Benfica ready for Taca da Liga opener

Benfica get set to kick off their Taca da Liga campaign at the Luz against Santa Clara tomorrow in a revamped competition that will only see eight clubs compete for an opportunity to capture this trophy. What is now a mini tournament will have last season's top six finishers in the top flight and the top two clubs from the previous season in the second division go at it.

Benfica is still the most successful club since the launch of this competition during the 2007-08 season and have captured the trophy seven times but last won the competition in 2016. Benfica did make the finals in 2022 but where defeated 2-1 to Sporting. The Final Four will take place in Leiria over four days in January, with the Final on January 11, 2025.

Benfica back in league action after a month

Benfica return to league action tomorrow when they face Rio Ave at the Luz after what has been a long layoff from league play thanks to a postponed Week 8 game against Nacional in early October due to poor weather in the Madeira. Benfica last played a league game on September 28 when they defeated Gil Vicente 5-1 at home in Week 7.

Benfica look to shake off a disappointing display from their mid-week Champions League encounter which resulted in a loss to Dutch club Feyenoord. The loss was Bruno Lage's first in seven games since his rehiring at the club in mid September.

Benfica suffer tough loss to Feyenoord in Champions League

In a surprising twist, Benfica faced a tough defeat at home against Feyenoord, ending Bruno Lage's run of six victories since returning to the club. The Champions League match saw the home fans hope for yet another win after the impressive victory over Atletico Madrid. Instead, they witnessed disappointment as the final score read 3-1 in favour of the visitors.

From the opening kick-off, the night took a sharp turn. Feyenoord struck first, sending the away fans into a frenzy and never looked back in a game that saw three goals called back due to VAR decisions, two against Feyenoord and one against Benfica.

Kerem Akturkoglu scored again to continue his hot start to the season cutting the Dutch sides lead in half with 24 minutes left in the game but some uninspiring coverage on a set piece in injury time ended any hope of gaining an equalizer as Feyenoord left Lisbon with all three points.

The Eagles will need to tighten their backline if they want to compete at this level. With five games remaining in the league, learning from their mistakes is crucial. Can they bounce back from this setback? The road ahead is tough, but this team has the heart to rise again even if they need to travel to Munich to face Bayern in two weeks.

This defeat was especially bitter for Bruno Lage. After an impressive six-game winning streak, losing at home would sting. The fans rallied behind him, hoping for a solid performance to keep the momentum. However, this setback raises questions. What went wrong? Was it the players’ mentality or issues with the game plan? Losing at home is like losing a piece of your own territory. The team will need to regroup and rethink their strategy moving forward.