Rui Dias: trust broke down between Marco Silva and Benfica regular | OneFootball

Benfica drew 1-1 with Hearts this Thursday in the second leg of the Europa League third qualifying round and confirmed their place in the competition’s play-off, after the 6-1 thrashing secured in the first leg at the Estádio da Luz.

Despite the rotation introduced by Marco Silva, Rui Dias identified one particularly significant decision in the Eagles’ starting eleven: keeping Samuel Soares in goal. For the journalist, the choice leaves little doubt over who will be Benfica’s first-choice goalkeeper in the 2026/27 season, revealing a loss of confidence in Anatoliy Trubin.

“Some interesting decisions, the main one being the decision to keep Samuel Soares in goal. He is Benfica’s goalkeeper for 2026/27. The doubts are over. The rest is irrelevant. And the rest, here, is attributing the decision to a loss of confidence in Trubin,” he wrote in the newspaper 'Record'.

Rui Dias therefore believes that Samuel Soares’ use at Tynecastle should not be seen merely as a consequence of the comfortable advantage earned in the first leg. Keeping the goalkeeper in the side for another match may mean that Marco Silva has already made a decision regarding the goalkeeping hierarchy.

The choice becomes even more relevant considering that the Ukrainian international had been a regular presence among Benfica’s starters, but now appears to have lost ground in the Portuguese coach’s plans, which led to Trubin asking to leave.

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