Aursnes, Banjaqui or Kaminski? Who'll replace Bah at Benfica | OneFootball

In Benfica’s match against Marítimo, Alexander Bah went off complaining of pain in his right shoulder in the 17th minute, after a collision with Paulo Henrique, Marítimo’s left-back, leaving the pitch shortly afterwards. It is certain that the Nordic player will miss the trip to Moreira de Cónegos, and Marco Silva has already chosen his replacement.

Daniel Banjaqui will come into the starting eleven against Moreirense. Marco Silva will place his trust in the young full-back, handing him a mission he believes he will carry out effectively. According to the same source, the coach’s plan was already to give him minutes at precisely this stage, given the demanding run of fixtures.

Internally seen as a player with great physical ability and particularly strong attacking qualities, there is a belief that Banjaqui is ready for the challenge, including from a physical standpoint. The full-back, who has made three appearances for the first team in 2025/26, recently suffered a muscle injury in his right thigh, which was why he was not included in the squad for Madeira: the priority was to help him regain competitive rhythm, and the 18-year-old ended up playing for the B team. He started and was taken off in the 72nd minute in the 2-0 defeat to Torreense.

The circumstances mean that Banjaqui is now an even more important member of the squad — in fact, he is the only natural right-back currently available. That does not mean, however, that Marco Silva is limited to just one solution.

Tomás Araújo and Fredrik Aursnes are both very familiar with the right flank, a position they have already played on several occasions. The decisions to use Jakub Kaminski and Alessandro Circati in Madeira were based on solid reasoning. The Polish winger replaced Bah, while the Australian defender came on in the second half to play in that position.

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