Benfica cruises past Estoril behind goals from Pavlidis and Lenglet at Estádio da Luz

Pavlidis broke the deadlock just before halftime and Lenglet doubled the lead moments into the second half, two blows that put the score at 2-0 and set up a 2-1 win for Benfica over Estoril at the Estádio da Luz in Liga Portugal play. Begraoui's late consolation goal did more for visiting pride than it did to apply any real pressure in a match the hosts dominated from start to almost finish.

The story of the game was written early through control, though the goal itself took time to arrive. Benfica created chances from the opening minutes: Sudakov tested the keeper in the 2nd minute, Pavlidis forced a save with a header in the 8th, and Prestianni had his own look almost immediately after. Estoril held on as best it could, with the occasional foray from André Lacximicant and Xeka, but never seriously troubled the home goal. The pressure finally paid off in the 39th minute, when Vangelis Pavlidis finished with his right foot from the center of the box to make it 1-0 at the break.

The second half had barely gotten underway when Benfica put the game away: in the 50th minute, Clément Lenglet struck a left-footed shot from outside the box that curled into the top corner, assisted by Tomás Araújo, for the 2-0. The hosts kept generating danger through Prestianni, Dahl and Palhinha, among others, without adding to the tally, and Estoril found its consolation in the 81st minute: Yanis Begraoui, set up by Fernando Medrano, made it a final 2-1. There was no time or way back after that.

The numbers behind the dominance

The stats confirm what played out on the field: a Benfica side far superior in possession and attacking volume against an Estoril team that could barely get forward.

With 25 shots to Estoril's mere 4, the gap on the field was unmistakable. Our own xG estimate, calculated from the match's shot data, puts Benfica's attacking output at 2.21 against just 0.24 for Estoril, a gap that backs up the home side's wide-ranging control, even though the final score ended up tighter thanks to Begraoui's goal.

The preview we published ahead of the match gave Benfica an 85% chance of winning, against an 11% chance of a draw and just 4% for an Estoril victory, with expected goals of 3.34 for the hosts and 0.78 for Estoril. The result matched that forecast in terms of the winner, though the final 2-1 scoreline fell short of the 3.34 goals we projected for Benfica: the team dominated as expected, but lacked the finishing to fully reflect it on the scoreboard.

What the standings show

In the Liga Portugal table, Benfica came into this match with 7 points from 3 games played (2 wins and 1 draw), sitting in fifth place, while Estoril had been enduring a much tougher campaign: 1 point from 4 matches, with just a single draw and three losses, at the bottom of the table. The gap between the two sides before kickoff stood at 6 points, a reflection of contrasting form that was later confirmed on the field.

The win gives Benfica another display of attacking solidity at the Estádio da Luz, built on goals from Pavlidis and Lenglet, while Estoril leaves with the consolation of Begraoui's goal but unable to change a result that was decided long before the late strike.