Benfica progress to playoffs with 2-0 win at Juventus
The opening goal came in the 16th minute when Vangelis Pavlidis put the visitors ahead and the Benfica striker could have doubled the lead before the break but for a fine save by Mattia Perin.
Benfica finished off the job 10 minutes from time with Orkun Kokcu netting, and they leap-frogged Juventus in the standings, moving on to 13 points, one ahead of the Italians.
Juventus came into the match highly unlikely to clinch a top-eight spot to qualify automatically for the last 16, even with a win, while Benfica had everything to play for and the hungrier side were rewarded with all three points.
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"While 'sacking' the board may not be a realistic demand, such chants are one of the few methods of airing discontent available to us due to the way our club operate. "For us, this is about the board's continuous incompetence and total disregard of the opinions of Celtic fans who spend thousands of pounds every season supporting the club and see little to no return on investment either in the playing squad, the stadium and the match day experience to name just a few grievances. "Examples include: "1. The recent season ticket price increase for the 2025/26 season. These were justified by the club as necessary to cover the recent national minimum wage and national insurance increases for match day staff - while we have tens of millions of pounds in the bank. "2. The severe lack of investment into an ageing stadium, with ordinary fans seeing no improvement of their match day experience over many years. "3. 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This total refusal to increase standing capacity despite overwhelming demand leads to 'solutions' such as fencing off parts of the stadium and introducing enhanced security checks with no regard for fan safety. "7. The lack of update on or release of the Fairhurst Inquiry into the unacceptable kettling of Celtic fans nearly five months on. "Wednesday night was just one poor result, but taken with the above issues, highlights our many grievances with the way the club is run. "While we may still win the tie and we may strengthen the squad this transfer window, the issues outlined above are just some of many which will not change without accountability and transparency from the Celtic board." Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
