Benfica 2020–21 football season
The 2020–21 Sport Lisboa e Benfica season was the club's 117th season in existence and its 87th consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football . This season, Benfica invested €105 million amid the COVID-19 pandemic , a record investment in Portuguese football.[ 1] Domestically, Benfica lost the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira match, were eliminated in the semi-finals of the Taça da Liga , finished third in the Primeira Liga – their worst league position since 2008–09 [ 2] – and lost a Taça de Portugal final for a second time in a row.[ 3] Internationally, Benfica were eliminated in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round and in the round of 32 of the UEFA Europa League , respectively. The season started on 18 September 2020 and concluded on 23 May 2021. Considered a failed, disastrous season,[ 4] [ 5] [ 6] it was the first time Benfica ended trophyless since 2012–13 .[ 3]
Players
First-team squad
As of 13 February 2021
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Transfers
In
Out
Pre-season friendlies
Win
Draw
Loss
Non-televised friendlies, at Benfica Campus :
Competitions
Overview
Competition
First match
Last match
Starting round
Final position
Record
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Win %
Primeira Liga
18 September 2020
19 May 2021
Matchday 1
3rd
34
23
7
4
69
27
+42
0 67.65
Taça de Portugal
21 November 2020
23 May 2021
Third round
Runners-up
7
6
0
1
18
3
+15
0 85.71
Taça da Liga
16 December 2020
20 January 2021
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
2
0
1
1
2
3
−1
00 0.00
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
23 December 2020
Final
Runners-up
1
0
0
1
0
2
−2
00 0.00
Champions League
15 September 2020
Third qualifying round
Third qualifying round
1
0
0
1
1
2
−1
00 0.00
Europa League
22 October 2020
25 February 2021
Group stage
Round of 32
8
3
4
1
21
13
+8
0 37.50
Total
53
32
12
9
111
50
+61
0 60.38
Primeira Liga
League table
Source:
Liga Portugal Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head away goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Matches won; 7) Goals scored; 8) Play-off.
(C) Champions
Notes:
^ a b Braga qualified for the Europa League group stage by winning the 2020–21 Taça de Portugal . Since they would have qualified for the Europa Conference League third qualifying round by finishing fourth, the berth was awarded to the fifth-placed team (Paços de Ferreira), and the Europa Conference League second qualifying round berth reserved to the fifth-placed team was awarded to the sixth-placed team (Santa Clara).
Results summary
Overall
Home
Away
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
34
23
7
4
69
27
+42
76
12
3
2
31
15
+16
11
4
2
38
12
+26
Results by round
Round 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Ground A H H A H A H A H A H A H A H A H H A A H A H A H A H A H A H A H A Result W W W W W L L W W W W D W D D L D W D D W W W W W W L W W W D W W W Position 1 2 1 1 1 2 3 2 2 2 2 3 3 2 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Source:
Liga Portugal A = Away;
H = Home;
W = Win;
D = Draw;
L = Loss
Matches
The league fixtures were announced on 28 August 2020.[ 40]
Taça de Portugal
Taça da Liga
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
UEFA Champions League
Qualifying phase
The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 31 August 2020, 12:00 CEST .[ 42]
UEFA Europa League
Group stage
The group stage draw was held on 2 October 2020.[ 43]
Knockout phase
Round of 32
The draw for the round of 32 was held on 14 December 2020.[ 45]
Statistics
Appearances and goals
As of 23 May 2021
Notes
References
^ "SL Benfica: porque está a falhar o maior investimento da história? Veja o "Jogo Económico" " [SL Benfica: why is the biggest investment in history failing? Watch "Jogo Económico"]. O Jornal Económico (in Portuguese). 12 February 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021 .
^ Benfica repete terceiro lugar no campeonato 12 anos depois Notícias ao Minuto
^ a b Roseiro, Bruno (23 May 2021). "Jesus prometeu equipa a jogar o triplo, tornou-se o técnico com mais finais da Taça perdidas e Benfica acabou sem títulos oito épocas depois" [Jesus promised a team playing three times more, became the coach with the most Cups lost, and Benfica ended trophyless eight seasons later]. Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 25 May 2021 .
^ Para o vice-presidente do Benfica, Jesus terá de "reganhar a confiança dos adeptos". Jaime Antunes reconhece "época falhada" Observador
^ "Os benfiquistas têm de exigir que as coisas sejam alteradas" A Bola
^ O lugar de Jesus e a contestação a Vieira numa "época desastrosa" Diário de Notícias
^ "SL Benfica sign Pedrinho" . S.L. Benfica . 11 March 2020.
^ "Benfica comunica novo valor da aquisição de Pedrinho à CMVM" [Benfica announce new transfer fee to CMVM]. SAPO Desporto (in Portuguese). 20 August 2020.
^ a b c d e "Saiba quanto gastou o Benfica em reforços" [Find out how much Benfica spent on reinforcements]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 26 February 2021.
^ "Gilberto é reforço do Benfica por 3 milhões de euros" . Record (in Portuguese). 6 August 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020 . (subscription required)
^ "Welcome, Helton Leite!" . SL Benfica . 8 August 2020.
^ "Jan Vertonghen joins Benfica on three-year deal after leaving Tottenham" . BBC Sport . Retrieved 14 August 2020 .
^ "Welcome, Everton!" . SL Benfica . 14 August 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020 .
^ "Welcome, Vertonghen!" . SL Benfica . 14 August 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020 .
^ "Welcome, Darwin!" . SL Benfica . 4 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020 .
^ "Welcome, Otamendi!" . SL Benfica . 29 September 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020 .
^ "Lucas Veríssimo "honrado" em poder vestir a camisola do "ídolo" Luisão" . Record . 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021 .
^ "Bruno Varela has completed a transfer" . SL Benfica . 19 August 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020 .
^ "Yony González loaned out" . SL Benfica . 19 August 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020 .
^ "Tyronne Ebuehi loaned out" . SL Benfica . 21 August 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020 .
^ "Benfica vende Ivan Zlobin ao Famalicão" . Record (in Portuguese). 22 August 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020 .
^ "Zivkovic rescinde contrato" . A Bola (in Portuguese). 26 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020 .
^ "Jhonder Cádiz loaned" . SL Benfica . 9 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020 .
^ "Cádiz rende €3 milhões aos 25 jogos" . A Bola (in Portuguese). 10 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020 .
^ "Pedro Pereira loaned out" . SL Benfica . 21 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020 .
^ "David Tavares loaned out" . SL Benfica . 22 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020 .
^ "Al-Ahli confirma Fejsa" . A Bola (in Portuguese). 24 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020 .
^ "Florentino loaned out" . SL Benfica . 25 September 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020 .
^ "Statements to CMVM: Rúben Dias and Otamendi" . SL Benfica . 27 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020 .
^ "Cristián Lema has completed a transfer" . SL Benfica . 2 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020 .
^ "Lema vai rumar à Arábia e garante encaixe financeiro" . A Bola (in Portuguese). 29 September 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020 .
^ "Statement to CMVM: Vinícius" . SL Benfica . 2 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020 .
^ "Vinicius loan agreed" . Tottenham Hotspur . 2 October 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020 .
^ "Tomás Tavares loaned out" . S.L. Benfica . 3 October 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020 .
^ "They've already scored!" . SLBenfica.pt . Sport Lisboa e Benfica. 15 August 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2021 .
^ "Benfica beats Estoril in a training match" . SLBenfica.pt . Sport Lisboa e Benfica. 22 August 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2021 .
^ "Eagles win friendly against Belenenses" . SLBenfica.pt . Sport Lisboa e Benfica. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2021 .
^ "Benfica beat Farense in another preseason test" . SLBenfica.pt . Sport Lisboa e Benfica. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2021 .
^ "Darwin brace in training match" . SLBenfica.pt . Sport Lisboa e Benfica. 6 September 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2021 .
^ "Eis o calendário das 34 jornadas da I Liga 2020/21" . Notícias ao Minuto (in Portuguese). 28 August 2020.
^ "Costa anuncia que jogos de futebol continuam sem público" . Jornal de Negócios (in Portuguese). 10 September 2020.
^ "UEFA Champions League third qualifying round draw" . UEFA . 31 August 2020.
^ "2020/21 UEFA Europa League: all you need to know" . UEFA.com . 17 June 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020 .
^ Benfica-Standard Liège: tickets sold out
^ "Europa League round of 32 draw: all you need to know" . UEFA.com . 14 December 2020.
^ "UEFA Europa League venue changes" . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021 .
^ "Europa League: Real Sociedad v Manchester United in Turin; Benfica v Arsenal in Rome" . BBC Sport. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021 .
^ "Arsenal: Athens to host Gunners' Europa League last-32 'home' game against Benfica" . BBC Sport. 12 February 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021 .
Men's
League competitions Cup competitions European competitions National teams
Women's
League competitions Cup competitions European competitions National teams