Benfica arrived in Marseille with a 2-1 lead after defeating the French club just one week ago and decided to lay an egg in the second leg, with a performance that you would not expect to see from a club of Benfica's stature who got their game plan all wrong on this night. Benfica's blueprint was simple: stay back and protect a lead and hope to possibly score a counterattack goal. This plan allowed an onslaught of Marseille chances that finally paid off in the 79th minute when they scored to equalize the aggregate and take this game to additional extra time.   Benfica were the bette ..read more

Benfica head to France for Thursday's second leg encounter against Marseille, having rested their regular starters this weekend as they look to advance to the final four of the Europa League, holding a current 2-1 advantage on aggregate. Benfica manager Roger Schmidt actually did the unexpected and gave various starters the league game off on Sunday, with some players, playing as little as forty-five minutes before being substituted in the club's 3-0 victory over Moreirense. Benfica are hoping the rest re-energizes their regular starters as they face the tough task of trying to escape the Vel ..read more

Benfica go into tomorrow's league game against Moreirense needing to rest some of their key players, with a big second leg rematch against Marseille on the horizon on Thursday.  Benfica manager Roger Schmidt has started the same XI the past three games with few substitutes used during these contests and will need to refocus the squad for a final four spot in the Europa League after falling seven points behind league leaders Sporting going into their game tomorrow. Schmidt would be wise to rest players like Rafa Silva, Fredrik Aursnes, Otamendi, Antonio Silva, Joao Neves and Angel di Mari ..read more

Benfica will head to France to face Marseille in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final encounter with one foot in the competition's semi-final round after a 2-1 victory over the French club, but they will be disappointed with conceding a goal to the French club when they were in full control of the game in the the first hour of play. A pair of goals from Rafa Silva and Angel di Maria had the home side up 2-0 early in the second half before Aubameyang cut the lead in half at the 67th mark. Benfica striker Casper Tengstedt will rue a couple of missed opportunities that could have ..read more

Benfica have responded to the Marseille police's actions and have banned Marseille club fans from attending the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final game less than 48 hours before kickoff. Benfica announced earlier today that, after receiving communication from French authorities, the club's fans would not be permitted to attend the second leg in France. The club pursued the action of canceling the tickets of Marseille fans who were set to attend the first leg at the Estadio da Luz on Thursday after speaking to local authorities. The club will now reissue the tickets to only club me ..read more

Benfica suffered a devastating loss yesterday to their archrivals and league leaders Sporting 2-1 after the Lions scored the winner early in injury time. Benfica now sits four points behind Sporting, who can stretch that lead to seven with a victory as they hold a game in hand over Benfica. With six games left in the season, this kind of lead can turn into an insurmountable amount without a complete collapse by Sporting. Benfica are still alive in the Europa League, but their lack of creativity in recent games does not give fans much excitement that they can do what is required to move past M ..read more

Qatari club Al-Sadd have returned back into the picture as they look to land Benfica's Rafa Silva in the summer once the player's contract runs out with his Portuguese side. Al-Sadd tried to land Rafa before the start of the current season but were not able to agree to terms for a move, but now are hoping that the 30 year old will make the choice to become a member of the club during the 2024-25 season. Al-Sadd is said to have offered Rafa a substantial raise of upwards of €7.5M per season for three years, but Rafa chose to remain at Benfica and finish out his contract with the club. Rafa has ..read more

Although Benfica played well in their second leg Taca de Portugal semi-final draw, it was not enough to advance to the semi-finals as they lost to Sporting on aggregate 4-3, handing them their first strike in what is a crucial next two weeks in defining their season, as we discussed in our previous blog. Benfica in for rough next two weeks Benfica will now need a victory on Saturday in a rematch against Sporting in what could be a league title deciding match as the Lisbon club goes into Alvalade one point behind their city rivals, who hold a game in hand. A loss by Benfica would see them fall ..read more

The season could all be decided for Benfica over the next two weeks as the club gets set for a series of important contests. The first happening in two days time as they host Sporting in the second leg of the Taca de Portugal semi-final, a contest they go into down 2-1 after the first leg and needing a victory to remain in the competition. Benfica and Sporting will then do it all over again on Saturday in league action, this time at the Alvalade, where a win by Sporting could all but decide this season's Portuguese League champions. Benfica will then top off this intense schedule, when they ..read more

In another time, the Angel di Maria signing would have been a coup by a Portuguese club, but in 2024, the signing is looking more and more like a waste of resources as Benfica continue to struggle to develop play when the 36 year old Argentinian is on the field. Di Maria's pace of play looks more suitable to be applied in North America's Major League Soccer or the Saudi Pro League, but in the Portuguese League it is too slow and at many times, proves costly in the Eagles developing a fast attacking pace. Now, this is not to say that Di Maria has not had his share of brilliant moments this sea ..read more