Benfica's weekend was not all roses as midfielder Chiquinho looks to have suffered a muscle injury to his left thigh which will see him miss some time, while manager Roger Schmidt was given a straight red card by the match official after throwing back a water bottle into the home stands and will miss Friday's home game against Famalicao.
The Hungarian international has taken over as the regular starter with the Dutch side this season having appeared in 35 games across all competitions, while scoring three goals and adding six helpers. Kerkez joined Alkmaar from AC Milan in the winter of 2022 for a mere €2M but the deal included a right of first refusal option for the the Italian club who are able to match any offer Alkmaar receive for the left back.
Benfica's squad holds a host of Portuguese players and outside of the trio who had discussions with Martinez, Benfica also have Goncalo Guedes and Rafa Silva who have worn the Portugal jersey at one point or another and potential future squad member in Florentino Luis.
Chiquinho has become a regular member of the starting XI since the departure of Enzo and for a midfielder that had seen little to no playing time with the club over the past two seasons, it is a major accomplishment for the 27 year old who has been given a chance to see what he can do by the German manager.
Schmidt recently complimented Chiquinho's game since moving into a regular role and said that the midfielder is very strong on the ball, while being able to control the game and covers a lot of the field with his runs. Schmidt is counting on Chiquinho to get better and better as he enjoys a regular run of play.
The 25 year old suffered a left cruciate ligament injury in September costing him a chance to represent Brazil in World Cup 2022, with no timeline yet to on his potential return, Arana could yet miss at least the first few months of the Brazilian league season. Benfica are hoping that acquiring the left back while his value is low will pay off dividends for the club in the future.
Arana would be looking to make amends after his first failed trip to Europe in which he joined Sevilla in January 2018 but appeared in only twenty-five games across all competitions for the Spanish club, spending most of his time away on loan. Arana returned permanently to Brazil in the summer of 2021 making his loan at Mineiro permanent after spending 18 months with the club.
Benfica sold Enzo to Chelsea on deadline day for a Premier League record of €121M just six months after acquiring the midfielder from River Plate for €10M with an additional €8m in add ons. Enzo went on to win a rare winter edition of the World Cup in December with Argentina, being named the young player of the tournament which only added to his value and eventually clinching his move to Chelsea.
A game that Benfica started fluently until the red card was given would go into additional time as both clubs failed to score the rest of the way. Benfica would then be handed their second red card of the game when defender Morato received his second yellow with minutes remaining in additional time. The final whistle blew and the game would be heading to penalties...
Benfica would miss just one kick from the penalty spot as midfielder Fredrik Aursnes would be stopped by Braga keeper Matheus but it was more then enough with Braga converting all five of their kicks to advance to the Taca's semi-final stage. Braga continues to be a thorn in Benfica's side, having handed Benfica their only two losses of the current season, the first during league play at the end of 2022.
