European Cup · Quarter-Final - 2nd Leg (agg 8-3)
Benfica v Manchester United
1–5
Manchester United beat Benfica 5–1 at Estadio da Luz on Wednesday 9th March 1966 in the European Cup. George Best (6', 13'), John Connelly (16'), Pat Crerand (80') and Bobby Charlton (89') scored for United.
Timeline
Running score
- Kick Off
- 6' George Best 0–1
- 13' George Best 0–2
- 16' John Connelly 0–3
- Half Time
- 52' Shay Brennan OG 1–3
- 80' Pat Crerand 1–4
- 89' Bobby Charlton 1–5
- Full Time 1–5
Match Facts
- United extended an unbeaten run to 13 matches in all competitions.
- George Best's brace took him to 16 in 1965-1966 and 36 for United.
- John Connelly's 11th goal of 1965-1966, and his 29th for United.
- Pat Crerand's 1st goal of 1965-1966, and his 7th for United.
- Bobby Charlton's 15th goal of 1965-1966, and his 164th for United.
Starting XI
Player
2 Shay Brennan 52'
4 Pat Crerand 80'
7 George Best 6', 13'
9 Bobby Charlton 89'
11 John Connelly 16'
Substitutes
No substitutes recorded
Managers
MUFC
Matt Busby
Manchester United
OPP
Bela Guttmann
Benfica
United vs Benfica History
Meeting 2 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 2 times: 2W 0D 0L.
2 Feb 1966 W 3–2 EC
9 Mar 1966 W 5–1 This match
29 May 1968 W 4–1 EC 27 Sep 2005 W 2–1 EC 7 Dec 2005 L 1–2 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 FBref and FotMob where available. Last updated 29 September 2026. How we compile this data →