The 2022–23 Sport Lisboa e Benfica season was the club's 119th season in existence and its 89th consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football. It started on 2 August 2022, with the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, where Benfica qualified for the group stage, reaching the quarter-finals, and concluded on 27 May 2023. Domestically, Benfica played in the Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal, and Taça da Liga, winning the league title for a record-extending 38th time in their history.
Season summary Pre-Season Benfica entered the 2022–23 season without a trophy since the 2020 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. Roger Schmidt was appointed as manager. The squad underwent several changes: defenders John Brooks, João Victor, Mihailo Ristić and Alexander Bah; midfielders Fredrik Aursnes, Enzo Fernández and Julian Draxler (on loan); winger David Neres; and striker Petar Musa all joined the club. Departures included Jan Vertonghen, Tomás Araújo (on loan), Soualiho Meïté, Gabriel, Gedson Fernandes, Julian Weigl, Pizzi, Jota, Roman Yaremchuk, Haris Seferovic and Darwin Núñez.
Pre-season began on 25 June, with the first friendly on 9 July, a 2–0 win over Reading. Further victories followed against OGC Nice, Fulham F.C., Girona FC, Newcastle United F.C. and Amora F.C..
August-October The first official match of the season was on 2 August 2022 against Midtjylland in the third qualifying round of the Champions League, at home. Benfica won 4–1, and secured progression with a 3–1 victory in the second leg. In the play-off round, Benfica defeated Dynamo Kyiv 2–0 away and 3–0 at home, qualifying for the group stage. Between Champions League fixtures, the team also recorded league wins over Arouca (4–0), Casa Pia (1–0), Boavista (3–0) and Paços de Ferreira (3–2).
September was a perfect month for Benfica, who won all their matches: Vizela (2–1), Maccabi Haifa (2–0) in the Champions League, Famalicão (1–0), Juventus (2–1) in the Champions League and Marítimo (5–0). The team finished the month two points ahead of Braga. October opened with a 0–0 draw at Vitória de Guimarães and a 1–1 home draw with Paris Saint-Germain, featuring Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar, followed by a 4–2 win over Rio Ave. Benfica then drew 1–1 away with Paris Saint-Germain, advanced in the Taça de Portugal after a penalty shoot-out against Caldas S.C., and won 1–0 away against Porto at the Estádio do Dragão. The team closed the month with victories over Juventus (4–3) and Chaves (5–0), finishing October with a six-point lead in the league.
November-January In November, Benfica won all their matches. They began with a 6–1 away victory over Maccabi Haifa, finishing first in Group H and qualifying for the Champions League round of 16. Domestic wins followed against Estoril (in both the league and the Taça de Portugal), Gil Vicente, Estrela da Amadora and Penafiel (both in the Taça da Liga). The last Taça da Liga group stage match, played during the World Cup, ended in a 1–1 draw away to Moreirense, with Benfica eliminated on goal difference.
After the World Cup break, Benfica resumed competition with a 3–0 away defeat against Braga. January was marked by speculation surrounding Enzo Fernández, who eventually left the club on 31 January. Following the first defeat of the season, Benfica responded with a 1–0 home win over Portimonense, a 2–0 away win over Varzim in the Taça de Portugal round of 16, a 2–2 home draw with Sporting (with two goals from Gonçalo Ramos), a 3–0 away win over Santa Clara, a 2–0 home win against Paços de Ferreira, and a 3–0 away win over Arouca, finishing the month with a five-point lead.
February-March Benfica opened February with a 3–0 home win over Casa Pia, but were eliminated in the Taça de Portugal quarter-finals after a penalty shoot-out loss to Braga, having played most of the match with ten men. They reacted with a series of victories: 2–0 away against Club Brugge in the Champions League, 3–1 at home to Boavista, 2–0 away to Vizela, 2–0 at home to Famalicão, 5–1 at home against Brugge in the Champions League, 3–0 away to Marítimo, and 5–1 at home to Vitória de Guimarães. They ended March eliminated from the Taça de Portugal but with a 10-point lead in the league and in the Champions League quarter-finals.
April-May April proved difficult for the club. Benfica began the month with a 1–0 away victory against Rio Ave. In the following match, at the Estádio da Luz, they took the lead against Porto but lost 2–1. Expectations were high ahead of the Champions League quarter-finals, but Benfica suffered a 2–0 home defeat to Inter Milan in the first leg. A 1–0 loss to Chaves further reduced their league lead to four points. A 3–3 away draw in Milan in the second leg eliminated Benfica from the Champions League.
The winless run ended with four consecutive league victories against Estoril, Gil Vicente, Braga and Portimonense. On 21 May, Benfica faced Sporting at the Estádio José Alvalade, knowing a win would secure the title. The match ended in a 2–2 draw, leaving the team two points clear. On 27 May, Benfica defeated Santa Clara 3–0 at home, clinching their 38th league championship.
Players First-team squad
Transfers In PlayerTransferred fromFeeDateSource33 Boavista€6,400,00023 MontpellierFree6 Slavia Prague€8,600,0007 Shakhtar Donetsk€15,300,00038 Corinthians€8,500,0008 July 202213 River Plate€10,000,00014 July 20228 Feyenoord€13,000,00024 August 202293 Paris Saint-GermainLoan (€2,500,000)25 WolfsburgFree19 Rosenborg€9,500,00021 Nordsjælland€14,000,00015 Wolverhampton WanderersLoanDisclosed total€87,800,000
Out PlayerTransferred toFeeDateSource9 Liverpool€75,000,0007 Flamengo€13,500,000— Beşiktaş€6,000,000— PAOKLoan— Pedro Pereira Monza€2,500,000— Jota Celtic€7,300,0001 Mile Svilar RomaFree— Ferro VitesseLoan15 July 202214 Haris Seferovic GalatasarayLoan (€1,000,000)19 July 202272 Tomás Araújo Gil VicenteLoan27 July 202221 Pizzi Al WahdaFree28 July 2022— Charlotte€1,000,0004 August 2022— Gabriel BotafogoLoan12 August 20229 Club Brugge€16,000,000— Fulham€5,000,00011 CremoneseLoan28 Borussia Mönchengladbach49 Al-NasrFree5 Anderlecht18 Coritiba€2,500,00017 Copenhagen€2,000,00077 AntalyasporFree39 WatfordLoan— Spartak Moscow€3,000,00038 NantesLoan25 Hoffenheim€500,000— Lokomotiv MoscowFree31 Stuttgart€2,000,00055 Paços de FerreiraLoan14 Haris Seferovic Celta de Vigo13 Chelsea€121,000,00034Free— Ferro Hajduk Split€1,500,00015 February 2023Disclosed total€259,800,000
Pre-season and friendlies
The pre-season began on 25 June and ended on 27 July 2022.Benfica vence Amora com os que não foram utilizados contra o Newcastle
Competitions Overall record
Primeira Liga
League table
Results summary
Results by round
Matches The league fixtures were announced on 5 July 2022.
Taça de Portugal
Taça da Liga
Group stage
UEFA Champions League
Third qualifying round The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 18 July 2022.
Play-off round The draw for the play-off round was held on 2 August 2022.
Group stage
The group stage draw was held on 25 August 2022.
Knockout phase
Round of 16 The draw for the round of 16 was held on 7 November 2022.
Quarter-finals The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 17 March 2023.
Statistics Appearances and goals
! colspan=18 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Goalkeepers
! colspan=18 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Defenders
! colspan=18 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Midfielders
! colspan=18 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Forwards
! colspan=18 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Players who made an appearance and/or had a squad number but left the team.
References