The tie was heading for extra time when Raúl Jiménez unleashed a thunderbolt and Nicolás Gaitán headed in, Talisca salting Zenit’s wounds.
Nicolás Gaitán nodded in on the rebound after a fantastic effort from Raúl Jiménez five minutes from time as Benfica booked a return to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
The tie was set for extra time after Hulk’s header cancelled out the first-leg deficit, and Dzyuba almost grabbed another after a mazy run; denied by the excellent Ederson.
Instead Raúl turned his marker and unleashed a shot that Yuri Lodygin did well to tip it onto the bar. Gaitán was on hand to turn the ball in and six minutes into added time Talisca rubbed salt into Zenit wounds.
Both back lines were ravaged by injury and suspension, with midfielder Andreas Samaris a shock starter at centre-back for the visitors, yet defences held sway for the first hour. There was plenty of intent from Zenit, but without going all in – trailing 1-0 after the first leg, they could not afford to concede an away goal.
Artem Dzyuba was the hosts’ most potent threat, flashing an early effort wide. Gradually, though, Benfica’s rearguard, marshalled by goalkeeper Ederson on his UEFA Champions League debut, found cohesion and Samaris shone, a natural with seemingly his own gravitational pull for crosses.
Zenit responded by committing more men forward, and Ederson had to be alert to deny Dzyuba and substitute Igor Smolnikov. At the other end Jonas, on the counter, missed the chance to earn some breathing space, and 21 minutes from time Hulk made them pay, ghosting in unmarked to head in Yuri Zhirkov’s cutback.
It looked to be enough until Raúl turned the match on its head.
