# 2023–24 S.L. Benfica season

The 2023–24 Sport Lisboa e Benfica season was the club's 120th season in existence and its 90th consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football.
Domestically, Benfica played in the Primeira Liga as defending champions, and reached the semi-finals of the Taça da Liga and Taça de Portugal. In Europe, Benfica played in the UEFA Champions League group stage before reaching the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals. The season started on 9 August 2023, with a 2–0 win over Porto in the Supertaça match, and concluded on 17 May 2024, with a second-place finish in Primeira Liga.

## Players
### First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | UKR | Anatoliy Trubin |
| 3 | DF | ESP | Álvaro Carreras (on loan from Man United) |
| 4 | DF | POR | António Silva |
| 5 | DF | BRA | Morato |
| 6 | DF | DEN | Alexander Bah |
| 7 | MF | BRA | David Neres |
| 8 | MF | NOR | Fredrik Aursnes |
| 9 | FW | BRA | Arthur Cabral |
| 10 | MF | TUR | Orkun Kökçü |
| 11 | FW | ARG | Ángel Di María |
| 14 | DF | ESP | Juan Bernat (on loan from PSG) |
| 19 | FW | DEN | Casper Tengstedt |
| 20 | MF | POR | João Mário (vice-captain) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 24 | GK | POR | Samuel Soares |
| 25 | FW | ARG | Gianluca Prestianni |
| 27 | FW | POR | Rafa Silva |
| 30 | DF | ARG | Nicolás Otamendi (captain) |
| 32 | FW | ARG | Benjamín Rollheiser (on loan from Estudiantes LP) |
| 36 | FW | BRA | Marcos Leonardo |
| 44 | DF | POR | Tomás Araújo |
| 45 | GK | JPN | Leo Kokubo |
| 47 | MF | POR | Tiago Gouveia |
| 61 | MF | POR | Florentino |
| 75 | GK | POR | André Gomes |
| 87 | MF | POR | João Neves |

## Transfers
### In

| No. | Pos | Player | Transferred from | Fee | Date |
| Summer transfers |||||||
| 10 | MF | Orkun Kökçü | Feyenoord | €25,000,000 | 1 July 2023 |
| 11 | FW | Ángel Di María | Juventus | Free | 5 July 2023 |
| 13 | DF | David Jurásek | Slavia Prague | €14,000,000 | 10 July 2023 |
| 1 | GK | Anatoliy Trubin | Shakhtar Donetsk | €10,000,000 | 10 August 2023 |
| 9 | FW | Arthur Cabral | Fiorentina | €20,000,000 | 10 August 2023 |
| 17 | FW | Gonçalo Guedes | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Loan | 29 August 2023 |
| 14 | DF | Juan Bernat | Paris Saint-Germain | Loan | 1 September 2023 |
| Winter transfers |||||||
| 36 | FW | Marcos Leonardo | Santos | €18,000,000 | 4 January 2024 |
| 3 | DF | Álvaro Carreras | Manchester United | Loan | 17 January 2024 |
| 32 | FW | Benjamín Rollheiser | Estudiantes de La Plata | Loan | 20 January 2024 |
| 25 | FW | Gianluca Prestianni | Vélez Sarsfield | €9,000,000 | 31 January 2024 |

### Out

| No. | Pos | Player | Transferred to | Fee | Date |
| Summer transfers |||||||
| — | MF | Julian Weigl | Borussia Mönchengladbach | €7,180,000 | 1 July 2023 |
| 3 | DF | Álex Grimaldo | Bayer Leverkusen | Free | 1 July 2023 |
| — | DF | Sandro Cruz | Chaves | Free | 1 July 2023 |
| 73 | MF | Cher Ndour | Paris Saint-Germain | Free | 1 July 2023 |
| 96 | MF | Diego Moreira | Chelsea | Free | 1 July 2023 |
| — | FW | Haris Seferovic | Al Wasl | Free | 5 July 2023 |
| 2 | DF | Gilberto | Bahia | €2,500,000 | 9 July 2023 |
| — | FW | Henrique Araújo | Famalicão | Loan | 18 July 2023 |
| 4 | DF | Lucas Veríssimo | Corinthians | Loan (€1,000,000) | 26 July 2023 |
| 49 | MF | Martim Neto | Gil Vicente | Loan | 1 August 2023 |
| 9 | FW | Gonçalo Ramos | Paris Saint-Germain | Loan | 7 August 2023 |
| 17 | MF | Soualiho Meïté | PAOK | Loan | 27 August 2023 |
| 18 | MF | Paulo Bernardo | Celtic | Loan | 1 September 2023 |
| 21 | FW | Andreas Schjelderup | Nordsjælland | Loan (€2,500,000) | 1 September 2023 |
| 23 | DF | Mihailo Ristić | Celta Vigo | €1,500,000 | 1 September 2023 |
| 99 | GK | Odysseas Vlachodimos | Nottingham Forest | €9,000,000 | 1 September 2023 |
| Winter transfers |||||||
| — | FW | Gonçalo Ramos | Paris Saint-Germain | €65,000,000 | 22 November 2023 |
| 38 | DF | João Victor | Vasco da Gama | €6,000,000 | 31 December 2023 |
| — | MF | Gabriel Pires | Fluminense | Free | 18 January 2024 |
| 22 | MF | Chiquinho | Olympiacos | €1,000,000 | 20 January 2024 |
| 13 | DF | David Jurásek | TSG Hoffenheim | Loan | 22 January 2024 |
| — | DF | Lucas Veríssimo | Al-Duhail | €9,000,000 | 25 January 2024 |
| 33 | FW | Petar Musa | FC Dallas | €10,000,000 | 1 February 2024 |

## Pre-season friendlies

Win  Draw  Loss
The pre-season began on 5 July 2023.

## 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 | 14 August 2023 | 17 May 2024 | Matchday 1 | 2nd | 34 | 25 | 5 | 4 | 77 | 28 | +49 | 073.53 |
| Taça de Portugal | 20 October 2023 | 2 April 2024 | Third round | Semi-finals | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 066.67 |
| Taça da Liga | 31 October 2023 | 24 January 2024 | Group stage | Semi-finals | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 066.67 |
| Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira | 9 August 2023 | 9 August 2023 | Final | Winners | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 100.00 |
| UEFA Champions League | 20 September 2023 | 12 December 2023 | Group stage | Group stage | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 016.67 |
| UEFA Europa League | 15 February 2024 | 18 April 2024 | Knockout round play-offs | Quarter-finals | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 050.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 56 | 36 | 10 | 10 | 114 | 54 | +60 | 064.29 |
Source: Soccerway

### Primeira Liga
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Sporting CP (C) | 34 | 29 | 3 | 2 | 96 | 29 | +67 | 90 | Qualification for the Champions League league phase |
| 2 | Benfica | 34 | 25 | 5 | 4 | 77 | 28 | +49 | 80 | Qualification for the Champions League league phase |
| 3 | Porto | 34 | 22 | 6 | 6 | 63 | 27 | +36 | 72 | Qualification for the Europa League league phase |
| 4 | Braga | 34 | 21 | 5 | 8 | 71 | 50 | +21 | 68 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 5 | Vitória de Guimarães | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 52 | 38 | +14 | 63 | Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round |
* ↑ Since Atalanta, the winners of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League, qualified for the Champions League via league position, Benfica was promoted from the Champions League third qualifying round to the league phase, as the team with the highest coefficient out of all the teams in Champions League qualifying.
* ↑ Porto qualified for the Europa League league phase by winning the 2023–24 Taça de Portugal.
* 1 2 Since the 2023–24 Taça de Portugal winners, Porto, finished in top three, the spot given to the third-placed team (Europa League second qualifying round) was passed to the fourth-placed team, and the spot given to the fourth-placed team (Conference League second qualifying round) was passed to the fifth-placed team.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: Liga Portugal

#### 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 | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | W | W | D | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | W | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | D |
| Position | 11 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Points | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 25 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 33 | 36 | 39 | 42 | 45 | 48 | 51 | 52 | 55 | 58 | 58 | 61 | 64 | 67 | 67 | 70 | 73 | 76 | 76 | 79 | 80 |

#### Matches
### Taça da Liga
#### Third round

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BEN | ARO | AVS |
| 1 | Benfica | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 6 | Advance to knockout phase | — | — | 4–1 |
| 2 | Arouca | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 | | 0–2 | — | — |
| 3 | AVS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 0 | | — | 1–2 | — |

#### Semi-finals
### UEFA Champions League
#### Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 31 August 2023.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | RSO | INT | BEN | SAL |
| 1 | Real Sociedad | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 12 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 |
| 2 | Inter Milan | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 12 | Advance to knockout phase | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| 3 | Benfica | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 4 | Transfer to Europa League | 0–1 | 3–3 | — | 0–2 |
| 4 | Red Bull Salzburg | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 4 | | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | — |
* 1 2 Tied on head-to-head points, goal difference, and goals scored. Goal difference in all matches: Real Sociedad +5, Inter Milan +3.
* 1 2 Tied on head-to-head points, goal difference, goals scored, and goal difference in all matches. Goals scored in all matches: Benfica 7, Red Bull Salzburg 4.

### UEFA Europa League
#### Knockout phase
##### Knockout round play-offs

The draw for the knockout round play-offs was held on 18 December 2023.

##### Round of 16

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 23 February 2024.

##### Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 15 March 2024.

## Statistics
### 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 | Supertaça | Supertaça | Champions League | Champions League | Europa League | Europa League |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | UKR | Anatoliy Trubin | 49 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 24 | GK | POR | Samuel Soares | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | GK | JPN | Leo Kokubo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 75 | GK | POR | André Gomes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | DF | ESP | Álvaro Carreras | 16 | 1 | 5+6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | POR | António Silva | 51 | 2 | 30+1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | BRA | Morato | 35 | 0 | 17+4 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | DEN | Alexander Bah | 32 | 2 | 18+1 | 2 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | ESP | Juan Bernat | 7 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | ARG | Nicolás Otamendi | 51 | 4 | 31 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 44 | DF | POR | Tomás Araújo | 20 | 1 | 5+8 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 76 | DF | BRA | Gustavo Marques | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 82 | DF | POR | Diogo Spencer | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | MF | BRA | David Neres | 35 | 5 | 12+12 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | NOR | Fredrik Aursnes | 55 | 4 | 31+2 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | TUR | Orkun Kökçü | 43 | 7 | 23+4 | 7 | 3+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | POR | João Mário | 51 | 9 | 29+2 | 3 | 5+1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2+3 | 0 |
| 47 | MF | POR | Tiago Gouveia | 26 | 4 | 5+8 | 2 | 0+5 | 1 | 0+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 61 | MF | POR | Florentino | 44 | 0 | 17+13 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 84 | MF | POR | João Rego | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 87 | MF | POR | João Neves | 55 | 3 | 27+6 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | BRA | Arthur Cabral | 43 | 11 | 13+15 | 6 | 3+1 | 3 | 0+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+3 | 1 | 2+2 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | ARG | Ángel Di María | 47 | 17 | 25+2 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 4 |
| 19 | FW | DEN | Casper Tengstedt | 31 | 4 | 8+9 | 4 | 3+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | POR | Rafa Silva | 51 | 22 | 28+1 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| 32 | FW | ARG | Benjamín Rollheiser | 9 | 1 | 1+8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | ARG | Gianluca Prestianni | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | FW | BRA | Marcos Leonardo | 21 | 7 | 3+11 | 7 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 |
| 89 | FW | POR | Gustavo Varela | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who made an appearance and/or had a squad number but left the team. ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | DF | BRA | Lucas Veríssimo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | POR | Gonçalo Ramos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | CZE | David Jurásek | 12 | 0 | 2+4 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | FRA | Soualiho Meïté | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | POR | Gonçalo Guedes | 12 | 0 | 0+8 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | POR | Paulo Bernardo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | NOR | Andreas Schjelderup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | POR | Chiquinho | 17 | 0 | 1+8 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | SRB | Mihailo Ristić | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | CRO | Petar Musa | 25 | 5 | 6+8 | 4 | 0+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 1 | 2+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | DF | BRA | João Victor | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | MF | POR | Martim Neto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 65 | DF | POR | Rafael Rodrigues | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 99 | GK | GRE | Odysseas Vlachodimos | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |