Benfica reach Europa League play-off but miss Roger Schmidt record | OneFootball

Benfica are into the Europa League play-off, but a 1-1 draw at Hearts in Edinburgh denied Marco Silva’s side a third straight UEFA win.

Glorioso 1904 notes that the last time Benfica managed three consecutive European victories was in 2022/23 under Roger Schmidt, the season they won the national title.

Silva appeared well placed to break the run. After a surprising 2-1 defeat at St. Gallen in Switzerland, Benfica responded at the Estádio da Luz with a 5-0 thrashing.

Hearts were then put away 6-1 in Lisbon, leaving Benfica with a commanding cushion. In Scotland, profligacy on the night stopped them adding another win.

Between Schmidt and Silva, Bruno Lage and José Mourinho also took charge, yet neither went beyond two successive European victories across the Champions League and Europa League.

Silva now has a fresh chance to build momentum against Aarhus, the Danish opponents who reached this play-off after being knocked out in Champions League qualifying.

Source: Glorioso 1904

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