Michael Leslie Dean matches

It was a match whose outcome could boost the morale of the wiining side, enable them to go forward in the Europa League competition and add to their stance among the clubs in their national league. On the night, there was just one side to grab the opportunity and to hold to it till the final whistle - Benfica Lisbon. They deservedly won the contest after a convincing performance. On the other end, the best witness to their bad performance being their two best players: The two goalkeepers they used - Marc Ziegler and Sven Ulreich who replaced the former one after he had been injured at the beginning of the second half,

Referee and assistants
Mr. Dean had an evening he and we should cherish, No unnecessary whistle blows letting the game flow. There was either no impetuous use of the yellow card. When things turned ugly after Benfica scored their second goal, and there was a flare-up after a harsh foul by Stutgart`s Gebhart, Mr. Dean acted calmly, bringing an end to the incident by booking him and Benfica`s Martins who came on the scene and pushing aggressively the German culprit. As for sending off Kuzmanovic in the end of the seventh minute of added time to the second half (most of the additinal time attributed to the treament of the Stuttgart first choice goalie after he had been injured): This was a right decision as the Stuttgart player, probably out of frustration, deliberately kicked an opponent. The referee also got very good assistance from the two gentlemen, Michael Mullarkey (it seems parting with Mr. Webb has done him just good) and David Richardson.