page_title: 2006–07 S.L. Benfica season
section_title: October–November
hierarchical_section_title: 2006–07 S.L. Benfica season / Season summary / October–November
caption_attribution_description: Champions League match. SL Benfica 3 - 1 FC København. 21-nov-2006.Benfica vs. Copenhagen
context_page_description: The 2006–07 European football season was the 103rd season of Sport Lisboa e Benfica's existence and the club's 73rd consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football. The season ran from 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007; Benfica competed domestically in the Primeira Liga and the Taça de Portugal. The club also participated in the UEFA Champions League as a result of finishing third in the Primeira Liga in the previous season.
  After manager Ronald Koeman's departure, Benfica immediately searched for a replacement. Media speculated the club would sign Sven-Göran Eriksson and later Carlos Queiroz, but Benfica signed the former Porto and Sporting CP manager Fernando Santos. Santos was the first manager since Fernando Riera to manage all of Portugal's Big Three clubs. In the transfer market, Benfica brought back Rui Costa and recruited other notable players including Katsouranis and David Luiz. Fabrizio Miccoli had his loan renewed for a second year, while Geovanni, Manuel Fernandes and Ricardo Rocha left the club during the season.
  Because of their league finish, Benfica had to pass Austria Wien to enter the group stage of the season's Champions League.
context_section_description: October began with a home-match against Desportivo das Aves. Benfica scored first through Paulo Jorge, but Aves equalized with a goal by Filipe Anunciação. In the second half, Benfica scored three more goals from Simão, Nuno Gomes and Katsouranis to win the match. Nuno Gomes said, "I hope this win is a turning point for us." After another international break, Benfica played União de Leiria at the Dr. Magalhães Pessoa on 14 September. They continued with their good momentum and won 4–0, with Miccoli bagging a double. Santos was happy with his team's display, saying, "It was a great game and my team was focused, organized and dynamic, building a result that translated what happened on the pitch." On the next Tuesday, Benfica visited Celtic Park for the first of a double-header against Celtic. Benfica had the upper hand in the first half, but Celtic scored two second-half goals in a ten-minute window and finished the game with a third. The win gave Celtic with a five-point lead over Benfica with three matchdays to go. Santos blamed the loss on the team's lack of composure after conceding the first goal. He said he believed Benfica could still qualify for the next round.
  On 22 October, Benfica hosted Estrela da Amadora. The visitors scored first though Dário, but Benfica equalized in the first half and scored two more goals in the second, winning the match 3–1. Santos was highly critical of the referee Carlos Xistra, who issued 18 yellow cards and three red cards, one of them to Miccoli, who would therefore miss the next match, a visit to Porto. Five days later, Benfica played Porto in the first Clássico of the season. In a high-tension match, Benfica conceded two goals in the first half but equalized in the second half, drawing the game in the 82th minute. However, in injury time, Bruno Moraes scored, bringing the score to 3–2 to Porto. Santos said the result was unfair, adding, "After he got back into the game and managed to level it, 'that' happened in the end."
  On 1 November, Benfica hosted Celtic; they scored two goals in the first 25 minutes and a third through Andrei Karyaka in the 90th minute, winning by the same margin they had lost in Glasgow. Santos was happy with the win, saying, "We knew he had three 'finals' and now we have two. We are better now, with four points and closing in on Celtic." Four days later, Benfica hosted Beira-Mar for a Primeira Liga match. Benfica did not score until the second half, when in the 51st minute, Katsouranis headed in the match's first goal. Three minutes later, Petit scored the second and an own-goal from Beira-Mar made the score 3–0.
  After the third international break, Benfica returned on 18 November with a match on the road against Braga. Quim had a particularly unfortunate game, making costly mistakes in two goals, and Benfica lost the match 3–1. Santos acknowledged his team's disappointing performance, saying, "We never controlled the game, despite having opportunities to even up. We had some reasonable moments but far away from our best." On the following Tuesday, Benfica played Copenhagen in Estádio da Luz for the fifth match-day of the group stage. Benfica scored three goals in the first half, two of them spaced by two minutes and winning the match 3–1. After news of Celtic's win against United, Benfica would only progress to the last 16 if they won at Old Trafford, which Santos believed to be possible. On the 25th, Benfica hosted Marítimo. Benfica scored first with an own-goal from Alex von Schwedler, but Marítimo levelled the score before half time through Marcinho. In the second half, Katsouranis scored the second Benfica goal, establishing the final result at 2–1 to Benfica. Santos criticized his players for "excessive individualism".
caption: Benfica's reception to FC Copenhagen on 21 November 2006 had an attendance of 37,199.
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