Benfica have a striker in full rhythm, and Vangelis Pavlidis now has 19 goals and four assists in 19 matches in all competitions this season. He also scored the winner against Estrela in the 90+4th minute, which extended his scoring run to five straight matches.
Pavlidis's run inside Benfica's title chase
His 11 league goals lead the Primeira Liga scoring chart, and that is the bigger point for Benfica. They are second in the table with 28 points from 11 league matches, so Pavlidis is producing while the title race is still tight enough for every goal to carry weight.
The way he is scoring matters too. Five of the most recent matches have all ended with him on the scoresheet, and Benfica have won their last five games. The connection is pretty direct: when Pavlidis is this efficient, Benfica's attack looks built to decide close matches.
The assist that finished the move
Pavlidis did not talk up his own finish after the late winner. Speaking to A Bola in comments translated from Portuguese, he said: "But can we talk about that assist from Schjelderup?" It fits the wider picture of his season, where the goals are there, but so are the four assists.
Benfica do not need him to do everything, but they do need him to keep delivering. With 19 goals already and five straight games on the scoresheet, he has become the forward carrying the clearest end product in their attack.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
