UCL: Benfica can surprise Liverpool

Benfica fans are very demanding. They are a huge club in Portugal — they have won the European Cup twice, in 1961 and 1962 — but in recent years they have endured some difficult Champions League campaigns and few supporters would have expected them to get this far after being drawn in a group with Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

They beat Barcelona 3-0 in the group stage, which was a historic result for Portuguese football even if Barcelona were going through their own struggles at the time.

Not many pundits gave Benfica a chance against Ajax in the round of 16 as Erik Ten Hag’s side had played well in the first half of the season and they had comprehensively beaten Sporting Lisbon, the Portuguese champions, home and away in the group stage.

But they produced an impressive performance to knock out the Dutch champions with a 1-0 win in the second leg in Amsterdam and 3-2 on aggregate.

Benfica’s success this season starts with two former Premier League veterans at the heart of defence — Jan Vertonghen and Nicolás Otamendi. 

Vertonghen signed for Benfica on a free transfer in 2020 after leaving Tottenham Hotspur, while Otamendi also joined that year from Manchester City.

Together they have formed a solid pairing, and they are often seen celebrating together.

One of the reasons they are doing so well is their top-level experience. Vertonghen played in a Champions League final with Tottenham, while Otamendi is used to playing against top opponents such as Liverpool.

That may be why the two defenders make more mistakes in the Portuguese Primeira Liga rather than in the Champions League. The big three of Porto, Benfica and Sporting dominate most games in Portugal, and there is usually a big step up when those teams play in Europe. 

For Otamendi and Vertonghen, playing a small Portuguese side such as Tondela is like a wet, windy night in Stoke, while they have more to prove on a big stage such as Anfield.

Both defenders are 34 years old, and they sometimes struggle with balls played in behind given their lack of pace.

But Vertonghen is accomplished with the ball at his feet, while Otamendi still has the ruthless streak he showed at City. The Argentina centre back is always willing to commit a risky tackle and gives everything for the team.

That has helped Otamendi win over Benfica fans who were unconvinced given his past with their fierce rivals Porto — he enjoyed great success with them between 2010 and 2013.

It says a lot about his performances that he has become one of the team captains given the prestige attached to the armband. Past Benfica captains have included the now president, Rui Costa, and the Ballon d’Or winner Eusébio, so Otamendi had to work to earn the fans’ respect. Now Benfica fans have largely forgotten he ever played for Porto.

Darwin Núñez is Benfica’s record signing, having joined for a reported fee of around £20 million from the Spanish side Almeria in 2020. He lacked consistency and experienced some difficulties at first, but this season he has been brushing off his critics.

Benfica changed their manager between the group stage and the knockout stage of the Champions League, sacking Jorge Jesus and replacing him with the B-team coach Veríssimo as manager.

Veríssimo has made big calls including benching the former West Ham United midfielder João Mário and switching from a back five to a back four, but it is widely expected he will not be in charge next season.

The man who looks set to replace him is the PSV Eindhoven manager Roger Schmidt, with the Dutch team already having appointed Ruud van Nistelrooy for next season. Veríssimo will hope for an unlikely upset against Liverpool, which would strengthen his case to stay on as manager.

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