Off to a flying start

Benfica hit the ground running in the 2022/23 season. The Reds beat Midtjylland, by 4-1, in the 1st leg of the Champions League 3rd qualifying round. 

The statistical portal Sofascore gave a total score of 7.30 to the red team, which had in four elements, in addition to Gonçalo Ramos, with a hat-trick, the maximum exponent of the display quality: Neres, João Mário, Enzo and Rafa, names linked to the four assists that resulted in the goals that built the result.

Let's start with Neres! A range of technical resources and decisions from the new signing built the 8.7 rating, the highest in the match, in Sofascore's evaluation.

The two assists were already worthy of a positive note, but the Brazilian international completed the picture with a series of actions that affected the game. In the 87 minutes he played, Neres, who touched the ball 85 times, had an 82% passing accuracy (49 out of 60), created three scoring chances, won half of the ground duels he was involved in (6 out of 12), was fouled two times, made two tackles, and had one shot hit the Midtjylland goal bar.

One of the hallmarks of this Benfica 2022/23 under Roger Schmidt's leadership is the ability to finish from set pieces.

On the left side of the attack, João Mário grabbed the ball and took the corner with his right foot. When everyone was waiting for a ball in the penalty box, the number 20, who earned a 7.7 rating on Sofascore, put the ball on the edge of the box for an eye-catching volley from Enzo.

Other numbers were added to the assist. He touched the ball 84 times, completed 91% of his attempted passes (63 out of 69), completed three of his four long passes and created one big chance.

Rafa played 78 minutes and directly participated in the outcome of the match with an assist for the 4-0 (Gonçalo Ramos' goal).

In addition to the assist, Rafa was successful in two of the four dribbles he attempted, had 85% passing accuracy (35 out of 41), made four key passes to teammates, won half of the ground duels he was involved (4 out of 8), and won two fouls.

One of the new signings for the current season, Enzo is a clear case of come, see and... score! Against FC Midtjylland he scored his first goal with an eagle on his chest (3-0). And what a goal!  

Enzo's performance wasn't only about goals. With a 7.8 rating in Sofacore (third highest rating in the match), the number 13 was always very active, especially when building.. He totaled 100 touches on the ball, had a pass success rate of 88% (79 out of 88), was successful in six of the seven long passes he attempted, he made two tackles and managed an interception.