The fourth official indicates that there will be a minimum of three minutes of added time.
88'
Benfica continue to search for a goal in this contest, and are nearly successful after a dangerous ball from Jonas. The Brazilian sprinted past Blind on the right-hand touchline and sent in a delivery low across the six-yard box, but no one was able to get on the end of his cross.
85'
Marcus Rashford has an ambitious effort from 25-yards out, which flew past the left-hand post. The England international appeared to try and catch the young Benfica goalkeeper out by replicating his strike that forced him into an error in the previous encounter between these sides.
82'
It is a lot more comfortable for Jose Mourinho's side now, who are controlling the game to close out the result in the final ten minutes.
79'
Jonas enters the game and replaces Pizzi.
Substitution - Luis Miguel Afonso Fernandes is replaced by the Brazilian forward Jonas.
78'
Penalty goal scored by D. Blind for Manchester United!
GOOOAAALLL!!! MANCHESTER UNITED 2-0 BENFICA – DALEY BLIND DOUBLES MANCHESTER UNITED’S LEAD – After some confusion over who was going to take the penalty, Blind, an unlikely option, stepped up to take it. The defender finished his penalty straight down the middle of the goal past the keeper, who dived to his right.
77'
A. Samaris gets yellow.
PENALTY TO MANCHESTER UNITED - Marcus Rashford has an immediate impact in this contest after being given the ball by Lukaku. He drifts past three players, before charging into the box where he is brought down.
Yellow card - Andreas Samaris is booked for bringing Rashford down in the penalty area.
75'
M. Rashford enters the game and replaces A. Martial.
Substitution - Anthony Martial is replaced by Marcus Rashford.
74'
H. Seferović enters the game and replaces R. Jiménez.
Substitution - Raul Jimenez, who has been bright in this contest, is replaced by Haris Seferovic.
72'
A quick free kick from Manchester United leads to Anthony Martial receiving the ball in Benfica's penalty area. Martial had an opportunity to shoot, but cut back inside before having the ball pinched off him by a Benfica player.
Minute
Description
69'
E. Salvio gets yellow.
Yellow card - Eduardo Salvio is booked for pulling down Mkhitaryan.
68'
Ander Herrera enters the game and replaces Mata.
Substitution - Juan Mata is replaced by fellow Spaniard Ander Herrera.
66'
OFF THE POST! So unlucky for Benfica, after a horrendous mistake from Eric Bailly. The centre-back picked the ball up outside of his 18-yard box before attempting to play a pass to Chris Smalling, which instead went straight to Raul Jimenez. The Mexican burst into the box and got his shot away, despite being under pressure from Smalling, but his left-foot strike hit the post with De Gea stranded in goal.
64'
Eliseu enters the game and replaces Álex Grimaldo.
Substitution - Alejandro Grimaldo is withdrawn for Eliseu.
63'
Manchester United are under pressure here. Raul Jimenez carried the ball forward on a counter-attack for Benfica, before eventually being tackled by Eric Bailly. It rebounded into the path of the Mexican who crossed the ball from the right side of the box to Pizzi, but it was overhit despite his teammate being unmarked in the area. Huge let off for Manchester United!
60'
CHANCE! Eduardo Salvio picks the ball up on the right-hand touchline, before finding Diogo Goncalves who made a good run from midfield. The Portuguese player burst into the box and fired his shot towards the bottom left-hand corner, but it was met by De Gea who tipped it superbly round the post.
58'
Raul Jimenez fires a hopeful shot in from outside the 18-yard box, which was met and dealt with comfortably by De Gea in Manchester United's goal. Benfica still have a great opportunity to get back into this contest, but they need to be more clinical in front of goal.
55'
Anthony Martial wastes an opportunity for the home side after receiving the ball down the left-hand touchline from Romelu Lukaku. The Frenchman drove into the box with the ball, but seemed indecisive as he eventually dribbled it straight out of play despite having the option to shoot and teammates in the box.
52'
Jose Mourinho’s impressive career as a manager in European competitions started with tonight's opposition. His first game as a manager in a European competition was with Benfica in September 2000, where his team were held 2-2 at home against Halmstads in the first round of the UEFA Cup.
49'
Manchester United have started the second half with a lot more intensity, whilst experiencing the bulk of possession so far this half. Henrikh Mkhitaryan's introduction has already had a positive impact on Jose Mourinho's side, with the Armenian constantly looking for the ball with the intention of playing it forward.
46'
H. Mkhitaryan enters the game and replaces J. Lingard.
Substitution - Jesse Lingard is replaced by Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Benfica get the second half underway attacking from right to left.
45'
M. Svilar is unfortunate, scores an own goal!
GOOOAAALLL!!! MANCHESTER UNITED 1-0 BENFICA – Manchester United end the opening 45 minutes on top by pinning Benfica in their half. The ball is worked to Nemanja Matic, whose 25-yard strike cannoned off the post and onto the back of the keeper, who unfortunately saw the ball rebound off him into the net for an own goal.
43'
Anthony Martial wins a corner on the left-hand side after a tackle from Salvio. It is delivered by Daley Blind and headed back across goal by Chris Smalling, but Manchester United's captain is penalised for climbing over the defender marking him.
40'
With five minutes to go until half time, the pattern of this contest continues with neither side being able to break one another down.
37'
Rui Vitoria has executed his gameplan superbly, with Old Trafford falling silent after Manchester United's start to this game. He will hope his side can utilise their pressure sooner rather than later as Jose Mourinho will give his players a stern talking to at half time, which will result in an improved second-half performance.
34'
Manchester United desperately need to maintain possession to regain some control in this contest. They are being restricted to counter-attacks instead of sustained pressure around Benfica's box due to the Portuguese side experiencing more of the ball, which is resulting in them creating very little going forward.
31'
CHANCE! Manchester United break up the pitch quickly, with Jesse Lingard eventually finding Romelu Lukaku just outside the right corner of the box. The Belgium striker is tracked by two defenders, but manages to squeeze a powerful shot through a gap which was tipped round the post by Mile Svilar at his near post.
28'
The Manchester United players appear very frustrated with their start in this contest, which has been very lacklustre. Other than the penalty, Jose Mourinho's side have created very little with Benfica experiencing more joy so far in the first half.
24'
J. Lingard gets yellow.
E. Bailly gets yellow.
Yellow Card for Eric Bailly - The centre-back is booked for a mistimed sliding challenge on Diogo Goncalves.
Yellow card - Jesse Lingard is the second Manchester United player in the book.
22'
There is a stoppage in play as Jesse Lingard receives some treatment. The English player looks in some discomfort after a challenge with Samaris.
21'
The away side are playing with great confidence in the opening stages at Old Trafford. Eduardo Salvio picks the ball up in midfield and beats three players, including one via a Maradona spin, before playing a through ball to Raul Jimenez who was eventually flagged offside.
18'
GREAT SAVE! It would have been against the run of play if Manchester United took the lead, as Benfica had started this contest well. This time Diogo Goncalves picks the ball up on the left-hand touchline, before breezing past Matteo Darmian and firing a shot towards De Gea's top right-hand corner. The Spaniard met the fierce drive by parrying it over the bar acrobatically.
15'
Penalty saved by M. Svilar!
MILE SVILAR SAVES THE PENALTY - Martial stepped up with no conviction as he ran towards the ball and then hit a tame effort to the keepers left, which was tipped round the post. That will give the young goalkeeper confidence after his error in the first leg!
Penalty Miss - Anthony Martial was too casual with his run up and struck a poor penalty to the keepers left.
13'
PENALTY TO MANCHESTER UNITED - Douglas is penalised for bringing down Martial in the area, who is about to step up and take the penalty.
11'
STAT: This is the first time that Benfica have lost their opening three games in the Champions League group stages.
9'
Benfica have their first effort on goal in this match after good work from Diogo Goncalves. The winger carried the ball down the left-hand touchline before cutting inside and feeding Andrea Samaris, whose shot from 25-yards out narrowly travelled past the left-hand post.
6'
Rúben Dias gets yellow.
Yellow card - Early yellow card here for Jardel after he hauled down Anthony Martial just outside of their defensive penalty area. The Frenchman took the resulting free kick, but failed to test Mile Svilar in Benfica's goal.
4'
STAT: Manchester United have never failed to score against Benfica in the 10 previous meetings between the sides.
2'
Benfica are keeping possession well here as they ease into this contest at Old Trafford. The home side are maintaining their defensive shape, which is not giving the away side any attacking opportunities so far in this match.
1'
The referee blows his whistle and we’re underway! Manchester United kick off attacking from right to left.
Hello and welcome to our LIVE text commentary of the Champions League fixture between Manchester United and Benfica at Old Trafford.
A victory for the home side could see them qualify from Group A, whilst Benfica will be looking to achieve their first Champions League points of the season.
These two sides last met on matchday three, where Manchester United won 1-0 in Lisbon courtesy of a Marcus Rashford free kick which caught out teenage goalkeeper Mile Svilar on his European debut.
Manchester United enter this contest off the back of a crucial 1-0 victory over Tottenham last weekend, after a disappointing defeat to Huddersfield Town the week before. If Jose Mourinho’s side win and CSKA Moscow fail to beat Basel, or if they draw and CSKA Moscow lose, they will qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League this evening.
Benfica’s hopes of qualifying from Group A are very slim, with them realistically only going to challenge for a Europa League spot in their remaining matches. They are in good form since they last played tonight’s hosts, however, having won their last two Primeira Liga matches against Desportivo Aves and Feirense.
HEAD TO HEAD: Manchester United have won three of the past five meetings between these two sides, with the other two matches ending as a draw.
There’s just over 15 minutes to go until kick off, so let’s reveal how the two teams line up…
Manchester United make six changes from their weekend match against Tottenham with Matteo Darmian, Daley Blind, Scott McTominay, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Anthony Martial coming into the starting eleven.
The teams walk out of the tunnel and line up to the famous Champions League anthem before shaking hands. The game will get underway shortly.
Rui Victoria has made five changes to his side with Douglas, Jardel, Pizzi, Andreas Samaris and Raul Jimenez coming into the squad. Benfica’s captain Luisao is suspended.
HALF-TIME - MANCHESTER UNITED 1-0 BENFICA - The two minutes of additional time comes to an end as the referee blows his whistle. It was an unfortunate end to the half for the away side, who were on top in the first half against Manchester United. They gave away a penalty early on to the home side, which was taken by Anthony Martial and saved superbly by Mile Svilar who tipped it round the post. The keepers luck ran out on the stroke of half time, however, as a long-range shot from Matic hit the post and rebounded onto Svilar's back into his net for an own goal.
FULL-TIME – MANCHESTER UNITED 2-0 BENFICA – It was not Manchester United’s best performance, but they got the job done with two goals either side of half time. They won a penalty early on in the contest through Anthony Martial, who stepped up to take it, but the Frenchman saw his effort saved by Mile Svilar in Benfica’s goal. The goalkeepers luck ran out towards the end of the opening 45 minutes, however, as a long-range strike from Nemanja Matic hit the post and rebounded off his back to gift the home side the lead. Benfica had a brilliant opportunity to equalise after a poor pass from Eric Bailly in the second half, but Raul Jimenez saw his effort cannon off the post. Shortly afterwards, Marcus Rashford was brought on and instantly won another penalty for his side which Daley Blind stepped up to take. The Dutch international calmly slotted his strike into the back of the net to secure all three points for Jose Mourinho’s side.
Thank you for joining our Live Text Commentary of the Champions League fixture between Manchester United and Benfica. Until next time, goodbye.
Commentary
More…