Jhon Durán scored twice against Celtic and then backed Vangelis Pavlidis as Benfica's first choice in attack. Benfica won the Europa League match 4-1, and the club's own internal competition now looks like part of what is keeping the squad sharp.
Pavlidis still sets the standard
Pavlidis has 15 goals in 15 games this season, which is why the hierarchy up front remains clear. Durán, by contrast, has four goals in 412 minutes across 14 games, with only three starts. He has also managed two Europa League goals in 147 minutes, so this is not a case of a forward lacking output. It is a squad with a top scorer who is hard to move past.
Marco Silva said Durán has been doing what is necessary to play, but added that he has a centre-forward in great form in front of him. Durán's own comments fit that view. Speaking to A Bola, he said: "I give everything to help my team, but everyone knows that Pavlidis is the first. He deserves everything, he played more than me, I am arriving here, but in the minutes I play I try to give everything to the team."
Other attackers are feeding the same competition
Claudio Echeverri said there is "a very good and healthy competition in the group" and that the team train well under a boss who gives them confidence. That lines up with the numbers around Benfica's other attackers too. T. Prestianni has eight goals and five assists in 14 games, with 12 starts, while Andreas Schjelderup has two goals and three assists in 15 matches, with only four starts.
Benfica sit third in the Europa League table with six points from two matches and a +5 goal difference, and they have won their last two Europa League matches. The evidence points to a squad where competition for minutes is not fraying the mood. On current form, Pavlidis still leads the line, but Benfica have several attackers pushing the same standards, and Celtic's 4-1 defeat was only the latest sign of that.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
