In the beginning of the 1980s, Benfica's domestic dominance had dwindled, leaving the team to play in second-level competitions, namely the
Cup Winners' Cup and the
UEFA Cup. In
1980–81, the team reached the
Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals but lost to
Carl Zeiss Jena from East Germany. This performance was bested two seasons later, as Benfica reached the
1983 UEFA Cup Final after overcoming a quarter-final bout against a
Roma side featuring
Falcão and
Bruno Conti. In the two-legged final, Benfica faced Belgium's
Anderlecht. In the first leg, on 4 May 1983, Benfica lost in
Brussels with a sole goal from
Kenneth Brylle. In the second leg, fourteen days later, Benfica manager
Sven-Göran Eriksson chose not to start
Zoran Filipović and
João Alves, both undisputed starters, and the team drew 1–1, losing another European final. Benfica returned to the European Cup in the following two seasons, but defeats against Liverpool in both participations showed that the team was not yet ready to compete with Europe's best teams. After two unsuccessful seasons, Benfica returned to the European Cup, reaching the
final. After getting revenge on
Anderlecht in the quarter-finals, and
Steaua București in the semi-finals, advancing to their sixth final in the competition, where they met
PSV in a match played at
Stuttgart's
Neckarstadion on 25 May 1988. Following a goalless draw at the end of extra time, the match was decided by a
penalty shoot-out. The Dutch side – fielding five
Netherlands national team players that would go on to conquer the
UEFA Euro 1988 a month later – converted all of their penalty kicks, whereas
António Veloso allowed goalkeeper
Hans van Breukelen to defend his penalty kick, and sealed Benfica's fourth consecutive European Cup final loss. Two years later, Benfica returned to a European Cup final, again under the command of
Sven-Göran Eriksson, with a team that included Brazilian internationals
Ricardo Gomes and
Aldair, and midfielders
Valdo and
Jonas Thern. The club eliminated
Marseille in the semi-finals with a controversial goal by
Vata, reaching its seventh European Cup final. Before the
final, Eusébio visited Béla Guttmann's grave in a symbolic attempt to break the supposed "curse". On May 23, 1990, in Vienna, Benfica faced the reigning champion Milan at the
Praterstadion, but could not prevent
Frank Rijkaard's solitary goal, which gave the Italian team its second consecutive title in the competition. In
1991–92, Benfica took part in the
last edition of the European Cup before being reformulated and converted into the UEFA Champions League. They reached the tournament's group stage after beating the English champion
Arsenal, in
Highbury, with
Isaías and
Vasili Kulkov scoring in extra time. In the group stage, Benfica ended in third place, behind Barcelona and
Sparta Prague, being eliminated after losing to the Catalans in the last and decisive game. In
1992–93, Benfica reached the quarter-finals of the
UEFA Cup, beating eventual winners Juventus at home (their only loss in the competition), but losing 3–0 in
Turin. The
following season, Benfica returned to the
Cup Winners' Cup and reached the semi-finals after a 5–5 aggregate draw against
Bayer Leverkusen in the quarter-finals, advancing on the
away goals rule. In the first leg of the semi-finals, played at the
Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Benfica defeated
Parma 2–1, despite
Vítor Paneira missing a penalty. However, in the return leg, centre-back
Carlos Mozer was sent off on the 20th minute and the team resisted for 55 minutes before
Roberto Sensini scored the only goal of the match, which put the Italians through. In the
1994–95, in Benfica made its debut in the reformulated
Champions League, winning its group but falling to title holders
Milan in the quarter-finals.
Competitive record Note: Benfica score is always listed first. ==European decline==