BENFICA moved towards a place in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) group stage by beating PSV Eindhoven 2-1 in their play-off round first leg Wednesday, despite a brilliant goal from the Dutch side’s winger Cody Gakpo in Lisbon.

Two-time European champion Benfica, which lost to PSV in the 1988 final, is looking to return to club soccer’s top table after losing in qualifying last season.

“Away goals don’t count now, but 2-0 is much better than 2-1,” said Benfica coach Jorge Jesus, referring to UEFA’s scrapping of the away goals rule.

“At this stage, when you’re playing with these teams, the home or away factor doesn’t count for much. Everyone can win, we can also go to Eindhoven to win.”

It was the fifth match of the campaign already for PSV, which has already knocked out Galatasaray and Midtjylland.

Portugal forward Rafa Silva gave the hosts the lead in the 10th minute, latching onto close-season signing Roman Yaremchuk’s clever pass and sliding a low finish into the bottom corner.

Benfica players grabbed their second goal shortly before half-time as German midfielder Julian Weigl turned home a loose ball in the box.

But PSV winger Gakpo dragged his side back into the tie less than six minutes after the break with a wonderful individual goal, embarking on a driving run from inside his own half before finding the net from 20 meters out.

Mario Goetze was denied an equalizer by an excellent tackle by Rafa Silva as PSV pushed to no avail.

Benfica players know they can book a spot in the group stage draw, to be held in Istanbul on Aug. 26, if they avoid defeat in Eindhoven next Tuesday, but Gakpo’s strike will give PSV confidence.

“Everything is still open for the second leg in our stadium,” insisted PSV winger Bruma. “We have to stay focused and do our work next week. We’re going to go for it.”

Elsewhere, Swiss champion Young Boys took a big step towards only a second group stage appearance since the competition was revamped from the European Cup with a 3-2 win over Ferencvaros in Bern.

After early goals for both sides, Young Boys played for over an hour with 10 men after Silvan Hefti was sent off.

Myrto Uzuni missed the resulting spot-kick for the Hungarians and Vincent Sierro’s stunning long-range strike put the home side in front in the 40th minute.

(SD-Agencies)