Twenty3’s Tactics Truck: How Benfica won Liga Portugal
Benfica have been crowned champions of Portugal for the 38th time in their history.
Rivals Porto pushed them all the way to the final day, but the Eagles ensured they would lift the trophy by beating Santa Clara 3-0.
With the help of the Twenty3 Toolbox, we picked out the factors behind their title triumph this term.
Marksman Ramos
While Goncalo Ramos’ form tailed off towards the end of the season, the 21-year-old’s contributions were crucial to Benfica’s title tilt.
The Portugal international set the footballing stage alight at the World Cup last year with a hat-trick against Switzerland – but his performances came as no surprise to those in Lisbon.
He bagged 19 Liga Portugal goals this term, second only to Porto’s Mehdi Taremi (22), and showcased his aerial prowess, incisive movement, deadly finishing and work-rate.
The striker ranked inside the top five players in the league for headed shots (27), touches in the opposition box (146), non-penalty shots on target (36) and pressing duels attempted (224).
As shown in the Smart Report, Benfica’s No88 found the left side of the goal a particularly fruitful position, scoring 12 times from that zone.
His performances played a significant part in his club’s title triumph and have unsurprisingly attracted plenty of interest, with Manchester United among those linked with the young centre-forward.
Versatile Aursnes
Fredrik Aursnes has largely gone under the radar since joining Benfica from Feyenoord last summer – but the versatile Norwegian has been crucial for the Eagles this term.
He has played on both flanks, in various midfield roles and even at right-back towards the latter stages of the season, as shown in the Smart Report.
Comfortable in possession, he received 1,214 passes and completed 1,366 of his own, boasting an accuracy of 87.68%.
He contributed effectively in advanced areas, too, completing eight through-balls and 12 crosses, as well as assisting 21 shots, being rewarded with four assists for his efforts.
Off the ball, the 27-year-old was a willing presser, completing 99 ball recoveries in the opposition half.
Aursnes selflessly performed whatever role he has been assigned in the team – and impressed while doing so – helping his team to their first title since 2018-19.
Magic Mario
João Mário’s explosion as an unlikely attacking force was a welcome boost to Benfica’s title bid.
The 30-year-old ended the season with 17 goals in Portugal’s top flight – his previous best in the competition was six.
While he does not offer much in terms of carrying the ball or taking on opponents, Mario utilises intelligent off-the-ball movement to find space and get into dangerous goalscoring positions.
On top of his goal threat, Benfica’s No20 provided plenty of creativity, completing 138 link play attempts, 10 through-balls and 38 crosses, as well as assisting 44 shots – being rewarded with seven assists.
His contributions in the final third were crucial to Benfica’s successful Liga Portugal campaign.
Schmidt’s smarts
Amidst all the well-deserved plaudits for players, it would be remiss not to credit Benfica boss Roger Schmidt for his own contribution to the cause.
The German tactician has made Benfica one of the most exciting teams to watch in Europe.
They were the top scorers in the Portuguese top flight, scoring 82 goals and averaging 15.68 shots and 2.23 xG per 90, as well as dominating possession this season, recording more successful passes (17,463), long balls (772) and crosses (285) than any other side.
They were also impeccable defensively, registering the joint-most clean sheets (21) and conceding the fewest goals (20).
Their high line and counter-pressing see them win possession back quickly to limit the threat of their opponents – no Liga Portugal team made more ball recoveries in the opposition half (1,158).
Schmidt also deserves praise for the way he adapted to the departure of key midfielder Enzo Fernandez midway through the season, losing just two league games after his exit.
After winning the title, he said: “I am very proud. At the beginning of the season, we talked about goals and, in Benfica, regardless of whether you are a player or a coach, you want to win titles.
“It was tough until the last minute of the last game and now, we are happy. It was a title won with a lot of physical effort and also mental effort.”
All visualisations and Smart Reports in this article were produced with the Twenty3 Toolbox. For more information, please get in touch below.