St. Gallen shocks Benfica 2-1 in Europa League qualifying as Tom Gaal's late header stuns Portuguese giants

Match summary

FC St. Gallen produced a memorable European night at the sold-out Sitterstadion, beating Portuguese record champions Benfica 2-1 in the first leg of the Europa League second qualifying round. Aliou Baldé gave the Swiss Cup winners the lead in the 37th minute, firing in from a tight angle after intense pressing forced a turnover. Benfica equalised seven minutes later through Rafa Silva, who finished off one of the visitors' few well-constructed attacks before the break. The decisive moment came in the 80th minute when Lukas Daschner swung in a free-kick from the left and Tom Gaal, the 25-year-old German centre-back standing 1.93 metres tall, rose highest to head the ball through goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin's legs. St. Gallen outshot Benfica 17 to 14 and generated 1.74 expected goals to the visitors' 1.32, reflecting a deserved victory.

Portuguese media reaction

The result triggered an outcry in Portugal. Sports daily A Bola labelled the defeat "scandalous" and added: "To say it was terrible would still be a compliment for Benfica!" The same outlet noted: "The good news for Benfica is that it is unlikely to get any worse." Newspaper Record questioned whether the squad and management realised the season had already started. Afonso Couto, host of the podcast 90+ 3, told listeners: "We witnessed one of Benfica's worst European performances in recent years."

To say it was terrible would still be a compliment for Benfica!

Missing players and Benfica's struggles

Benfica arrived in Switzerland without six players who had been on World Cup duty and only recently returned to Lisbon. Amar Dedic, Tomas Araujo, Richard Rios, Dodi Lukebakio, Fredrik Aursnes and Andreas Schjelderup were all unavailable, leaving coach Marco Silva, in his first competitive match in charge, with a depleted squad. The Portuguese side, which finished third in last season's Primeira Liga without a single defeat under José Mourinho, struggled to create clear chances and were repeatedly thwarted by St. Gallen goalkeeper Lawrence Ati Zigi.

St. Gallen's team effort

Captain Lukas Görtler described the win as comparable to past European highlights against Fiorentina and Trabzonspor. He joked after the match that "against Real Madrid we would have drawn today," referencing the fact that Benfica's last loss had come against the Spanish giants. Coach Enrico Maassen had told his players in the morning video session: "We are now three years together. We know exactly what we can do and what we need." The team, which finished second in the Swiss Super League and won the Cup last season, kept its core intact and added promising signings, a stability that showed in a dominant first-half performance. Sportchef Roger Stilz confirmed that a return for former defender Leonidas Stergiou is not currently needed, given the squad's depth.

Against Real Madrid we would have drawn today.

What's next

The second leg will be played on Thursday, 30 July, at Benfica's Estádio da Luz in Lisbon (21:00 local time). A draw would send St. Gallen through to the third qualifying round and keep alive hopes of a European group-stage campaign in the autumn. Benfica, despite the first-leg deficit, remain favourites on home soil, but the Swiss side has given itself a genuine chance of an upset.