Bruno Lage return could inspire Benfica’s 39th title | OneFootball

We were still in August and Benfica decided to axe Roger Schmidt following a disappointing 1-1 draw with Moreirense. Instead of bringing in a new face in the German’s stead, the Lisbon club turned to former manager Bruno Lage.

Lage steered Benfica to the title in 2018/19, and the hope is he can guide them to their 39th Portuguese championship this term, and he’s made a good start.

Benfica have won their first 5 games under Lage in all competitions, scoring 18 goals in the process.

Lage, 48, returns to Benfica after being sacked on the back of a poor run of form towards the end of the 2019/20 season. It was a disappointing end to what had been an excellent start to the Portuguese’s first senior managerial post after he stepped up from Benfica B to replace Rui Vitoria.

Since Lage left Portuguese football, he’s managed Wolverhampton Wanderers of the Premier League and Brazilian outfit Botofogo. In that time, Sporting, managed by Ruben Amorim, and Porto, managed by Sérgio Conceição, won two titles apiece, with Benfica champions in 2022/23. As always, Benfica are one of the traditional trio expected to challenge for honours according to football betting online odds, but they’re trailing by several points at this early stage.

Lage’s magical impact first time round

So, how can Lage inspire the club’s 39th title when Sporting are seen as a considerably stronger team right now? Aside from the man Lage replaced, he’s the last Benfica boss to guide the team to the title, and he did so after being ushered into the role from Benfica B in the January of the 2018/19 with the Eagles trailing their eternal rivals Porto by seven points.

Between then and the end of the campaign, Benfica won twenty-three of twenty-nine games, scoring a remarkable eighty-five goals, conceding just twenty-seven. They won their game against Nacional 10-0 and in total, took seventy-one points, with Lage's points per game average 2.45.

Lage has the credentials, and he’s also proven himself adept at developing young talent, evidenced by how Joao Felix arrived on the scene under him before departing in a big-money move to Atletico Madrid. Benfica’s squad is littered with young talent, with fourteen players aged twenty-three and under. The work Lage and his staff, which includes his brother, Luís, can do with the young players at this disposal aligns with the ethos of the club.

Finally, Lage is a Benfiquista. He knows the club inside out, having been a youth coach at all age levels between 2004 and 2012. After time coaching in Dubai with Shabab AL Ahli, the Championship’s Sheffield Wednesday and then Premier League outfit Swansea City as an assistant to Braga boss Carlos Carvalhal, Lage returned to Benfica as manager of Benfica B. And he answered the call to take the senior team when asked.

Atletico humbled in the Champions League

In Lage’s first game back, which saw Benfica come from behind to win 4-1 against Santa Clara, he was seen getting the crowd fired up and involved throughout the game. His team was attempting to play his attractive brand of football, which will come in time, something Lage believes in as it’s the Benfica way. The evidence so far is he is working his magic again, with the brilliant 4-0 hammering of Atletico Madrid before the international break exhibit one.

Bringing it all together and reconnecting with the fans will be key if the 39th Portuguese league title is to be achieved this season, perhaps against the odds given the favouritism in many people’s eyes of city rivals Sporting.