Champions League draw: Pavlidis’ old club to face Benfica | OneFootball

Benfica's under-19 team will face AZ Alkmaar. According to the draw held in Nyom, Switzerland, on the afternoon of Friday, February 6, the Eagles will once again face the Dutch side, this time in the round of 16 of the UEFA Youth League.

According to Benfica's official sources, the draw set up a rematch with the former team of Vangelis Pavlidis, who, in the 2024/25 edition, had better luck and ended up eliminating the Club from Luz in the first knockout round. Now, the team led by Vítor Vinha has unfinished business with the Dutch side.

In the same statement, the Eagles also revealed the possible dates for the match. With a different format from the Champions League, the Youth League knockout games are single-legged ties. Therefore, the match between Benfica and AZ Alkmaar is scheduled for February 24 or 25.

It is worth recalling that the Eagles secured a place among the top 16 European teams after a hard-fought victory against Slavia Prague. In a match played in Seixal under heavy rain, the Eagles never gave up and completed a comeback, with Gonçalo Moreira making history.

On the other hand, Tomás Soares, one of the standout players of the Eagles, did not hide his ambition to win the European competition, which would be the second in the club's history: “It would really help the Club to be recognized as the best academy in the world if we won again and I think we have the quality and potential to win the competition.”

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