Bitter note for Benfica, Nacional recalls Arthur Cabral feat | OneFootball

The match between Benfica and Nacional, which ended in a 2-0 win for the Eagles, could have finished 3-0 if it hadn’t been for the penalty missed by Vangelis Pavlidis. By failing to convert the spot-kick, the Greek marksman ended a long-standing Benfica streak that had been in place since Arthur Cabral.

According to Playmaker, the Brazilian forward, now at Botafogo, was the last Benfica player to miss a penalty in the league. It should be recalled that, at the time, in the match against Estrela da Amadora, where the Eagles won 3-2 in Reboleira, the former No. 9 was called upon to take the penalty and failed to score.

Since that cold night in February 2025, the Lisbon club had not put a foot wrong from the spot in Liga Portugal Betclic matches. However, as witnessed this Sunday, that run of 16 converted penalties was ended by Pavlidis in the 58th minute.

It is worth mentioning that the penalty missed by the Eagles’ No. 14 further deepened the goal drought Pavlidis is going through. The Benfica striker is enduring a difficult spell and the player’s numbers over the last nine matches have left a lot to be desired, causing some concern among the fans.

This season, playing for Benfica, Vangelis Pavlidis — valued at €32 million — has already made 49 official appearances: 29 in Liga Portugal Betclic, 14 in the Champions League, three in the Portuguese Cup, two in the League Cup and one in the Super Cup. In the 4,037 minutes he has been on the pitch, the Greek has scored 29 goals and provided five assists.

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