Benfica beat St. Gallen in Europa League qualifying after opening loss
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The gist
Benfica lost their opening Europa League qualifier to Swiss side St.
The comeback helped put Benfica in the 36-team league phase, where they now sit third.
Background
Benfica are a Portuguese football club coached by Marco Silva, currently second in the Primeira Liga and third in the 36-team Europa League table. They missed out on a Champions League spot after a poor end to last season's Primeira Liga campaign and dropped into the Europa League's second tier this term. In qualifying they lost their opening tie to St. Gallen, a Swiss side, before beating them along with Hearts and Aarhus to reach the main stage.
How it unfolded
- date unknownBenfica began their Europa League campaign with a defeat to St. Gallen in their opening qualifier.
- date unknownBenfica overcame St. Gallen, Hearts and Aarhus in the qualifying rounds to reach the Europa League main stage.
- Oct 22, 2026Benfica beat Omonia in Nicosia in round three of the Europa League league phase; Marco Silva called it "a well-deserved victory for the best team" and "three wins for us".
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Benfica coach Marco Silva said leading the Europa League "doesn't mean much" after just three games, and that the goal is direct qualification to avoid two extra games.
Still unverified
A possible Benfica starting lineup against Omonia (Trubin – El Karouani, Araujo, Circati, Banjaki – Palhinha, Eursnes – Kaminski, Sudakov, Lukebakio – Duran) is listed as a possible lineup; Daniel Banjaqui is a doubt for the Omonia match due to a muscle injury.