Benfica said goodbye to Luz this Sunday, in the current season that is coming to an end, with a resounding thrashing of Arouca (5-0), in a match of the 33rd and penultimate round of the I League.

Rafa Silva was the great figure of the afternoon as he bid farewell to the fans with two goals and an assist, in what was his last match at Luz wearing the Benfica jersey. 

In addition to the number 27 jersey, who was even honored by the fans in the first half, and after having refused to take two penalty kicks, Ángel Di María, Orkun Kokçu and Casper Tengstedt also scored the other goals in a one-sided match.  

Match report

Benfica entered the match with the intention of quickly resolving the match against Arouca in their farewell to the Estádio da Luz for the season, and after a few dangerous moves, always led by Rafa Silva, the first goal came at the 25th minute. 

Bambu touched the ball with his hand in the penalty area and the referee had no doubts in pointing to the penalty spot. The fans present at Luz shouted for Rafa, but he did not let himself be convinced, not even after Di María's attempt (25'), and the Argentine ended up opening the scoring. 

The Eagles became more comfortable in the match and scored their second goal in less than 10 minutes, again due to... a penalty. Arruabarrena brought down Kokçu in the penalty area and the Turk did not forgive (32') from the penalty spot, extending the lead. Rafa would again deny the request to take the penalty, but shortly after he would also score a goal, with a great shot (42') that set Luz on fire, while also leading the team to victory. 

Roger Schmidt's team wasted no time after the break and opened the second half with another goal, again through Rafa Silva (47'), who even made fun of the Arouca goalkeeper before celebrating like... Pizzi. 

The fourth goal of the afternoon left Benfica even more relaxed and the match completely decided. Ángel Di María even scored a 'chip' but the referee disallowed the goal due to Rafa Silva being offside. 

Arouca, in turn, managed to get on the field, taking advantage of Benfica's more relaxed pace, but had clear difficulties in creating danger near the goal guarded by Trubin. 

Benfica would still score the fifth goal with Rafa Silva again in the play, but this time assisting the recently entered Casper Tensgstedt (77') for the accurate shot that would set the final score at Luz. 

Before the final whistle, it is worth mentioning the thunderous ovation that the fans gave Rafa Silva, who was replaced at 85 minutes by the young debutant João Rego. Before leaving, Rafa was hugged by all his teammates in a moment of communion also with the stands. 

At 18 years old, João Rêgo makes his debut for Benfica's main team

João Rêgo was the Junior Champion in 2022 and this season, between Sub 19, Sub 23 and Team B, he has played 41 matches and scored 7 goals pic.twitter.com/aK6iQpmwMz

— Playmaker (@playmaker_PT) May 12, 2024

All things considered, Benfica reaches the mark of 79 goals with the 25th victory in 33 rounds. In the next and last round, the Eagles will travel to Rio Ave. 

In turn, Arouca did not replicate the good image it has been showing throughout the season, but it already knows that the seventh place is no longer possible, where it remains with 46 points. 

Moment of the match: Rafa Silva's first goal was a gift for the number 27 jersey, but it also gave the Eagles some peace of mind. 

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