Benfica defeat Estoril Praia 2-1 as João Palhinha makes debut at Estádio da Luz

Palhinha debut follows early setback

Benfica manager Marco Silva fielded an unchanged starting lineup at the Estádio da Luz following their Europa League playoff victory against AGF Aarhus. The match opened with physical challenges in midfield, where Argentine midfielder Enzo Barrenechea suffered a knee collision in the 14th minute. Although Barrenechea attempted to continue playing, he left the pitch in tears at the 31st minute due to the injury. New signing João Palhinha came on as his replacement wearing shirt number 36, making his official debut for Benfica following his transfer from Bayern Munich. The Portuguese international previously won a league title with Sporting CP and worked under Silva at Fulham.

Prior to the fixture, Silva addressed the expectations surrounding the squad and new arrivals during his pre-match press briefing.

Benfica, as a club, must always take on the role of title candidate regardless of the players it has or does not have. There is no running away from it. When we are at this club, there is no other way of thinking, there is no other possibility, and it cannot be one player that changes the history and greatness of this club.

Pavlidis and Lenglet build two-goal lead

Nine minutes after Palhinha entered the pitch, Benfica opened the scoring in the 40th minute. Left-back Samuel Dahl drove forward and saw an effort deflected inside the penalty area, allowing Vangelis Pavlidis to control the loose ball, turn past four Estoril defenders, and slot his finish past goalkeeper Joel Robles. The strike was Pavlidis's 10th goal of the 2026/27 campaign across all competitions. Benfica carried their 1-0 advantage into the halftime break while controlling possession against an Estoril side unable to generate clear chances against goalkeeper Samuel Soares, as Dahl's interior movements helped create space for teammates Georgiy Sudakov and Gianluca Prestianni.

The home side extended their lead shortly after the restart in the 51st minute. French central defender Clément Lenglet picked up the ball beyond the midfield line, advanced into open space, and unleashed a long-range shot from outside the penalty area that beat Robles.

Late Estoril pressure and table standings

Estoril stayed within striking distance primarily through the goalkeeping of Robles, who produced multiple saves to prevent Benfica from widening the margin. In the 82nd minute, Estoril forward Yanis Begraoui found space inside the penalty box, turned quickly, and curled a right-footed shot into the top corner to cut the deficit to 2-1. Despite late pressure from the visitors, Benfica managed the final minutes to secure their second consecutive league victory at the Luz.

The result lifted Benfica to seven points from three matches in the Primeira Liga standings, leaving them with one match in hand. Estoril Praia remained in 17th position on one point from four matches, continuing their winless start to the league campaign.