# 2018–19 S.L. Benfica season

The 2018–19 season was Sport Lisboa e Benfica's 115th season in existence and the club's 85th consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football. It started with the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round on 7 August 2018 and concluded on 18 May 2019 with Benfica becoming Primeira Liga champions for a record 37th time.
Internationally, Benfica played in the Champions League group stage for the ninth successive time, a Portuguese record ranking fourth all-time. However, with two losses at Estádio da Luz, they set a domestic record of five consecutive home matches without a win in the competition. After finishing third in their group, they moved to the UEFA Europa League knockout phase, where they reached the quarter-finals.

## Players
### Squad information

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | Since | App | Goals | Ends | Transfer fee | Notes |
| 1 | GK | Svilar | 25 | 2017 | 20 | 0 | 2022 | €4.5M | |
| 2 | DF | Conti | 30 | 2018 | 10 | 1 | 2023 | €4.7M | |
| 3 | LB | Grimaldo | 29 | 2016 (Winter) | 117 | 10 | 2021 | €2.12M | |
| 5 | DM | Fejsa | 36 | 2013 | 164 | 2 | 2021 | Undisclosed | |
| 6 | CB | Rúben Dias | 27 | 2017 | 85 | 8 | 2023 | Youth system | |
| 7 | RB | Corchia | 34 | 2018 | 8 | 0 | 2019 | Undisclosed | On loan from Sevilla |
| 8 | CM | Gabriel | 31 | 2018 | 34 | 1 | 2023 | Undisclosed | |
| 10 | ST | Jonas | 40 | 2014 | 183 | 137 | 2020 | Free | |
| 11 | LW | F. Cervi | 30 | 2016 | 116 | 16 | 2023 | €5.74M | |
| 14 | ST | Seferovic | 32 | 2017 | 80 | 34 | 2022 | €3.9M | |
| 15 | LB | Yuri | 27 | 2018 | 9 | 0 | 2023 | Youth system | |
| 17 | RW | Živković | 28 | 2016 | 84 | 4 | 2021 | €6M | |
| 18 | RW | Salvio | 34 | 2010–2011 2012 | 266 | 62 | 2022 | €13.5M | Played on loan in the 2010–11 season |
| 20 | MF | Krovinović | 29 | 2017 | 28 | 2 | 2022 | €3.5M | |
| 21 | CM | Pizzi | 35 | 2014 | 230 | 45 | 2023 | €14M | |
| 22 | CM | Samaris | 35 | 2014 | 162 | 5 | 2023 | €10M | |
| 23 | RB | T. Ebuehi | 28 | 2018 | 0 | 0 | 2023 | Undisclosed | |
| 27 | MF | Silva | 31 | 2016 | 100 | 26 | 2021 | €16.4M | |
| 33 | CB | Jardel (captain) | 38 | 2011 (Winter) | 248 | 16 | 2021 | Undisclosed | |
| 34 | RB | A. Almeida (VC) | 34 | 2012 | 250 | 6 | 2023 | Undisclosed | |
| 49 | AM | Taarabt | 35 | 2019 | 7 | 0 | 2020 | €4M | |
| 61 | DM | F. Luís | 25 | 2019 | 14 | 1 | 2023 | Youth system | Promoted from Benfica B |
| 72 | GK | Zlobin | 27 | 2019 | 0 | 0 | 2024 | Undisclosed | Promoted from Benfica B |
| 73 | FW | Jota | 25 | 2019 | 6 | 0 | 2022 | Youth system | Promoted from Benfica B |
| 79 | FW | João Félix | 25 | 2018 | 43 | 20 | 2023 | Youth system | Promoted from Benfica B |
| 83 | CM | Gedson | 25 | 2018 | 46 | 3 | 2023 | Youth system | Promoted from Benfica B |
| 97 | CB | Ferro | 27 | 2019 | 18 | 3 | 2023 | Youth system | Promoted from Benfica B |
| 99 | GK | Odysseas | 30 | 2018 | 50 | 0 | 2023 | €2.4M | |
* Source:
* Ordered by squad number.

### Transfers
#### In

| No. | Pos. | Name | Age | Moving from | Type | Transfer window | Ends | Transfer fee | Source |
| 99 | GK | Odisseas Vlachodimos | 24 | Panathinaikos | Transfer | Summer | 2023 | €2.4M | Benfica A Bola |
| 23 | DF | Tyronne Ebuehi | 22 | Unattached | Transfer | Summer | 2023 | Undisclosed | Benfica |
| 15 | DF | Yuri Ribeiro | 21 | Rio Ave | Loan return | Summer | 2023 | — | Benfica |
| 2 | DF | Germán Conti | 23 | Colón | Transfer | Summer | 2023 | €4.7M | Benfica CMVM |
| 95 | MF | Chiquinho | 22 | Académica | Transfer | Summer | 2023 | Undisclosed | Benfica |
| 77 | MF | João Amaral | 26 | Vitória de Setúbal | Transfer | Summer | 2021 | Undisclosed | Benfica |
| 30 | FW | Nicolás Castillo | 25 | UNAM | Transfer | Summer | 2023 | €7.8M | Benfica CMVM |
| 19 | FW | Facundo Ferreyra | 27 | Shakhtar Donetsk | Transfer | Summer | 2022 | €4M | Benfica CMVM |
| 25 | DF | Cristian Lema | 28 | Belgrano | Transfer | Summer | 2023 | Undisclosed | Benfica |
| 16 | MF | Alfa Semedo | 20 | Moreirense | Transfer | Summer | 2023 | €2.5M | Benfica SAPO |
| 7 | DF | Sébastien Corchia | 27 | Sevilla | Loan | Summer | 2019 | Undisclosed | Sevilla Benfica |
| 8 | MF | Gabriel | 24 | Leganés | Transfer | Summer | 2023 | Undisclosed | Leganés Benfica |

#### Out

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | Moving to | Type | Transfer window | Transfer fee | Source |
| 8 | DF | Douglas | 27 | Barcelona | Loan return | Summer | — | Sport |
| — | MF | Bryan Cristante | 23 | Atalanta | Transfer | Summer | €9.5M | A Bola |
| — | MF | Talisca | 24 | Guangzhou Evergrande | Loan | Summer | €5.8M | Guangzhou CMVM |
| 9 | FW | Raúl Jiménez | 27 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Loan | Summer | €3M | Wolves CMVM |
| 90 | MF | João Carvalho | 21 | Nottingham Forest | Transfer | Summer | €15M | Forest Benfica |
| 84 | FW | Diogo Gonçalves | 21 | Nottingham Forest | Loan | Summer | Undisclosed | Forest Benfica |
| — | MF | André Horta | 21 | Los Angeles FC | Transfer | Summer | €5.2M | LA FC CMVM |
| 13 | GK | Paulo Lopes | 40 | Retirement | Contract termination | Summer | — | Record |
| 19 | DF | Eliseu | 34 | Unattached | Contract termination | Summer | — | SAPO Desporto |
| 40 | MF | João Teixeira | 24 | Chaves | Transfer | Summer | Free | A Bola |
| — | MF | Óscar Benítez | 25 | Argentinos Juniors | Loan | Summer | Undisclosed | Argentinos Juniors |
| — | MF | André Carrillo | 27 | Al-Hilal | Loan | Summer | Undisclosed | Al-Hilal |
| — | MF | Salvador Agra | 26 | Cádiz | Loan | Summer | Undisclosed | Cádiz |
| 77 | MF | João Amaral | 26 | Lech Poznań | Transfer | Summer | Undisclosed | Lech Poznań |
| 26 | MF | Ola John | 26 | Vitória de Guimarães | Transfer | Summer | Undisclosed | Benfica Vitória |
| 95 | MF | Chiquinho | 23 | Moreirense | Transfer | Summer | Undisclosed | A Bola |
| 91 | FW | Heriberto Tavares | 21 | Moreirense | Loan | Summer | Undisclosed | Maisfutebol |
| — | DF | César | 25 | Unattached | Contract termination | Summer | — | Diário de Notícias |
| 28 | DF | Lisandro López | 28 | Genoa | Loan | Summer | Undisclosed | Benfica |
| 4 | DF | Luisão | 37 | Retirement | Contract termination | — | — | Benfica |
| — | MF | Talisca | 24 | Guangzhou Evergrande | Transfer | Winter | €19.2M | CMVM |
| — | MF | Óscar Benítez | 25 | Atlético San Luis | Loan | Winter | Undisclosed | Record |
| — | MF | Salvador Agra | 27 | Legia Warsaw | Transfer | Winter | Undisclosed | Legia Warsaw |
| 55 | MF | Keaton Parks | 21 | New York City FC | Loan | Winter | Undisclosed | Benfica NYC FC |
| 38 | DF | Marcelo Hermes | 23 | Cruzeiro | Transfer | Winter | Free | Super FC |
| 12 | GK | Bruno Varela | 24 | Ajax | Loan | Winter | Undisclosed | Benfica Ajax |
| 28 | DF | Lisandro López | 29 | Boca Juniors | Loan | Winter | Undisclosed | Boca Juniors |
| 16 | MF | Alfa Semedo | 21 | RCD Espanyol | Loan | Winter | €0.4M | Espanyol A Bola |
| 19 | FW | Facundo Ferreyra | 27 | RCD Espanyol | Loan | Winter | €2M | Espanyol A Bola |
| 30 | FW | Nicolás Castillo | 25 | Club América | Transfer | Winter | €7M | América A Bola |
| 25 | DF | Cristian Lema | 28 | Peñarol | Loan | Winter | Undisclosed | A Bola |
| 47 | MF | Erdal Rakip | 22 | Malmö FF | Transfer | Winter | €0.5M | Malmö Record |
| 9 | FW | Raúl Jiménez | 27 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Transfer | Summer | €38M | Wolves CMVM |
| 35 | FW | Luka Jović | 21 | Eintracht Frankfurt | Transfer | Summer | €6M | Eintracht A Bola |

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Primeira Liga | Primeira Liga | Taça de Portugal | Taça de Portugal | Taça da Liga | Taça da Liga | Champions League | Champions League | Europa League | Europa League |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | BEL | Mile Svilar | 11 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 72 | GK | RUS | Ivan Zlobin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 99 | GK | GRE | Odisseas Vlachodimos | 50 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | ARG | Germán Conti | 10 | 1 | 2+2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ESP | Álex Grimaldo | 54 | 7 | 34 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 4+1 | 1 |
| 6 | DF | POR | Rúben Dias | 55 | 4 | 32 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 7 | DF | FRA | Sébastien Corchia | 8 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | POR | Yuri Ribeiro | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | NGA | Tyronne Ebuehi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | BRA | Jardel | 37 | 3 | 19 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | POR | André Almeida | 53 | 2 | 33 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 97 | DF | POR | Ferro | 18 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | MF | SRB | Ljubomir Fejsa | 33 | 0 | 17+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | BRA | Gabriel | 34 | 1 | 14+3 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1+2 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ARG | Franco Cervi | 38 | 5 | 13+7 | 4 | 0+2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 7+3 | 1 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | SRB | Andrija Živković | 30 | 0 | 6+10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1+4 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ARG | Eduardo Salvio | 28 | 6 | 7+7 | 2 | 1+1 | 0 | 1+2 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 1+1 | 1 |
| 20 | MF | CRO | Filip Krovinović | 9 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | POR | Pizzi | 55 | 15 | 34 | 13 | 3+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9+1 | 2 | 2+2 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | GRE | Andreas Samaris | 26 | 2 | 16+2 | 2 | 2+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | POR | Rafa Silva | 44 | 21 | 21+5 | 17 | 2+2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4+3 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 |
| 49 | MF | MAR | Adel Taarabt | 7 | 0 | 1+5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 61 | MF | POR | Florentino Luís | 14 | 1 | 9+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 83 | MF | POR | Gedson Fernandes | 46 | 3 | 11+11 | 0 | 1+3 | 1 | 3+1 | 0 | 9+1 | 2 | 5+1 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||||||
| 10 | FW | BRA | Jonas | 31 | 15 | 10+12 | 11 | 2+1 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1+2 | 1 |
| 14 | FW | SUI | Haris Seferovic | 51 | 27 | 20+9 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5+3 | 1 | 4+1 | 1 |
| 73 | FW | POR | Jota | 6 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 79 | FW | POR | João Félix | 45 | 18 | 21+7 | 13 | 4+2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1+2 | 0 | 5+1 | 3 |
| Players who made an appearance and/or had a squad number but left the team ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | DF | BRA | Luisão | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | POR | Bruno Varela | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | GNB | Alfa Semedo | 16 | 1 | 0+5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 1+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | ARG | Facundo Ferreyra | 9 | 1 | 3+2 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | ARG | Cristian Lema | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | CHI | Nicolás Castillo | 11 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Technical staff

    As of 15 January 2019
| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Bruno Lage |
| Assistant coaches | Nélson Veríssimo Minervino Pietra Marco Pedroso |
| Video analyst | Jhony Conceição |
| Fitness coach | Alexandre Silva |
| Goalkeeping coach | Fernando Ferreira |
Last updated: January 2019 Source:

## Pre-season friendlies

On 15 May 2018, Benfica announced their pre-season schedule (updated on 28 June), which included the following matches:
Win  Draw  Loss

## Competitions
### Overall record

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Primeira Liga | 10 August 2018 | 18 May 2019 | Matchday 1 | 1st | 34 | 28 | 3 | 3 | 103 | 31 | +72 | 082.35 |
| Taça de Portugal | 18 October 2018 | 3 April 2019 | 3rd round | Semi-finals | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 083.33 |
| Taça da Liga | 15 September 2018 | 22 January 2019 | Group stage | Semi-finals | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 050.00 |
| UEFA Champions League | 7 August 2018 | 12 December 2018 | Third qualifying round | Group stage (3rd) | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 14 | −1 | 040.00 |
| UEFA Europa League | 14 February 2019 | 18 April 2019 | Round of 32 | Quarter-finals | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 050.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 60 | 42 | 8 | 10 | 140 | 59 | +81 | 070.00 |
Source: thefinalball.com

### Primeira Liga
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Benfica (C) | 34 | 28 | 3 | 3 | 103 | 31 | +72 | 87 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Porto | 34 | 27 | 4 | 3 | 74 | 20 | +54 | 85 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Sporting CP | 34 | 23 | 5 | 6 | 72 | 33 | +39 | 74 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage |
| 4 | Braga | 34 | 21 | 4 | 9 | 56 | 37 | +19 | 67 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 5 | Vitória de Guimarães | 34 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 46 | 34 | +12 | 52 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
* 1 2 3 Since the winners of the 2018–19 Taça de Portugal, Sporting CP, qualified for European competition based on league position, the spot awarded to the third-placed team (Europa League third qualifying round) was passed to the fourth-placed team, and the spot awarded to the fourth-placed team (Europa League second qualifying round) was passed to the fifth-placed team.
* ↑ Vitória de Guimarães finished ahead of Moreirense on head-to-head points: Vitória de Guimarães 1–0 Moreirense, Moreirense 1–3 Vitória de Guimarães.

#### 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 | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | W | D | W | W | D | W | L | L | W | W | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W |
| Position | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

#### Matches
### Taça de Portugal

Benfica were eliminated on away goals.

### Taça da Liga
#### Third round

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Benfica | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 7 | Advance to knockout phase |
| 2 | Desportivo das Aves | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 5 | |
| 3 | Paços de Ferreira | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 2 | |
| 4 | Rio Ave | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 1 | |

#### Semi-finals
### UEFA Champions League
#### Third qualifying round

Benfica won 2–1 on aggregate.

#### Play-off round

Benfica won 5–2 on aggregate.

#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BAY | AJX | BEN | AEK |
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 5 | +10 | 14 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 1–1 | 5–1 | 2–0 |
| 2 | Ajax | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 12 | Advance to knockout phase | 3–3 | — | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| 3 | Benfica | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 7 | Transfer to Europa League | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 |
| 4 | AEK Athens | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 13 | −11 | 0 | | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–3 | — |

### UEFA Europa League
#### Knockout phase
##### Round of 32

Benfica won 2–1 on aggregate.

##### Round of 16

Benfica won 3–1 on aggregate.

##### Quarter-finals

Benfica were eliminated on away goals.