Bruno Lage: 100 matches, 3 trophies

Bruno Lage's 100th match in charge of Benfica's professional football team was crowned by winning the League Cup, the third trophy won by the club under the coach's leadership.

The title achieved on the night of January 11 joins the National Championship celebrated in 2018/19 and the Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup lifted in 2019, the three under de technical guidance of Bruno Lage at the Glorioso.

The third competition won by the coach, in his 100th game at the helm of the red team, took place at the Estádio Municipal de Leiria, where Benfica beat Sporting (6-7 on penalties; 1-1 in the 90 minutes), cementing their status as the most successful team in the competition: eight League Cups.

In the city of Lis, coach Bruno Lage recorded his 69th win with an eagle on his chest. He has also recorded 14 draws in these hundred games, which are distributed as follows: 61 in the Portuguese League, 12 in the Champions League, 11 in the Portuguese Cup, 8 in the Europa League, 7 in the League Cup and 1 in the Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup.

In terms of goals, Benfica scored 240 times and conceded 92. 

In Leiria, Bruno Lage spoke with emotion about the achievement.

"I'd like to thank the players for their commitment to the job. I had promised myself that my story at Benfica had to have a different ending. I'm grateful to them for that, because I had promised myself, I had promised my children that they would see their father win titles, and that is fundamentally down to the work of the players. I've felt fulfilled from day one. This is a club where I feel very comfortable. We're in many places, and there are places that are special. I've been here for 20 years. I've grown up at all the youth levels, I've won titles, and I've worked with a lot of people. Then I came back for the B team and the first team. Today I'm playing 100 games for Benfica, winning my third title. I feel very good here," he said.

Bruno Lage's first game with the club's professional football team was played on January 6, 2019. At Estádio da Luz, the Eagles clinch all three points in the match against Rio Ave (4-2), on matchday 16 of the Championship. With an electrifying comeback, the Eagles achieved what would be the first of 18 wins in 19 League games in 2018/19 under the coach, on their way to the 37th League title!

It was, in fact, the start of a season marked by the "Reconquista", with a second half of the Championship in which Benfica won 16 of the 17 games played, drawing just once.

Between January 6 and May 18, 2019, the Eagles went 19 games in a row without losing in the League and recorded their best winning streak of the season - nine wins - on two occasions, between matchday 16 and 24 and between MD 26 and 34.

As a result of their exciting attacking football, in the 2018/19 National Championship Benfica had the competition's most prolific attack (103 goals, 63 of which were scored at the Estádio da Luz), and in the 19 matches under Bruno Lage, the team scored 72 goals (an average of 3.78 per game).

At the start of the 2019/20 season, he won his second official trophy for the club. On August 4, 2019, at the Estádio Algarve, Benfica beat Sporting 5-0 in the Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup.

Bruno Lage's half-century of official matches took place on November 30, 2019, the day Benfica beat Marítimo 4-0, on matchday 12 of the Championship.

The 2019 calendar year ended with another impressive statistic: Benfica won all of their away games in the National Championship, totaling 15 victories! The 42 goals scored (an average of 2.8 per game) and 10 conceded (0.66 per game) are figures that reflect the attacking football played by the Reds as visitors.

Taking over the team in September 2024, Bruno Lage's first official match this season came against Santa Clara. At the Cathedral, the Eagles triumphed by 4-1, on matchday 5 of the Liga Betclic.

Since then, there have been 23 more matches, the last of which was the coach's 100th with the first team, on an emotional night in Leiria, with lots of support from the Benfiquistas, who celebrated the club's 8th League Cup win!

During this period, the Reds have won 18 and drawn 2 and lost 4, scoring 59 goals and conceding 16, including matches in the Liga Betclic (13), the Champions League (6), the Portuguese Cup (2) and the League Cup (3).