty area, Karavaev failed to push the ball past the goalkeeper.

Near the end of the match, Karavaev cut in from the flank and shot long-range with his left foot, but Vlašić saved. "Benfica" responded with a shot over the bar by Raúl Silva. Shortly after, Vanat found himself in an attacking position, but Otamendi blocked the ball at the last moment. In summary, Kyiv-based players were unable to change the scoreboard — 0:2.

It is worth noting that the match included Dynamo players who had been part of Ukraine's national team in June’s matches: Bushchan, Zabarnyi, Popov (replaced on the 80th minute), Shaparenko, Tsygankov (substituted on the 63rd minute), Karavaev (came on as a substitute on the 63rd minute), Syrota (came on as a substitute on the 80th minute). Benfica’s forward Yaremchuk came on as a substitute in the 63rd minute.

Champions League-2022/2023. Playoff Round. First Leg

"Dynamo" (Ukraine) — "Benfica" (Portugal) — 0:2 (0:2)

Goals: Gilberto (9), Ramaš (37).

"Dynamo": Bushchan, Kandyba, Zabarnyi, Popov (Syrota, 80), Dubynchak (Vivcharenko, 63), Andriyevsky, Shepeliev (Tsarenko, 74), Shaparenko, Bouyalskyi, Tsygankov (c) (Karavaev, 63), Besedin (Vanat, 74).

Substitutes: Nescheret, Boyko, Bol, Burda, Yatsyk, Kravchenko, Timchik.

Coach: Mircea Lucescu.

"Benfica": Vlašić, Gilberto (Bah, 69), Otamendi (c), Morato, Grimaldo, Florentino, Fernandes, João Mário, Raúl Silva (Chiquinho, 84), Ramaš (Yaremchuk, 63), Neres (Araújo, 63).

Substitutes: Leite, Vertonghen, Gonçalves, Ristovski, Wanyama, Musa, Bernardu, António Silva.

Coach: Roger Schmidt.

Referee: Felix Brych (Germany).

Yellow Card: Andriyevsky (40).

17 August. Łódź. LK Arena.

The return match will take place in Lisbon on Tuesday, 23 August.