Down to ten: Austria beaten after battle in Lisbon

Austria Vienna suffered a setback on matchday four of the UEFA Women's Champions League.

The "Violets" lost 3-1 to Benfica at the Estadio da Luz, once again going unrewarded despite a strong performance.

Head coach Stefan Kenesei's side started bravely as usual and registered their first attempt through Elisa Pfattner after just 50 seconds.

Early setback in Portugal

Shortly afterwards, however, came the early blow: Andreia Norton was left unmarked in the middle following an attack down the right wing and slotted home to make it 1-0 (5'). The Austria defense did not cover itself in glory.

The Viennese side then regained their composure and repeatedly pushed forward. In the final third, however, they lacked that spark of creativity or the final conviction in front of goal.

Yet Austria were the better team. The hosts occasionally threatened on the counter, but were otherwise mainly occupied with defending. 17-year-old international Valentina Pötzl, in particular, caused constant problems for the Portuguese defense.

In the closing minutes before the break, the hosts also had several opportunities, but were unable to extend their lead.

Wenninger strikes from the spot - Pal sent off

Just minutes after the restart, Austria were awarded a penalty following a foul by the goalkeeper on Pötzl. Captain Carina Wenninger stepped up and calmly converted the spot-kick to score a well-deserved equalizer (53').

After the Viennese equalizer, the match turned into a proper end-to-end contest with major chances on both sides, though neither team could find the go-ahead goal.

Instead, Austria were forced to see out the closing stages a player down. Goalkeeper Jasmin Pal charged far out of her penalty area to cover for her captain after a lost duel, taking down Flourish Sabastine in the process. The 30-year-old was rightfully shown a straight red card.

Fighting spirit goes unrewarded once more

Shortly afterwards, the Portuguese side took the lead again. Benfica's Caroline Möller headed home into the far corner from a corner kick, beating substitute goalkeeper Emma Goetz, who had only just come on (76').

In stoppage time, the hosts sealed the win through Nycole Raysla. The Brazilian was served the ball on a silver platter inside the six-yard box to make it 3-1 (90+3').

Nevertheless, the Viennese once again proved to be worthy competitors in the Champions League. In their remaining two fixtures, they face FC Bayern Munich next week (Thursday from 18:45 in the live ticker >>>) and Manchester City in December.