Goal against Santa Clara sends Pavlidis wild at Benfica | OneFootball

In the opening match of the 22nd round of Liga Portugal Betclic, Vangelis Pavlidis wrote yet another chapter in his journey with the Eagles. With the goal he scored against Santa Clara, in the 2-1 victory, the Greek striker reached 20 goals in the league and joined a distinguished list of Benfica legends.

According to the newspaper Record, moments after the end of the match in São Miguel, the number 14 reached a milestone that few have achieved while wearing the Sacred Mantle of the Reds. As has been verified, Pavlidis is only the seventh Benfica player to reach the 20-goal mark in the league in the 21st century.

Thus, the Greek striker joins some of the most renowned names in the club’s red and white history who, over the last 26 years, have recorded 20 or more goals in a single league season. It is worth recalling that the last time this happened was in the 2021/22 season, when Darwin Núñez netted 26 goals.

On the other hand, Pavlidis knows he will finish the 22nd round of Liga Portugal Betclic as the isolated leader in the race for the Silver Boot, since Luis Suárez, the Greek’s main rival, will miss Sporting’s home match against Famalicão due to yellow card accumulation. The Colombian has 19 goals to his name.

This season, playing for Benfica, Vangelis Pavlidis — valued at 35 million euros — has already played a total of 40 official matches: 22 in Liga Portugal Betclic, 12 in the Champions League, three in the Portuguese Cup, two in the League Cup, and one in the Super Cup. In the 3,257 minutes he has spent on the pitch, the number 14 has recorded 28 goals and five assists.

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