Soccer Football - Champions League - Bayern Munich v Benfica - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - November 6, 2024 Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth
MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) -Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala headed home in the second half to give the hosts a 1-0 victory over Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday as they bounced back from two consecutive defeats in the competition.
Germany midfielder Musiala scored with a bullet-header from close range in the 67th minute with Bayern dominating and missing several chances before breaking the deadlock.
The result lifted the Germans to six points from four matches and into 17th place with Benfica, who were toothless in attack, also on six in 19th place.
"We did it well up to now. We can do it better. But overall we have a lot of faith in our players," Bayern coach Vincent Kompany told a press conference after his team's fourth consecutive clean sheet across all competitions.
"Jamal scored with a header but he was in the right place. He has the right examples in the team. He looks at what Thomas Mueller or Harry Kane do in the box in training."
Europe's top club competition has switched from a group stage to a league phase this season, where 36 teams play eight matches each, with the top eight in the table progressing directly to the next round, while the next 16 teams enter a two-legged playoff.
The game started with a 15-minute delay as fans arrived late following train problems, and with the Bavarians desperate to get back to winning ways after back-to-back defeats to Aston Villa and Barcelona in the competition.
They initially struggled to find a way through a crowded and compact Portuguese defence but gradually improved and Harry Kane had their first chance.
They came even closer in the 39th minute with both Kane's shot and Michael Olise's rebound effort stopped by keeper Anatoliy Trubin.
Kane tried his luck with a solo run into the box and low drive in the 54th minute before Trubin pushed Leroy Sane's effort wide on the hour.
Bayern, who are undefeated and in top spot in the Bundesliga, broke the deadlock with Musiala's header from a Kane assist to take a deserved lead.
The visitors had succeeded for large periods in soaking up the pressure but had little to offer in terms of attack with only one effort towards goal in the entire game to Bayern's 23.
"We needed to have a little more possession of the ball," said Benfica coach Bruno Lage. "We have good ball handlers, good positioning, used to this type of pressure. Unfortunately, we weren't able to apply it in the first half.
"We knew that with time the game would calm down and we could have more possession. Unfortunately we couldn't do it".
(Reporting by Karolos GrohmannEditing by Toby Davis)
