Benfica were made to wait for a place in the last 16 of the Champions League after they were held to a 1-1 draw with Basel.
Rodrigo's opener cancelled out by Huggel
Benfica were made to wait for a place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League after they were held to a 1-1 draw with Basel in Group C.
A win on the back of 2-0 victory in Switzerland on Matchday Three would have sent the Portuguese club into the knockout stages, but they were pegged back and surrendered top spot to Manchester United.
Rodrigo's fourth minute goal gave Benfica the lead, with the forward only having made his full Champions League debut on his club's last outing.
But Basel captain Benjamin Huggel equalised shortly after the hour mark to mean Benfica, whose coach, Jorge Jesus, was absent through suspension, have to wait to progress.
Benfica piled on the pressure in the early exchanges with a series of dangerous corners and throw-ins, which ultimately led to the opening goal.
Nicolas Gaitan was the creator, nodding the ball down for Rodrigo to volley the ball home from 12 yards.
Scott Chipperfield had an immediate chance to equalise when he got on to the end of Xherdan Shaqiri's cross but he could not keep his header down.
Chances
It was Benfica doing most of the attacking, though, and, amid a host of wasteful long-range efforts, they had chances to extend their lead.
Rodrigo headed Pablo Aimar's cross wide after eight minutes, but it was defender Ezequiel Garay who had the best chance in the 19th minute when he headed an excellent centre from the Argentinian wide from close range.
As the half wore on Basle came into the game more, and Fabian Frei spurned an excellent chance for an equaliser when he could not find the target from Jacques Zoua's cross just after the half-hour.
Chipperfield showed good touch in the 38th minute but could not find a shot to match, while Gaitan was equally wayward at the other end after darting in from the wing.
Gaitan started the second half as he ended the first, with a shot wide of goal, while at the other end Frei was considerably closer with a volley which went narrowly over.
Rodrigo volleyed wide at the far post and Garay was off target with a header in the 63rd minute as the hosts piled on the pressure in search of a second.
But they did not get it and paid the price, as Chipperfield broke down the left and played the ball into the centre for Huggel to slide home.
The game opened up after that with both sides creating chances to take the three points, but neither could find a way through.
| Benfica |
Team Statistics |
Basel |
| 1 |
Goals |
1 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 3 |
Shots on Target |
1 |
| 9 |
Shots off Target |
7 |
| 4 |
Blocked Shots |
5 |
| 9 |
Corners |
4 |
| 17 |
Fouls |
6 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
8 |
| 4 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 79.4 |
Passing Success |
84 |
| 15 |
Tackles |
16 |
| 66.7 |
Tackles Success |
75 |
| 47 |
Possession |
53 |
| 59.9 |
Territorial Advantage |
40.1 |
| 383 |
Total Passes |
444 |
| 28 |
Total Crosses |
16 |
| 153 |
Lost Balls |
144 |
| 48 |
Recoveries |
47 |
|
