Vangelis Pavlidis scored four goals to lead Benfica to a 5-0 victory over St. Gallen at Da Luz, erasing a 1-2 first-leg loss and sending the Portuguese club into the third qualifying round of the Europa League.
The 28-year-old striker became the first Greek footballer to score four goals in a European competition, capping one of the standout individual performances of his career. Benfica won the tie 6-2 on aggregate.
Four goals, four moments
Pavlidis opened the scoring in the 11th minute and doubled his tally in the 55th. He added a third in the 65th minute before completing the haul with a penalty in the 74th, effectively ending any doubt about the outcome. His performance drew sustained applause from the crowd when he was substituted off in the 77th minute.
The player who replaced him was newly-signed John Duran, stepping onto the pitch for his first involvement in the match. Clement Lenglet rounded off the scoreline in the 82nd minute to make it 5-0.
Overturning the deficit
Benfica had gone into the return leg at a disadvantage after losing 2-1 to St. Gallen in Switzerland. The emphatic home win not only wiped out that deficit but confirmed the club's passage to the next stage of the Europa League qualifying competition.
Benfica will now face Hearts of Scotland in the third qualifying round.
Transfer speculation in the background
The performance came at a moment when Pavlidis's name has been circulating in transfer discussions. Spanish media reports, referenced in the source, have placed him among players being considered by Barcelona, with speculation linking him to a potential role as a replacement for Robert Lewandowski. The four-goal showing added weight to that backdrop without any comment from the player or club appearing in the source.
Other Europa League second-leg results
Several other second-leg ties in the Europa League second qualifying round were also decided. Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Sheriff Tiraspol 1-0 on the night, having won the first leg 5-0. Anderlecht beat Hammarby 3-1, while Ferencvaros drew 2-2 with Twente. PAOK of Greece defeated Dynamo Kyiv 2-0 in the return leg to progress 5-2 on aggregate.
Midtjylland were eliminated after a 0-2 home loss to Besiktas, and CSKA Sofia advanced past Karabakh on penalties following a goalless draw after extra time in the return fixture, with the first leg also having ended 0-0.
Paphos FC of Cyprus progressed against Hajduk Split on penalties after extra time, having drawn 0-2 in the away leg and won 4-0 at home. Hradec Kralove of the Czech Republic beat Tromso 3-1 on the night to advance.
Third qualifying round draw
The draw for the third qualifying round has produced the following pairings: Larne against Iberia Tbilisi; Lincoln Red Imps against Omonia; Kuopio against Universitatea Craiova; Shamrock Rovers against Egnatia; Lech Poznan against Klaksvik; Thun against Vikingur; Hradec Kralove against Besiktas; Jagiellonia Bialystok against Rangers; PAOK against Anderlecht; Paphos against Salzburg; Benfica against Hearts; Maccabi Tel Aviv against CSKA Sofia; and Ferencvaros against Gornik Zabrze.
