The lowdown on SL Benfica
FC Barcelona face Benfica in what promise to be a fascinating pair of encounters in the Champions League last sixteen. Here are the essentials on the eagles of Lisbon.
Where are they from
Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, needs no introduction with its historic charm and rich maritime heritage overlooking the Tagus River, with iconic landmarks like the Belém Tower, São Jorge Castle, the picturesque Alfama district, fado music and vintage trams.
Club history
With 390,000 members, Sport Lisboa e Benfica has a strong claim to be the biggest in the world. Founded in 1904, they are the most successful club in Portuguese football history, having won the league a record 38 times. The other members of the 'Big Three, Porto and Sporting, have 30 and 20, and there have only been two seasons in the history of the competition when one of that trio has not been champion.
Benfica are ranked by UEFA as the eighth most successful club in European football history. They won back-to-back European Cups in 1961 and 1962. That was the eagles' golden era with the great Eusebio as the main star, and although they have returned to the final five times since, they are still waiting for their third title.
Stadium of Light
The Estádio da Luz, or 'Stadium of Light' as we like to call it in English, is one of the most iconic venues in world football, although the original 120,000 seat structure no longer exists, having been replaced in 2003 by the new 64,642 stadium, a year before it hosted the Euro 04 Final that was so unexpectedly won by Greece.
It has also hosted two Champions League Finals, including the one behind closed doors due to Covid in 2020. The latter was also the season it hosted a game that Barça fans would all much rather forget. And it also to be one of the venues for the 2030 World Cup.
Benfica form guide
This is even more of a crunch match for the home side. Benfica are right in the middle of the Champions League table right now. Should they win, they'd still be in with a chance of claiming one of the top eight spots. But a defeat would have the opposite effect, and they would be in danger of not making the knockout stage at all. And the fact that their final game is away to Juventus doesn't help.
Benfica's UCL games so far
LEAGUE PHASE
Red Star Belgrade 1-2 Benfica
Benfica 4–0 Atlético Madrid
Benfica 1–3 Feyenoord
Bayern Munich 1–0 Benfica
Monaco 2–3 Benfica
Benfica 0-0 Bologna
Benfica 4-5 FC Barcelona
Juventus 0-2 Benfica
PLAYOFFS
Monaco 0-1 Benfica
Benfica 3-3 Monaco
Benfica won 4-3 on aggregate
Highlights of Benfica's League Phase were the 4-0 drubbing of Atlético Madrid and the late comeback to win in Monaco, who they also, but following the extraordinary 5-4 loss at home to Barça they were in trouble of not even making the knockout stage. They achieved that with an impressive 2-0 win at Juventus on the final day and then met Monaco again in the playoffs, eventually winning a dramatic encounter 4-3 on aggregate.
In the Primeira Liga, Benfica had a nasty run of three defeats in four games around New Year that built up a gap between them and leaders Sporting. However, their city rivals have since suffered a blip of their own, and they are now matched on 53 points with Porto just three behind on 50.knocked off the top spot when they lost to local rivals Sporting in the derby, and they followed that by losing at home to Braga, meaning they are now three points adrift of the lead.
They are also through to the semi-finals of the Portuguese Cup, where they are set to meet fourth tier Tirsense, who have made all the way to the last four, amazingly without ever having to play any teams from the top two tiers of the national pyramid.
Head to head
1960-61 European Cup Final in Bern
Benfica 3-2 Barça
1991-91 European Cup Group Stage
Benfica 0-0 Barça
Barça 2-1 Benfica
Barça topped the group and went on to win the trophy
2005-06 Champions League Group Stage
Benfica 0-0 Barça
Barça 2-0 Benfica
Barça again went on to win the trophy
2012-13 Champions League Group Stage
Benfica 1-2 Barça
Barça 0-0 Benfica
Barça qualified but lost in the semi finals
2021-22 Champions League Group Stage
Benfica 3-0 Barça
Barça 0-0 Benfica
Barça failed to advance from the group
2024-25 Champions League League Stage
Benfica 4-5 Barça
This is the sixth time the teams have met in Europe, always in the premier competition, with a mixed bag of results. The most famous was 1961 final in Bern, that awful night when the woodwork stood in the way of the Catalans' first ever European Cup title.
But the next two times Barça played Benfica, they went on to win the trophy, in 1992 under Johan Cruyff and 2006 under Frank Rijkaard.
There were painful memories three years ago, when Barça were soundly beaten in Lisbon and were then held 0-0 at Camp Nou, meaning that they failed to advance and dropped instead into the Europa League.
And, of course, the teams also met in the League Phase of this season's edition, and what a remarkable match that one turned out to be. Benfica were leading 4-2 with just 12 minutes to go before goals from Robert Lewandowski, Eric garcía and Raphinha produced an amazing late turnaround and the game ended 5-4!
The players
Benfica most capped players
Ángel Di María (Argentina 145), Nicolás Otamendi (Argentina 123), Leandro Barreiro (Luxembourg 61), Vangelis Pavlidis (Greece 44), Kerem Aktürkoğlu (Turkey 40), Orkun Kökçü (Turkey 38), Renato Sanches (portugal 32), Zeki Amdouni (Switzerland 25), Fredrik Aursnes (Norway 20), Alexander Bah (Denmark 20), Anatoliy Trubin (Ukraine 19)
Top scorers (all competitions)
Vangelis Pavlidis (18), Ángel Di María (14), Kerem Aktürkoğlu (11)
The boss
After Roger Schmidt was sacked at the start of the season, he was replaced by Bruno Lage, somebody who never played the game at a high level and instead concentrated on a career in coaching that saw him rise through the Benfica ranks to eventually become manager in 2019. There were highs and lows before he eventually resigned, after which he coached Wolves in England for two years and then Botafogo in Brazil. He was eventually relieved of his duties at both clubs, before being offered a second opportunity in the Benfica hotseat.