Palhinha shines at Benfica, but one squad player has better numbers | OneFootball

Enzo Barrenechea started the season with a place in Benfica’s starting eleven practically guaranteed. The Argentine midfielder, who remains at the Club at Marco Silva’s request, started seven of the first eight matches, forming a midfield partnership with Leandro Barreiro, until João Palhinha’s arrival.

Signed from Bayern Munich for €14 million, plus €5 million in add-ons, the Portugal international quickly made his mark. Palhinha made his debut against Estoril on matchday four, coming on precisely in place of Barrenechea, who went off injured after 31 minutes. Since then, he has been one of Marco Silva’s main choices, with three starts and one appearance off the bench. Tomorrow, at the Dragão against Porto, he is expected to be back in the starting eleven.

Even so, Barrenechea continues to give the Benfica coach plenty of confidence. And the numbers from this edition of the Liga Betclic help explain why. With virtually the same amount of playing time in the competition — 254 minutes to 263 —, the number 5 has better averages than Palhinha in several of the main statistical categories.

The Argentine records more recoveries in the final third (0.71 to 0.34), fewer losses of possession (8.86 to 13.69), a higher percentage of duels won (65.3% to 59.52%) and better passing accuracy (90.58% to 87.56%). He also has more fouls won, fewer fouls committed, more passes in the opposition half, more passes into the final third, and more chances created.

Palhinha, meanwhile, has the edge in recoveries (7.53 to 6.38), shots (2.74 to 0.33), passes in the defensive half (27.72 to 26.22) and aerial duels (3.42 to 2.83). Numbers that give Marco Silva room to manoeuvre and allow the coach to manage the Portuguese international’s minutes in certain matches, as happened recently against Gil Vicente at the Luz.

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