SL Benfica defeated Scottish club Hearts of Midlothian 6-1 at Estadio Da Luz in their Europa League qualifying match. The Portuguese side finished third in their domestic league last season to earn a place in the Europa League qualifiers, having previously defeated Sankt Gallen 6-2 on aggregate in the second round after 17 million euro signing Jakub Kamiński assisted a Vangelis Pavlidis goal in the second leg.
Benfica coach Marco Silva selected an attacking line of Gianluca Prestianni, Heorhij Sudakow, Rafa Silva, and Vangelis Pavlidis, leaving Kamiński on the bench. Hearts failed to register a single shot on target during the first half as Benfica took total control of the match.
Rafa Silva, Tomas Araujo, and Pavlidis scored to give Benfica a 3-0 lead after 45 minutes. Pavlidis had a second goal disallowed for offside in the 45th minute.
Second half goals and substitution
Benfica slowed their pace after the break to play on the counterattack. In the 59th minute, Prestianni intercepted the ball near the opponent penalty box to score his second goal of the match, drawing online praise from fans who noted the Argentine contributed more to Benfica's play than Kamiński.
Hearts pulled a goal back unexpectedly in the 72nd minute through a shot by Tom Renaud. Kamiński entered the game in the 85th minute as a substitute for Prestianni.
Two minutes after Kamiński joined the action, Jhon Duran extended Benfica's lead. Andreas Schjelderup then scored a penalty in the closing moments following a handball infraction.
Playoff round prospects
Benfica hold a commanding advantage ahead of next week's second leg. The winner of the tie will advance to the Europa League play-offs on August 20 and 27 to face the loser of the tie between Aarhus and Sabah Baku, with the Azerbaijani club trailing 2-1 after the first leg. That potential matchup could set up a Polish clash between Kamiński and Tymoteusz Puchacz.
