For the first time in nine years, Juventus was eliminated from the Champions League in the group stage on Tuesday, but Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, and Borussia Dortmund all qualified for the knockout stage with one group match remaining.
A Juventus team that has been losing in Europe for several years and has now dropped four out of five games in Group H was doomed by a 4-3 loss away to Benfica in Portugal.
Benfica took the lead in Lisbon when Antonio Silva headed in an Enzo Fernandez cross after the team had already prevailed in the teams' previous meeting in Italy.
Juventus crash out of Champions League!
Moise Kean quickly tied the score for Juventus with a goal that was confirmed after a VAR review, but Joao Mario quickly took back the lead for Benfica from the spot and then superbly set up Rafa Silva to make it 3-1 just before halftime.
Early in the second half, the same player scored Benfica's fourth goal, making a Juventus comeback that included goals from Arkadiusz Milik and Weston McKennie ineffective.
Juventus had lost in the round of 16 in each of the previous three seasons, but since 2013/14, they have not lost in the group stage of the Champions League.
Massimiliano Allegri, the coach of Juve, whose team is currently eighth in Serie A, said, “I am angry and sad because we were eliminated from the Champions League, but we must think about the league now.
