Benfica stormed to their first victory of the Portuguese I Liga season on Monday, thrashing Casa Pia 7-0 in Rio Maior. Argentine winger Gianluca Prestianni opened the scoring early before Rafa, Greek forward Vangelis Pavlidis, an own goal by Ofori and Colombian striker Jhon Duran completed the rout for Marco Silva's side.
The win lifted Benfica to fourth place in the table with four points from two matches, two points behind the league leaders. Casa Pia remain at the bottom of the standings in 18th place after failing to take a point from their opening two fixtures of the campaign, having lost their opener 1-0 away to Maritimo following Benfica's 2-2 opening draw against Academico de Viseu.
The emphatic result also extended Benfica's remarkable unbeaten streak in the Portuguese top flight to 51 consecutive matches, comprising 36 victories and 15 draws. Their last league defeat came at the hands of Casa Pia in Rio Maior on January 25, 2025, when they fell 2-1 during the 19th round of the 2024/25 season.
Early momentum and first-half control
Benfica needed just three minutes to break the deadlock. Prestianni cut inside from the wing and unleashed a shot that took a heavy deflection off Casa Pia defender David Sousa, wrong-footing goalkeeper Andre Gomes as the ball trickled into the net.
The visitors continued to press forward, with Prestianni setting up Luxembourg international Leandro Barreiro in the seventh minute, though his shot went straight into the arms of Andre Gomes. Prestianni cut inside again five minutes later but sent his effort high over the crossbar, while a 13th-minute strike from Rafa was intercepted by the home defense.
Benfica doubled their advantage in the 14th minute through a slick team move. Rafa dispossessed Rochinha in midfield, traded a rapid pass with Pavlidis, and calmly chipped the ball over Andre Gomes to make it 2-0. Clement Lenglet attempted to send Rafa through again a minute later, but the assistant referee flagged for offside.
Casa Pia almost responded immediately in the 15th minute when Gabi Pereira ghosted in at the back post and struck a low effort that kissed the outside of Samuel Soares' right-hand post. Benfica quickly regained control, with Heorhiy Sudakov seeing his 17th-minute shot blocked before Tomas Araujo conceded a corner at the opposite end in the 19th minute.
Play was halted in the 24th minute after Sudakov required medical attention following a heavy challenge with Gabi Pereira. Both teams used the stoppage to take a hydration break before play resumed. Sudakov then set up Pavlidis in the 35th minute, only for the striker to be caught offside, before Sudakov misjudged another promising attack moments later.
Prestianni created another opening in the 36th minute by dribbling down the left flank and finding Sudakov on the edge of the penalty box, but the midfielder's shot was saved by Andre Gomes. Sudakov was caught offside again from a deep pass in the 43rd minute, before Prestianni had a late first-half effort providencially blocked by Andre Geraldes in the 44th minute.
Second-half surge and Pavlidis hat-trick
Benfica put the match out of reach with three quick goals shortly after the restart. In the 47th minute, Sudakov fed Rafa, whose pass towards Pavlidis deflected off Seba Perez, leaving the Greek international clear on goal to chip Andre Gomes for his first of the evening.
Prestianni went close to adding a fourth two minutes later when his curling shot whistled inches wide of the left post. Benfica did not have to wait long, as Pavlidis intercepted a loose ball from Ghanaian defender Ofori in the 49th minute, dribbled past several opponents, and slotted home a brilliant individual goal.
Pavlidis completed his hat-trick in the 54th minute to make it 5-0. A fine combination between Sudakov and Barreiro allowed the Luxembourg midfielder to whip a precise cross into the penalty area, where Pavlidis turned the ball in at the near post. Tomas Araujo had previously headed over from a corner, while Barreiro dragged a shot wide shortly after.
The goals kept coming for the visitors. In the 58th minute, a cross from Dahl deflected off Ofori into his own net to hand Benfica their sixth goal. Casa Pia responded with a double substitution in the 59th minute, bringing on Daniel Azevedo for Andre Nogueira Gomes and Korede Osundina for Kevin Prieto.
Substitutions and late red card
Silva made changes of his own, replacing Pavlidis with Jhon Duran in the 59th minute, sending on Manu Silva for Tomas Araujo in the 60th minute, and replacing Rafa with Andreas Schjelderup in the 61st minute. The substitutions paid instant dividends when Alexander Bah chested down a pass at the edge of the area for Duran, who smashed a powerful shot into the net for 7-0.
Duran almost created an eighth goal moments later when he set up Schjelderup on the left side of the area, but the Norwegian's right-footed shot was blocked. Andre Gomes picked up a yellow card in the 62nd minute, before Casa Pia introduced Selvi Clua for Seba Perez in the 64th minute, and Benfica brought on Richard Rios for Enzo Barrenechea in the 67th minute.
Duran had another effort blocked during a goalmouth scramble in the 70th minute, while Rochinha produced Casa Pia's best second-half moment in the 72nd minute with a shot that flew narrowly wide of the right post. Casa Pia conceded another corner in the 76th minute before making further changes, replacing Henrique Araujo with Pedro Rosas and Rochinha with Khaly in the 77th minute.
Benfica made their final change in the 78th minute as Dodi Lukebakio replaced Sudakov. Khaly received a yellow card in the 79th minute, while Lukebakio was flagged offside from a Rios pass in the 80th minute. Barreiro saw another shot deflected in the 83rd minute, before Casa Pia's Osundina was caught offside from a Joao Goulart pass in the 85th minute.
Casa Pia had one final chance to pull a goal back in the first minute of stoppage time when Abdu Conte delivered a cross from a free kick, but Selvi Clua headed wide from the center of the box.
The home side ended the match with ten men a minute later when substitute Khaly was shown a second yellow card and sent off in the 92nd minute, capping a disappointing night for Casa Pia in Rio Maior.
