Benfica worry Europe, only Barcelona top Marco Silva's machine | OneFootball

Marco Silva’s Benfica are picking up speed and are already starting to impress beyond Portugal’s borders. With the 4-0 thrashing of Moreirense, the Eagles have now scored 37 goals this season, 18 of them coming in the first five rounds of the Liga Portugal Betclic. That record makes the Reds the league’s best attack and one of the most prolific sides across Europe’s top leagues.

In fact, only AZ Alkmaar have posted a similar number of goals in their domestic competition. Even so, there is one team capable of outdoing the Eagles’ attacking pace: Barcelona. Hansi Flick’s side scored 17 goals in the first four rounds of La Liga, one fewer than Benfica in the league.

However, the Blaugrana boast a better average: 4.25 goals per game, compared to Benfica’s 3.6. In other words, at this early stage of the season, only the Catalan giants can show a higher attacking output than Marco Silva’s team.

The win over Moreirense, besides confirming a fourth straight league victory, allowed Benfica to achieve their best scoring start since 1975/76. That season, Mário Wilson’s side had scored 20 goals in the first five rounds, against Boavista, União de Tomar, Leixões, Académica and Beira-Mar.

But there is more. The Eagles’ scoring streak has been particularly impressive away from home. In their first three league away matches, Benfica scored 14 goals, a record not seen since 1946/47. Back then, under János Biri, the Eagles had put together an equally impressive run against CUF, Atlético and Sporting. Nearly eight decades later, Benfica are once again putting historic numbers on the scoreboard and frightening Europe with an attacking machine that seems to have no brakes.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.