Bayer Leverkusen have got their Champions League campaign back on track with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Benfica.
After losing against Monaco on matchday one, the Bundesliga outfit started strongly as Stefan Kiessling played in Son Heung-Min and the Korean midfielder's early effort needed a block from Julio Cesar.
© Getty Images
Leverkusen then thought they had taken the lead on 14 minutes when Hakan Calhanoglu's initial shot was blocked, but Lars Bender's effort on the rebound struck the woodwork.
Bayer finally edged ahead midway through the first period when Son's fizzing effort wasn't held by Cesar, and Kiessling was on hand to steer the ball into the net.
The hosts then doubled their advantage as neat build-up play from Kiessling and Karim Bellarabi set up Son and his fierce strike comfortably beat the Brazilian keeper.
Benfica pulled a goal back on 62 minutes with their first shot on target as Maxi Pereira found Eduardo Salvio and the winger tucked the ball into bottom right corner of Bernd Leno's net.
However, any hopes of a comeback were dashed from the restart when Jardel conceded a penalty after dragging Kiessling down in the box. Calhanoglu calmly tucked away his spot kick to restore Bayer's two-goal cushion.
Luisao tried to pull a second goal back in stoppage time from Nicolas Gaitan's cross, but the defender's header drifted wide and Leverkusen ran out winners to move to within a point of Zenit St Petersburg and Monaco at the top of Group C.
Chris O'Keefe
