If Benfica’s current season is ending on a note marked by instability and discomfort, the next season is already approaching healthy and hopeful. As had happened against Moreirense and Farense, against Braga they were the least used players making the difference and showing the way to victory.
This breath of fresh air that appears on the red horizon does not come from the team’s usual performances, nor from the coach’s state of mind regarding the future, it arises, so the team’s second line is currently delivering when it has the opportunity.
A restructuring of the squad for the 2024/2025 season has been expected for some time, this is because the future of important players such as Rafa, João Mário, Di María and even António Silva or João Neves is still unknown and a scenario in which these players not being part of next season’s squad is a reality to be taken into account.
However, if at one time the imminent departure of the club’s main players could cause concern, at this moment the exact opposite may be true. The presence of supposedly “secondary” elements has long been necessary for the team to function properly in matches played. Elements such as Tiago Gouveia, Álvaro Carreras, Marcos Leonardo, Tomás Araújo and even Orkun Kockçu or Benjamin Rollheiser, have been truly decisive in matches that had the opportunity to play useful minutes yesterday and managed to show their value.
When present in a stable way, they respond in the best way and provide good football within the four lines, something that has not been a general rule in the Eagles’ meetings.
When welcoming the Minho warriors, the arrivals of Carreras and Marcos Leonardo made the difference in the match, with the Brazilian striker being the most decisive element in the outcome of the match. In just 25 minutes of use, the Eagles’ number 36 scored two goals, pushed the Reds to victory and was named man of the match at the end of the 90 minutes.
He has an average of one goal every 40 minutes of use, he is the striker with the least playing time at Benfica but he already has seven goals scored in the championship, thus having one more than Arthur Cabral (6) and four more than Tengstedt (4) in the same competition, having only arrived in Luz in January, with 280 minutes played so far.
Data and games like this raise expectations for what these players can provide together in Benfica’s next season, when they have the chance to become key members of the team as a whole. Light. Until then, the future will be postponed in person.
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