Tomás da Cunha shocked by Benfica player's form: a surprise | OneFootball

Benfica took an important step towards the Europa League league phase by beating Aarhus 3-1 in the first leg of the play-off, played this Thursday at the Estádio da Luz. Enzo Barrenechea started and delivered another strong performance, earning praise from Tomás da Cunha.

"Enzo Barrenechea is the other surprise of Benfica’s start to the season, which is far from meaning he is the ideal long-term solution. In any case, he has regained the confidence to play under pressure and attempt some vertical passes," he wrote on social media.

Even so, the pundit pointed out flaws in Tomás Araújo and Clément Lenglet. "Benfica once again had a significant attacking flow in the first half and failed to maintain it. Open corners continue to create finishing chances. It was not a brilliant game from Tomás Araújo in terms of passing, and there are doubts about Lenglet’s solidity when the level of demand rises", it reads.

Tomás da Cunha believes the coach could have made the substitutions earlier against Aarhus. "The feeling remains that Marco Silva could have freshened things up earlier to respond to the drop in tempo", he argued.

The second leg is scheduled for next week at Cepheus Park Randers, in Denmark. In between, the match against Moreirense, corresponding to the third round of the league, was postponed until 9 September, allowing the Eagles to now focus on securing qualification for the Europa League.

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