THE This Wednesday, Benfica hosted the Pafos team, at the Benfica Campus, for a duel in the first leg of the second round of the UEFA Youth League champions’ path, achieving an important victory to manage in Cyprus, 6-0.
After overwhelming dominance in the first half, the opening goal only appeared in the second half of the match, where the team led by Vítor Vinha ended up ‘running away’ on the scoreboard, given the Reds’ superiority.
In the starting eleven, the eagles were able to count on ‘reinforcements’ Gabriel Índio, José Neto and Miguel Figueiredo, who already had minutes for the main team with Marco Silva.
The truth is that the first 45 minutes, despite being one-way, ended with a goalless score, already against a Cypriot wall from Pafos, who kept their goal to zero after conceding to 13 shots from Benfica, six of which were blocked.
At half-time, Vítor Vinha ended up introducing Afonso Ferreirinha to replace Miguel Figueiredo, and this bet ended up being well done, as, just 10 minutes later, following a direct free kick, the 17-year-old ended up taking advantage of Andreas Andreou’s incomplete defense, and opened the scoring in favor of the Luz club, in Seixal.
Sometimes it’s about being in the right place at the right time ⌚ 🤩 @UEFAMensYouth | @SLBenfica 1 x 0 @pafosfcofficial Watch for free, at 4pm, on the DAZN app https://t.co/91UPYuUkxC #DAZNYouthLeague https://t.co/B0SD4GGlAV
— DAZN Portugal (@DAZNPortugal) October 28, 2026
And this was the launch of the ‘ketchup’, as shortly afterwards, there was another goal in the match, in the 58th minute, with Rafael Quintas assisting Francisco Silva for the second of the red score, which gave more strength to the victory and performance of the Portuguese team.
Killer instinct 🦅 🤩 @UEFAMensYouth | @SLBenfica 2 x 0 @pafosfcofficial Watch for free, at 4pm, on the DAZN app https://t.co/91UPYuUkxC #DAZNYouthLeague https://t.co/S0bJp7PsWs
— DAZN Portugal (@DAZNPortugal) October 28, 2026
Already after the hour mark, Benfica continued to press the accelerator to increase the margin, under the watchful eye of Rui Costa and Marco Silva in the stands, who saw Afonso Ferreirinha’s double arrive in the 66th minute, after a pass from Tomás Soares.
SL Benfica dominates Pafos. 3-0 🤩 @UEFAMensYouth | @SLBenfica 3 x 0 @pafosfcofficial Watch for free, at 4pm, on the DAZN app https://t.co/91UPYuUkxC #DAZNYouthLeague https://t.co/OMAxm52gWn
— DAZN Portugal (@DAZNPortugal) October 28, 2026
Five minutes later, the truth is that it was Tomás Soares himself who scored the most peaceful goal, with a strong, low shot that struck the Cypriot net for the fourth time in the match.
SL Benfica signs fourth ️ 🤩 @UEFAMensYouth | @SLBenfica 4 x 0 @pafosfcofficial Watch for free, at 4pm, on the DAZN app https://t.co/91UPYuUkxC #DAZNYouthLeague https://t.co/vgUsma4KNA
— DAZN Portugal (@DAZNPortugal) October 28, 2026
The hand full would arrive in the 78th minute, after Rafael Quintas and Francisco Silva combined again with the same ‘formula’ and scored the fifth goal for the Benfica team, with the forward scoring twice in the game.
One touch and goal 🤩 @UEFAMensYouth | @SLBenfica 5 x 0 @pafosfcofficial Watch for free, at 4pm, on the DAZN app https://t.co/91UPYuUkxC #DAZNYouthLeague https://t.co/jjaDJaGfs1
— DAZN Portugal (@DAZNPortugal) October 28, 2026
The striker didn’t want to leave anything undone, and ended up completing the hattrick, after another ‘killer’ finish, with an assist from José Neto, in the 87th minute.
In this way, Benfica ended up gaining a very large advantage for the second leg, which will take place in Cyprus, on November 4th, to see who will face the winner of the tie between Qarabag and Dinamo Zagreb, which saw the Croatians win 1-2 in Azerbaijan.
