Vangelis Pavlidis has been one of the standout names this season with Benfica, along with Argentine Gianluca Prestianni, and has already become a relentless goal-scoring machine in this team led by Marco Silva.
On Monday night, Benfica won 2-1 at Santa Clara’s home, in a game that was valid for the ninth round of the I League, and which was resolved using a rematch. The Greek striker scored for the ninth time. He did not do so in the nine rounds of the championship, as he drew blanks against MarÃtimo, FC Porto and Vitória SC.
Even so, the goal in the Azores, which started the Lisbon team’s comeback, allowed the Hellenic striker to emerge from this challenge in Ponta Delgada with a series of important milestones in his career.
The number 14 of the Luz club reached 200 goals in his football career. Pavlidis made 80 accurate shots with AZ Alkmaar, the club he represented before moving to Luz, 77 with Benfica, 33 with Willem II and 10 with the Greek national team. The Greek is, therefore, three shots away from the best goalscoring record for a club.
Recalling the Greek’s time in football in the Netherlands, Vangelis Pavlidis’ best scoring streak was nine consecutive games scoring, playing for AZ Alkmaar, in the Netherlands, in the 2023/24 season. He was the first player in Eredivisie history to score in each of the first nine matchdays of a season.
50 goals in the I League and podium for foreign goalscorers in sight
But there is more. Hired by the Reds in the summer of 2024, in exchange for 17 million euros, Pavlidis scored his 50th goal in the I League, in his third season with an eagle on his chest. In addition, the Greek reached 17 goals in 17 games this season, a mark that, at this point, gives him the lead on the podium of the best scorers in the Portuguese championship and with one more accurate shot than Luis Suárez, Sporting’s striker.
Alongside this scoring streak, the 27-year-old player also has three assists, making him the player with the most goal contributions in the championship, ahead of teammate Gianluca Prestianni, who has 6 goals and 4 assists.
Vangelis Pavlidis, who has 127 games, 77 goals and 21 assists for Benfica, is now looking to overcome the barrier of 30 successful shots, a mark he reached in each of the last two seasons with an eagle on his chest. And if he continues to demonstrate this goalscoring streak, the Greek should reach the podium as the greatest foreign goalscorer in the history of the Eagles. The next ‘victim’ is the Swedish Mats Magnusson, who is just goals away.
