Benfica Vs Avs: benfica vs avs preview and 3-0 match report
benfica vs avs ended in a 3-0 victory for Benfica at the Estadio da Luz in the 23rd week of the Portuguese League. By Adeyeye Oluwapelumi | 19 Feb 2026 23: 51, Last updated: 20 Feb 2026 13: 25.
Benfica Vs Avs match details
Benfica beat AVS 3-0 on home soil at the Estadio da Luz. The goals arrived from Alexander Bah in the 11th minute, Enzo Barrenechea in the 30th minute and Rafa Silva in the 43rd minute. The match completed Benfica’s third consecutive league win and moved the Reds to 55 points in the table.
Goals and key match moments
Alexander Bah opened the scoring in the 11th minute. Enzo Barrenechea struck in the 30th minute from a corner when he ghosted into the box to meet Richard Ríos' headed pass and guided a left-footed finish into the bottom right. Later, Rafa Silva scored in the 43rd minute; that was the Portuguese player’s first goal, achieved in his sixth match for Benfica. The match at the Luz finished 3-0 to Benfica.
Barrenechea's midfield control and stats
Enzo Barrenechea was central to Benfica’s control. He finished with four attempts, two on target, and completed 70 of 77 passes, including 24 successful final third deliveries. He also fed Andreas Schjelderup between the lines for a driven effort that Adriel tipped over (43. ). After the restart Barrenechea attacked a Rafa cross and glanced a header wide (70. ), and later a skidding effort from distance drew another save from Adriel (81. ). Those sequences underline how he kept AVS pinned back with incisive passes.
AVS form and defensive woes
AVS had taken confidence from securing their first league victory of the season by thrashing Estoril Praia 3–0 at the Estadio do CD Aves the previous weekend, courtesy of second-half strikes from Diego Duarte, Tomane and Angel Algobia. That result delivered Joao Henriques’s first win since his appointment in December after eight previous outings without success (D2, L6). Despite that victory, AVS remained rooted to the foot of the table, a whopping 12 points adrift of safety, with just 8 points in total and 18 goals scored — the third fewest — while conceding a league-high 54. Thirty-one of those shipped goals have come on the road, where AVS have lost eight of their 10 Primeira Liga away fixtures this season.
Discipline, controversy and next fixtures
Benfica arrived at the Luz carrying the aftermath of a controversy from their midweek Champions League first leg, a 1–0 defeat to Real Madrid. Tuesday’s contest at the Estadio da Luz reached boiling point when Vinicius Junior’s goal celebration appeared to provoke a reaction from sections of the home support and Benfica’s players, with Gianluca Prestianni at the centre of the controversy after the match was briefly halted following allegations that he directed a racial slur towards the Brazilian forward. Investigations are set to follow about what was said, and Benfica have publicly backed Prestianni. Separately, Benfica will be without Prestianni for this league match after he picked up his fifth booking of the Primeira Liga campaign.
Domestic momentum and standings
Last weekend’s 2–1 victory at Santa Clara marked a fifth win in six top-flight outings in 2026 (D1) and extended Benfica’s unbeaten run in the competition to 37 matches (W27, D10), dating back to their defeat against Casa Pia on matchday 19 last season. That stretch leaves Benfica as the only side yet to taste defeat in the league this term. The result at the Luz strengthened their position in the title race but Benfica remained third in the Primeira Liga table, with the gap to the summit and to second place trimmed to seven and three points, respectively. At home this season Benfica have won seven of their 11 league matches (D4), though they have dropped points against sides battling survival, drawing with Santa Clara, Casa Pia and Rio Ave.
Fixtures ahead for both clubs
Benfica are set to visit Real Madrid in the Champions League next and have a league trip to Gil Vicente in the next match week. AVS will host Estrela Amadora in Liga Portugal; one account in the match record noted AFS remained at 8 points and would host Estrela at home in the next week.
Benfica produced a scintillating attacking display at the Luz to cruise to a 3-0 victory over AVS, with key contributions from Bah, Barrenechea and Rafa Silva. The sequence of events from the midweek controversy to the 3-0 win leaves both clubs facing distinct immediate priorities: Benfica to balance European recovery with domestic title ambitions, and AVS to build on a rare league success while addressing long-term defensive frailties.
