Nine hours for Benfica: Bruno Lage makes history with season start | OneFootball

Benfica, in the match against Tondela, reached nine hours of play without conceding a single goal, a record that propels Bruno Lage and the rest of the red team into the club's history: never before has the red team achieved such a positive defensive record at the start of a season.

After the 3-0 victory over Tondela, Benfica reached six complete matches without conceding goals in 2025/26. The record began in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (1-0), and continued in the third preliminary round of the Champions League, against Nice (0-2 and 2-0).

After securing the Champions League play-off, there was the victory over Estrela da Amadora in the debut in the Liga Portugal Betclic (1-0). The draw in Istanbul (0-0) continued the series, which extended even further after the clear victory over Tondela (3-0).

So, there are six games, five victories and zero goals conceded so far in 2025/26. The last time they had been so long without conceding was in 2020/21, with the best record dating back to 1985/86, when they did not concede for 11 games. However, Benfica has never started a season so well in its 121 years of history.

Trubin and Bruno Lage are perhaps the key figures in this feat, but there are other names to point out: the consistency offered by Richard Ríos and Enzo Barrenechea (who made nine recoveries against Tondela) has been one of the important factors. Otamendi is another important name in the equation: against Tondela he made three interceptions, made 13 clearances, blocked a shot and won all the aerial duels he contested.

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