Live Blog! Milan vs Benfica in the UEFA Europa League
Milan and Benfica headline one of the most attractive matches of the opening round of the 2026-27 UEFA Europa League. Two historic European clubs meet at San Siro looking to begin their campaigns with a victory.
The UEFA Europa League gets underway with a true continental classic. Milan host Benfica at San Siro on Wednesday in the opening round of the league phase, in a matchup between two clubs accustomed to competing on European soccer's biggest stages.
The match kicks off at 3:00 PM ET and represents the Italian side's first European fixture of the season, while the Portuguese club arrives after advancing through three qualifying rounds to reach this stage of the competition.
Milan Begin Their European Journey at San Siro
Rúben Amorim's side enters the match unbeaten to start the season, although its two most recent games ended in draws: 1-1 against Juventus and 2-2 against Lazio.
One of the players to watch will be Gonçalo Ramos, who will face his former club. The striker made 106 appearances and scored 41 goals for Benfica before continuing his career away from Portugal.
History also strongly favors Milan. The Rossoneri have never lost to the Portuguese side in six meetings in major European competitions, recording four wins and two draws. They also defeated Benfica in the 1963 and 1990 European Cup finals.
Benfica Look to End a Historic Winless Run
Marco Silva's Benfica arrive in Milan after beginning their continental campaign in the qualifying rounds, where they eliminated St. Gallen, Heart of Midlothian and Aarhus. They have also enjoyed a strong start to their domestic campaign, collecting 16 points from their first six matches.
The challenge now will be to overcome their difficult history against Milan and earn a positive result at one of Europe's most iconic stadiums.
San Siro therefore hosts one of the marquee matches of the opening round. Milan and Benfica begin their Europa League journeys with ambitions of becoming major contenders in a competition whose final will be played in Frankfurt.
