A magnificent Benfica in the Champions League!

It's a total Benfica that has shown itself in Europe in 2022/23, where it brilliantly finished 1st in group H of the Champions League! The official UEFA statistics show a top team, which matches the best at a defensive and offensive level, in the collective and individual dimensions of the game.

What a fantastic campaign from Benfica in the current edition of the Champions League, where it finished 1^st in group H with 14 points and beat its record (of 12 points), which dated back to the 2011/12 season. It overcame Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, and Maccabi Haifa, surpassing the French team thanks to the 7th tiebreaker: the highest number of goals scored away from home (nine against six). 

The six goals scored in Haifa on matchday 6 of group H represented Benfica's biggest victory in the current Champions League format and elevated this team to the level of fourth best attack of the competition, with 16 goals, together with Paris Saint-Germain, trailing only Napoli (20 goals), Bayern Munich (18), and Liverpool (17).

The fact that Benfica was the second team with the most goals scored from outside the penalty box, namely three, behind Paris Saint-Germain's four, should also be highlighted.

In 9th place among the teams that have created the most opportunities (83 against 114 for Real Madrid, the leader in this item), Roger Schmidt's men have João Mário and Rafa as the top scorers, with four goals, in the sixth-ranked squad, three behind Mbappé and Salah, with seven.

Looking at the individual component, Rafa is among those who have created the most goal opportunities (21), the same as Griezmann and Mbappé, surpassed only by Vinícius Júnior (25), Lewandowski (25) and Kvaratskhelia (22).

And if these numbers help explain part of the success in the competition, the defense, similar to what has happened in the series of 22 games unbeaten this season, also showed weightily.

One of which is precisely in tackles made, in which Benfica appears as the third team with the most (93), behind Salzburg (101) and Sevilla (102). And in recovered balls, the Reds are the 7th team with the best record, with 252, in a ranking led by Eintracht Frankfurt (296).

Still in tackles, the defensive indicator for the Eagles is supported by Florentino, who, with 18 actions, was only surpassed by Thiago Alcántara and Verratti. However, captain Otamendi was, along with Balerdi (Marseille), the player with the most recovered balls, with 46 in total

To finish, two significant individual data. Florentino was the second player with the longest distance covered in the Champions League group stage, with 73 kilometers, only one behind Sow (Eintracht Frankfurt). And Rafa was the 9th fastest athlete in the competition (he reached 35.9 km/hour), in a list led by Ukrainian Mudryk, with 36.6 km/hour.

With the status of seeded team, Benfica now waits for the draw of Monday, November 7, to know who will be the opponent in the last 16.