Match Report
Sunderland U21 went into the game 2nd in the table on 7 points; Benfica U21 sat 11th on 1 — a 6-point gap. Benfica U21's recent output lagged their position: 39th on form over five rounds while 11th in the table. Per game in the league, Sunderland U21 were scoring 1.5 and conceding 1.5, Benfica U21 2 and 2, against a competition average of 1.86 goals per team per game.
The venue was Stadium of Light in Sunderland, with room for 49,000 spectators. On the scoreboard, Sunderland U21 led 1-0 at the break; 2 second-half goals set the final 2-1.
Goal scorers
Sunderland U21: Ian Carlo Poveda (14'), Milan Aleksić (58') · Benfica U21: João Veloso (72')