With the curiosity of having always started with victories on the five occasions, the 'incarnate' team fell to Liverpool (2009/10) and successively eliminated PSV Eindhoven (2010/11), Newcastle (2012/13) and AZ Alkmaar (2013/14), before being eliminated by Eintracht Frankfurt (2018/19).

The first presence occurred in 2009/10, the debut season of the Europa League, successor to the UEFA Cup, with Benfica beating the 'reds' 2-1 at home in the first leg, thanks to a 'brace' by the Paraguayan Óscar Cardozo.

The best foreign scorer in the history of the 'incarnates' also scored at Anfield Road, reducing the score to 3-1, but the Portuguese team ended up defeated by 4-1, in a game in which the Spaniard Fernando Torres scored twice.

A year later, Benfica returned to the 'quarters' and this time moved on, against PSV, with a 4-1 home win, sealed with four Argentine goals, by Aimar, Salvio, who scored twice, and Saviola, and a 2-2 draw in Eindhoven, where the Brazilian Luisão and Cardozo 'cancelled out' a dangerous 2-0.

In 2011/12, Benfica was in the 'quarters' of the 'Champions' and, in 2012/13, returned to the 'top 8' of the Europa League, to beat Newcastle.

The English scored first at Luz, but Rodrigo, Lima and Cardozo turned the score to 3-1, and also took the lead in Newcastle, with another goal by Papiss Cissé, but the 'eagles' held on and even drew, at 90+2 minutes, by Salvio.

The following season, the 'incarnates' again played the 'quarters' and had the most peaceful tie, beating AZ Alkmaar twice, by 1-0 in the Netherlands (Salvio) and 2-0 at Luz (Rodrigo's 'brace').

In 2012/13 and 2013/14, Benfica reached the final, but lost the first to Chelsea, by 2-1, due to a goal in stoppage time, by the Serbian Ivanovic (90+3 minutes), and the second to Sevilla, on penalties (2-4), after 120 minutes without goals.

The last presence in the 'quarters' of the Europa League occurred in 2018/19, with Benfica starting with a 4-2 home win against Eintracht Frankfurt, with a 'hat-trick' by João Félix, in a game in which they could have achieved a historic win, against a team that was reduced to 10 units early on.

However, the Germans left Luz 'alive' and ended up turning the tie around in Germany, with a 2-0 win, sealed by the Serbian Kostic and Rode, going to the semi-finals due to the goals scored away.

In the predecessor of the Europa League, the UEFA Cup, Benfica has three presences in the 'quarters', having eliminated Roma, in 1982/83 (2-1 in the Italian capital and 1-1 at home) and fallen to Juventus, in 1992/93 (2-1 at home and 0-3 in Turin), and Espanyol, in 2006/07 (2-3 in Barcelona and 0-0 at home).

Benfica's sixth presence in the quarter-finals of the Europa League in football, against the French from Marseille, starts to be played on Thursday, at 8 pm, at the Estádio da Luz, in Lisbon.

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