Duarte Marques elated after Benfica v Hearts: top-class duo | OneFootball

Benfica all but secured qualification for the playoff round to reach the Europa League proper this Thursday with a 6-1 thrashing of Hearts. Well-known figures from the Benfica world praised Marco Silva’s team display, including Duarte Marques, who praised the centre-back pairing of Tomás Araújo and Clément Lenglet.

"Benfica being Benfica! The team was very good overall, playing efficiently. I really liked Leandro Barreiro, and it’s good to see Rafa happy again. Long live Benfica. We have a luxury centre-back pairing!", said the former PSD MP in comments to Record.

Yolanda Coluna, daughter of Mário Coluna, spoke about the Eagles slowing down in the opening minutes of the second half. "Benfica started the match very strongly, and that was clear throughout the first half. In the second, they came out more slowly until the 70th minute, then recovered very well. In fact, the result clearly reflects the group’s strong performance", she commented.

Bruno Aguiar, a former Benfica and Hearts midfielder, said that the club from Luz is already in the Europa League playoff. "During the first half, Benfica were very strong and did what was required of them against an opponent that was very porous defensively. Progression to the next round is practically sealed", he opined.

Benfica now turn their attention to their debut in the domestic league. The Eagles will play the opening round of the Liga Portugal Betclic against Académico de Viseu. The match is scheduled for this Sunday, the 9th, at 8:30 pm, at the Estádio da Luz.

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