Angel di Maria continues to shine for Benfica

Angel di Maria has gotten off to the best start of his career with Benfica this season at the tender young age of 35. Di Maria scored the opening goal for Benfica yesterday in their 2-0 Taca da Liga win over Arouca off of a free kick, his second goal from a spot ball this season.

Di Maria leads Benfica in scoring to date in this campaign, with seven goals across all competitions in eleven games. He has also provided two helpers in that span. Di Maria has left no doubt that he is the star of this club and intends to maintain that role during the season.

Benfica are hoping that Di Maria's form can rub off on a squad that has struggled in Europe this season, with three games remaining in their group stage.

David Neres will undergo knee surgery for extended absence

Benfica have lost winger David Neres for an extended period of time due to an injury to his meniscus in his left knee. The injury happened in yesterday's league game against Casa Pia, and will see the 26 year old go under the knife to repair the damage.

There has been no timeline given for the recovery time that Neres will need before he can return to action, but the injury is similar to the one sustained by Goncalo Guedes last season, which saw Guedes miss four months of action.

Neres is a big loss to a club that continues to struggle to score goals this season, having dropped points once again yesterday due to a lack of finish around the goal. He joins right back Alexander Bah and midfielder Orkun Kokcu in the infirmary.

Benfica celebrate 20 years at the Luz with mural

On the day the Estadio da Luz celebrated 20 years, Benfica unveiled a new mural celebrating their most outstanding 20 players from the first two decades of the stadium opening as selected by the club's fans. 

Ederson, Jan Oblak, Nelson Semedo, Andre Almeida, Ezequiel Garay, Luisao, Ruben Dias, Nico Otamendi, Alex Grimaldo, Pablo Aimar, Rui Costa, Angel di Maria, Nico Gaitan, Eduardo Salvio, Simao Sabrosa, Rafa Silva, Oscar Cardozo, Nuno Gomes, Joao Felix and Jonas were the players chosen by the fans.

Ten players were present for the unveiling of the mural led by club President Rui Costa. Benfica's Estadio da Luz was opened on October 25, 2003 and was built from scratch as the main stadium of the Euro 2024 tournament being held in Portugal.