Benfica return from the international break five points behind FC Porto, and the gap is backed up by the table as much as by the mood around the club. Benfica are second with 16 points from seven matches, while Porto have 21 from seven. The restart comes after a damaging home draw against Académico de Viseu and a 1-3 defeat at the Dragão.
Marco Silva's squad rebuild
Marco Silva comes back to a squad that was almost split apart by the break. A Bola said 18 of the 27 possible senior players were called up for international duty, so the first task is simply getting everyone back on the same page.
That is not the whole issue, though. Injuries to Kaminski and Georgiy Sudakov landed after the break began, while Prestianni returned late. Benfica's last five league results were one setback followed by four wins, which is enough to keep the title race alive but not enough to hide the fact that the margin is already thin.
Benfica's fixture run
The schedule is the real squeeze. Benfica's next run includes Guimaraes, Celtic, Omonia, Santa Clara, Gil Vicente, Alverca and Lech Poznan before the next international break.
That means the restart is not a quiet reset, it is a straight into-it stretch of league and European matches. The home game against Celtic stands out because Celtic are 28th in the Europa League standings with 0 points, while Omonia are 16th with 3 points from one match. Benfica cannot afford to treat either tie as a breather.
A Bola's preview desk put the focus plainly: "after the break, the priority is to make up ground on the dragons in the championship." Benfica have the chance to do that over a run that starts now, with Porto still ahead and the next five matches already lined up.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →