2012–13 S.L. Benfica season

Season summary

After two unsuccessful seasons without winning the league title, Benfica retained Jorge Jesus as manager for a fourth year. During the summer transfer window, starting midfielders Javi García and Axel Witsel were sold to Manchester City for €23 million and Zenit Saint Petersburg for €40 million, respectively, with García departing on the final day of the window. Striker Javier Saviola’s contract was mutually terminated, and he subsequently joined Málaga on a free transfer. Starting left-back Emerson was also sold, joining Turkish club Trabzonspor for €1.6 million. Other notable departures included left-back Joan Capdevila, who transferred to Espanyol for €500,000, the loan of long-serving midfielder Ruben Amorim to Braga, and the loan of striker Nélson Oliveira to Deportivo de La Coruña. In the winter transfer window, winger Nolito was loaned to Granada.

In terms of arrivals, right winger Eduardo Salvio returned from Atlético Madrid for €13.5 million, while Ola John, who had faced Benfica the previous season in UEFA Champions League qualifying, was signed for €9 million. Benfica also added striker Lima from Braga.

For squad depth, the club signed goalkeeper Paulo Lopes from Feirense, defender Luisinho from Paços de Ferreira, midfielder Michel from Braga, and forward Hugo Vieira from Gil Vicente, who was immediately loaned to Sporting de Gijón. Returning from loan spells were Lorenzo Melgarejo (Paços de Ferreira), Carlos Martins (Granada), Enzo Pérez (Estudiantes), and Alan Kardec (Santos).

The preseason featured a 2–0 win over Marseille, followed by victories against Hamm Benfica, Śląsk Wrocław, Real Madrid (5–2), and Gil Vicente, draws with Lille and Juventus, and a defeat to PSV Eindhoven.

After the departures of García and Witsel, Nemanja Matić and Enzo Pérez established themselves in the starting lineup, while Lima quickly secured a regular place alongside Óscar Cardozo, relegating Rodrigo to the bench.

The official season began on 8 August with a 2–2 home draw against Braga, followed by victories over Nacional and Vitória de Setúbal, and a 0–0 away draw with Celtic in the Champions League. Benfica then drew 2–2 away with Académica and won 2–1 against F.C. Paços de Ferreira, finishing September level on points with Porto.

October opened with a 2–0 home defeat to FC Barcelona in the Champions League, followed by a league win over Beira-Mar, a Taça de Portugal victory over Freamunde, a 2–1 away loss to Spartak Moskva in the Champions League, and a 3–0 away win against Gil Vicente. In November, Benfica won all of their matches: 3–0 at home against Vitória de Guimarães, 2–0 at home against Spartak Moskva in the Champions League, 1–0 away against Rio Ave in the league, 2–0 away against Moreirense in the fourth round of the Taça de Portugal, 2–1 at home against Celtic in the Champions League, and 2–0 at home against Olhanense. They ended the month still level on points with Porto.

December began with a 0–0 draw at Camp Nou against Barcelona in the Champions League, a result that eliminated Benfica from the group stage and sent them into the UEFA Europa League, followed by a 3–1 league win over Sporting at the Estádio José Alvalade, featuring a hat-trick from Cardozo. Benfica then recorded a 4–1 home win over Marítimo, a 2–1 away win against Olhanense and a 1–1 draw with Moreirense, both in the Taça da Liga.

The new year began with a 6–0 win over C.D. Aves in the Taça de Portugal, followed by a 3–1 away win against Estoril and a 4–0 away victory over Académica in the Taça da Liga, which qualified Benfica for the semi-finals. On 13 January, Benfica hosted Porto in the league, drawing 2–2. They then defeated Académica 4–0 in the Taça de Portugal quarter-finals, Moreirense 2–0 in the league, Braga 2–1 away, and Paços de Ferreira 2–0 in the first leg of the Taça de Portugal semi-finals, ending the month level on points with Porto.

In February, Benfica recorded league wins over Vitória de Setúbal, Académica, and Paços de Ferreira, and drew away against Nacional. In Europe, they eliminated Bayer Leverkusen 3–1 on aggregate in the Europa League round of 32 (1–0 away, 2–1 home).{{cite web|title=Benfica 2 - 1 Bayer Leverkusen, 16 avos de final da Liga Europa

March saw Benfica win all of their matches: 1–0 against Beira-Mar in the league, 1–0 at home and 3–2 away against Bordeaux in the Europa League round of 16,{{cite web|title=Benfica supera Bordeaux, na França, e Fener sofre, mas avança às quartas

May opened with a 3–1 home win over Fenerbahçe, with two goals from Cardozo, which qualified Benfica for their first European final in 23 years. Shortly after, Benfica drew 1–1 at home against Estoril, reducing their league lead to two points, before visiting the Estádio do Dragão. Ahead of the decisive league match, both Benfica and Porto remained unbeaten. Benfica took the lead in the 19th minute through Lima, but a stoppage-time goal gave Porto victory and put them in control of the title race.

On 15 May, Benfica faced Chelsea in the 2013 UEFA Europa League final at the Amsterdam Arena, losing 2–1 after a stoppage-time header from Ivanović. It was the club's sixth consecutive defeat in a European final. Four days later, Benfica met Vitória de Guimarães in the Taça de Portugal final at the Jamor. Nicolás Gaitán opened the scoring for Benfica, but two second-half goals secured victory for Vitória, leaving Benfica without a trophy despite competing for three major titles.

Competitions

Pre-season

Martins Cardozo
Nolito Sobota Luisão Martins Gaitán Lens Wijnaldum Witsel Pérez Martins Pereira
Vítor
Michel Suspended

Primeira Liga

Main article: 2012–13 Primeira Liga

League table

Results summary

Results by round

Matches

Salvio Bruno César Cardozo
Mossoró Bruno Amaro Luisão Salvio Pérez Nolito Rodrigo Galo Dias Ferreira Eduardo Ogu Melgarejo Cardozo Garay Lima Tony Pereira Artur Gaitán Rodrigo
Cunha Pereira Matić Luisinho Pérez Gomes Bruno César Lima Gomes Addy Matić Almeida Artur Luisão Van Wolfswinkel Boulahrouz Rinaudo Rojo Matić Cardozo Cardozo Pereira Melgarejo Rodrigo Ferreira Dias Roberge Fidélis Sami Anderson Luís Santos Gaitán Lima Pérez Salvio Almeida Gaitán Pérez Pereira Martínez Moutinho Lima João Pedro Haas Lima Matić Gaitán Artur Lima Rodrigo Pereira Gomes Marçal Mateus Rodrigues Gottardi Urretavizcaya Cardozo Matić Lima
Dias Cabral Cardozo Salvio Luisinho Sampaio Jaime Ribeiro Melgarejo Salvio Melgarejo Lima Gaitán Kanú Olímpio Garay Salvio Rodrigo Matić
Lima Gaitán Rodrigo Pérez Cardozo Ukra Edimar Tarantini Hassan Matić Luisão Lima Rinaudo Rossi
Artur Garay Luisão Rossi Cardozo Martins Jefferson Tavares Vagner Rodríguez Fernando Defour Kelvin Helton Pérez Matić Artur Lima Matić Diego Gaúcho Paulinho

Taça de Portugal

Main article: 2012–13 Taça de Portugal

Cardozo Salvio Gomes Matić
Cardozo Cardozo Lima Lima Salvio First leg John Second leg R. Pereira

Taça da Liga

Main article: 2012–13 Taça da Liga

Group stage

Lima Alan Kardec Saleiro

Knockout phase

Custódio João Pedro Amorim Luisão Pérez Roderick Gaitán

UEFA Champions League

Main article: 2012–13 UEFA Champions League

Group stage

Main article: 2012–13 UEFA Champions League group stage#Group G

Izaguirre Brown Aimar Bruno César Martins Matić Jardel Pedro Fàbregas
Busquets Suchý Jardel Welliton Ari Cardozo Matić Cardozo Makeyev Pareja Jurado Garay Melgarejo Almeida Ledley Wanyama Adriano Garay Luisão Matić

UEFA Europa League

Main article: 2012–13 UEFA Europa League

Knockout phase

Main article: 2012–13 UEFA Europa League knockout phase

Round of 32

Kießling Milik Cardozo Gaitán John
Matić
Carvajal Schürrle

Round of 16

Martins Rodrigo Obraniak Diabaté Ben Khalfallah Jardel Roderick Cardozo John Pereira

Quarter-finals

Lima Cardozo Pérez Perch Sh. Ameobi Cabaye Yanga-Mbiwa Williamson Pérez Almeida Salvio

Semi-finals

Topal Korkmaz Webó Aimar Pereira John Pereira Pérez Cardozo Cristian Erkin

Final

Main article: 2013 UEFA Europa League final

Ivanović

Overall record

Players

Statistics

|- ! colspan="15" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| Goalkeepers |- ! colspan="15" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| Defenders |- ! colspan="15" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| Midfielders |- ! colspan="15" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| Strikers |- ! colspan="15" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| No longer at club |}

• 1.Players who were in the squad at the time of the first competitive fixture.
• 2.Also includes 2012–13 UEFA Champions League and 2012–13 UEFA Europa League.

Transfers

In

Out

References

References

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