Leonor Pinhão: one Benfica star is miles above, him and 10 others | OneFootball

Rafa Silva continues to receive praise after his performances in Benfica’s preparation matches for the new season. This time, it was Leonor Pinhão who highlighted the red midfielder’s current form, arguing that the Benfica number should start in Marco Silva’s official debut against St. Gallen.

In the journalist’s view, the absence of Andreas Schjelderup could further increase Rafa’s importance in the Eagles’ strategy. In her analysis, the Clube da Luz supporter began by addressing the winger’s development, recalling that the Norway international was close to leaving in January.

"One comes to the conclusion that Andreas Schjelderup, who was on the verge of being sold for 8 million euros to Brugge in the last winter transfer window, is Luz’s most valuable ‘asset’. Who would have said, a few months ago, such a thing about a player who arrived in the winter market of 2023 and took three years of struggle before managing to establish himself as a starter for Benfica and the Norway national team?", she wrote.

Given the winger’s unavailability, the pundit believes that Rafa Silva takes on an even more decisive role: "As a very hasty conclusion, without the Norwegian and from what was seen of Benfica in the two matches in the Algarve, Marco Silva’s team is, for now, Rafa Silva and 10 others, which is yet another surprise", she added.

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