Benfica through to quarters after Brugge win

Benfica will be moving on to the Champions League quarter-finals after a dominating 5-1 victory in the second leg over Belgian side Club Brugge at the Luz after winning the first leg 2-0 away from home.

Benfica opened the scoring just two minutes into the game when Joao Mario beat Brugge keeper Mignolet but the goal would be called back on an offside in the build up to the play. Benfica would then come close on two other occasions before Rafa Silva would neatly skip away from challenges to open the scoring at the thirty-eight minute mark. Goncalo Ramos would then double the lead in first half injury time, after a brilliant Joao Mario reverse pass to the youngster who would beat three Brugge defenders for the score.

Benfica continued their dominance of play in the second half and put the game to rest when Ramos would score his second goal just twelve minutes into the half, converting a Grimaldo cross into the low left side of the net. Joao Mario made it four from the penalty spot after Brugge defender Sylla needlessly brought down Gilberto in the box and then David Neres would get in on the act to make the score 5-0 with some assistance from VAR after the goal was initially ruled offside. Brugge would end their scoreless run in the two leg encounter as Meijer found the back of the net with three minutes left in the game to break the clean sheet but it was too little too late.

Benfica have now earned roughly €70M from this seasons edition of the Champions League a club record to date and will await to find out their opponents in the quarter-finals as the competition moves along.

 

Palmeiras interested in Benfica right back Gilberto

Benfica right back Gilberto continues to be linked with a move back to his native Brazil with the latest Brazilian club interested in landing the 30 year old being Palmeiras. Gilberto spent the winter transfer window linked to clubs Flamengo and Atletico Mineiro but no move materialized due to the clubs failure to meet Benfica's demands.

Gilberto joined Benfica in the summer of 2020 from Fluminense for €3M and has appeared in 97 games across all competitions since his arrival, scoring eight goals while setting up an additional eight. Gilberto lost his place in the starting eleven this season and is currently Benfica's back up right back after the arrival of Alexander Bah this summer.

Benfica could play meaningful games in Boston, Toronto or Paris

There are reports coming out from a recent meeting held by Liga Portugal that starting during the 2024/25 season the league is open to changing the current format of the Taca da Liga championship to feature only the top four first division clubs from the previous season. The proposal would also include taking a long look at taking the tournament abroad in what would turn into a week long event promoting the games.

This is great news for Benfica fans who reside all over the globe in large communities and do not always have the means to travel to Portugal to catch their favourite club live in action. The Taca da Liga competition can turn to Boston, USA; San Jose, USA; Toronto, Canada; Paris, France and Geneva, Switzerland which all have large Portuguese communities to host the competition.

Benfica have won this competition seven times since its inception in 2007, which is the most titles won by any team with their last title coming during the 2015/16 season. Benfica would of course have to finish in the top four to be a part of this potential event but it finally shows that the league is thinking outside the box.