ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) A fortunate ricochet off the bar and Nicolas Gaitan's follow-up header helped to send Benfica into the quarterfinals of the Champions League on Wednesday with a 2-1 win over Zenit St. Petersburg.
Going into the second leg game 1-0 down against injury-depleted Benfica, Zenit laid siege to Benfica's goal in the second half and was rewarded in the 69th minute when Yuri Zhirkov found space on the left flank to cross for Hulk to head home.
But the Portuguese club scored a crucial goal in the 85th when Raul Jimenez's curled volley was tipped onto the bar by goalkeeper Yuri Lodygin and fell perfectly for Gaitan's header.
Benfica made it 3-1 on aggregate with the last kick of the game when Talisca struck from inside the box in the 96th.
