European Cup · Phase 01 - Group D - Matchday 02
Manchester United v Benfica
2–1
Manchester United beat Benfica 2–1 at Old Trafford on Tuesday 27th September 2005 in the European Cup. Ryan Giggs (39') and Ruud van Nistelrooy (85') scored for United.
Timeline
Running score
- Kick Off
- 39' Ryan Giggs 1–0
- Half Time
- 57' Luisão
- 58' Alan Smith
- 59' Simao 1–1
- 69' Nuno Gomes
- 85' Ruud van Nistelrooy 2–1
- Full Time 2–1
Match Facts
Starting XI
Player
11 Ryan Giggs 39'
Substitutes
No substitutes recorded
Benfica Lineup
Starting XI
1 Jose Moreira G
4 Luisão D
5 Léo D
6 Petit M
14 Manuel Fernandes M
16 Gilberto Galdino Beto M
20 Simão M ⚽
21 Nuno Gomes F
22 Nélson D
30 Fabrizio Miccoli F
33 Ricardo Rocha D
Substitutes
3 Anderson
9 Pedro Manuel Torres Mantorras on
11 Marcio Geovanni on
12 Quim
17 Andrei Karyaka
18 Manuel Dos Santos
27 João Pereira on
Opposition lineup via ESPN. Opposition players do not have profile pages on this site.
Managers
MUFC
Alex Ferguson
Manchester United
OPP
Ronald Koeman
Benfica
Match Information
United vs Benfica History
Meeting 4 of 11
11
Played
8
Won
2
Drawn
1
Lost
25
Goals For
11
Goals Against
All-time record, from the first meeting on Wednesday 2nd February 1966. After this match United had played Benfica 4 times: 4W 0D 0L.
2 Feb 1966 W 3–2 EC 9 Mar 1966 W 5–1 EC 29 May 1968 W 4–1 EC
27 Sep 2005 W 2–1 This match
7 Dec 2005 L 1–2 EC 26 Sep 2006 W 1–0 EC 6 Dec 2006 W 3–1 EC | All-time | P | W | D | L | F | A | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 80.0 |
| Away | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 60.0 |
| Neutral | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 100.0 |
Match results, lineups and goalscorers compiled from mufcinfo.com; advanced match statistics (xG, shots, possession) via ESPN where available. Last updated 29 September 2026. How we compile this data →