Bruma and Manu Silva returned to Benfica’s matchday squad on Saturday for the Liga meeting with Moreirense at Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, while José Mourinho left himself without a central defender on the bench.
Bruma had not been named in a squad since the trip to Real Madrid in late February, after a muscle injury kept him out for the first six months of the season. Manu Silva, meanwhile, was back on the bench after missing Benfica’s previous two league games against Nacional and Sporting.
The home side’s lineup featured Trubin, Bah, António Silva, Otamendi, Dahl, Ríos, Aursnes, Lukebakio, Barreiro, Rafa and Pavlidis, a selection that reflected several changes from the derby. Bah, António Silva, Lukebakio, Rafa and Pavlidis all came in, as Benfica were still being spoken of as fighting for Champions League qualification after the Sporting match.
Moreirense made only one change to the team that beat Estoril, with Kevyn replaced by Maracás. Vasco Botelho da Costa also started Afonso Assis, who was born on 15 July 2006 and carries a surname familiar to Benfica supporters through Nuno Assis, who represented the club from 2005 to 2008.
The Moreirense bench also had a Benfica connection of its own. Luís Semedo, Francisco Domingues and Leandro Santos were all formed at the Lisbon club, and Leandro Santos has made nine appearances for Benfica B this season.
Benfica’s squad list also showed Sidny Lopes Cabral and Gonçalo Oliveira dropping out, leaving Mourinho with a group that did not include a central defender among his substitutes. The club had used Enzo Barrenechea in that role against Vitória Sport Clube on 21 March, but there was no such option against Moreirense.
The shape of the afternoon was clear before kickoff: Benfica had reinforcements back, Moreirense arrived with a stable XI, and the bench told its own story about who was available and who was not. In a season that has already stretched both clubs in different ways, the details around the squad may matter as much as the result itself.
