Benfica vs Feyenoord facts

Buoyant Benfica take on a Feyenoord side who kick-started their own UEFA Champions League campaign last time out in what is the teams' first meeting in more than 50 years.

The Portuguese side are among the seven clubs to have won both games to date thanks to victories at Crvena Zvezda (2-1) and at home to Atlético de Madrid (4-0). Feyenoord conceded four without reply at home to Bayer Leverkusen in their first game before a 3-2 win at debutants Girona.

Previous meetings

Matches 4
Benfica wins 2
Feyenoord wins 1
Draws 1
Benfica goals 8
Feyenoord goals 3

1971/72 European Cup quarter-finals
Feyenoord 1-0 Benfica
Benfica 5-1 Feyenoord
After Theo Laseroms scored the only goal of the first leg, Benfica turned on the style in Lisbon thanks to a hat-trick from Nené and two more Rui Jordão goals, Wim Rijsbergen with Feyenoord's sole reply.

1962/63 European Cup semi-finals
Feyenoord 0-0 Benfica
Benfica 3-1 Feyenoord
Benfica, European Cup winners in each of the previous two seasons, made it three finals in a row through second-leg goals from Eusébio, José Augusto and Santana, Frans Bouwmeester scoring a late Feyenoord consolation.

Form guide

Benfica

Record vs Dutch clubs: W12 D11 L6 F44 A31
Home record vs Dutch clubs: W9 D3 L2

Benfica's last games against a Dutch club came in the 2021/22 round of 16, when a 1-0 second-leg win at Ajax gave them a 3-2 aggregate victory.

That made it five games unbeaten against Eredivisie opponents (W2 D3), since a 1-0 loss at Ajax in the 2018/19 group stage – Benfica's only defeat in their last 18 games with Dutch clubs (W9 D8).

Benfica's last home defeat against Dutch visitors was 1-2 against PSV Eindhoven in the 1974/75 European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final second leg (1-2 aggregate); they have won seven of their subsequent nine games.

This is Benfica's 19th appearance in the Champions League proper, and a 14th in the last 15 seasons.

The Eagles reached quarter-finals in 2021/22 and 2022/23 but were unable to progress to the knockout rounds last season, finishing third in Group D. Roger Schmidt's side went on to the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, where Marseille ended their run (2-2 agg, 2-4 pens).

Benfica were without a win in four home Champions League games, losing three, before beating Atlético on Matchday 2.

European champions in 1961 and 1962, defeating Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, Benfica have lost in five other European Cup finals, most recently in 1990.

The Lisbon club let slip their Portuguese Liga title in 2023/24, finishing second to local rivals Sporting CP.

Benfica parted company with Schmidt on 31 August. On 5 September they named Bruno Lage, head coach between January 2019 and July 2020, as his replacement.

Feyenoord

Record vs Portuguese clubs: W3 D4 L7 F14 A22
Away record vs Portuguese clubs: W0 D1 L6

Feyenoord last faced Portuguese opponents in 2019/20, beating Porto 2-0 at home but losing 3-2 away in the Europa League group stage.

That Matchday 2 victory is the Dutch club's sole success in their last eight games against teams from Portugal (D3 L4) and the only one of the last four they have not lost.

A 1-1 draw at Boavista in the 1999/2000 Champions League first group stage is the only time Feyenoord have avoided defeat in their seven games in Portugal, with 18 goals conceded.

The Rotterdammers are making their seventh appearance in the Champions League proper, appearing in the competition for successive seasons for the first time since 2002/03. This is only the third time they have featured in the last 22 campaigns.

European champions in 1970, Feyenoord have never reached the Champions League knockout rounds, although they did qualify for the second group stage in 1999/2000.

In 2023/24, Feyenoord were third in Group E behind Atlético de Madrid and Lazio (W2 L4).

Their subsequent Europa League campaign lasted a single tie, losing to Roma in the knockout round play-offs (1-1 h, 1-1 a aet, 2-4 pens) – the third successive season in which Feyenoord's European campaign had ended in defeat by the Italian side, including a 1-0 loss in the 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League final.

The Matchday 2 win at Girona was Feyenoord's first in 12 away European games (D4 L7).

It also ended the Dutch club's run of eight successive away defeats in the Champions League proper; it was their second success in their last 14 away fixtures (D2 L10) and one of only four in the competition proper (D5 L13).

Feyenoord were second in the 2023/24 Eredivisie but did lift the Dutch Cup for the 14th time.

Arne Slot departed for Liverpool in the summer, Feyenoord appointing Sparta Praha coach Brian Priske as his successor.

Links and trivia

Orkun Kökçü joined Feyenoord's academy in 2014, making his first-team debut four years later. He scored 32 goals in 175 games, captaining the club to the 2022/23 Eredivisie title having reached the first Europa Conference League final the previous season, before leaving for Benfica in 2023.

Fredrik Aursnes was a Feyenoord player between August 2021 and August 2022, scoring once in his 49 appearances. He played 90 minutes of that Conference League final defeat by Roma in Tirana.

Has also played in Netherlands:
Vangelis Pavlidis (Willem II 2019–21, AZ Alkmaar 2021–24)

Have played together:
Vangelis Pavlidis & Timon Wellenreuther (Willem II 2019–20)
Vangelis Pavlidis & Bart Nieuwkoop (Willem II 2019/20)
Andreas Schjelderup & Ibrahim Osman (Nordsjælland 2023/24)

International team-mates:
Álvaro Carreras & Hugo Bueno (Spain U21)
Zeki Amdouni & Jordan Lotomba (Switzerland)

Latest news

Benfica

On Saturday a goal in each half from Jan-Niklas Beste, the German's first for the club, earned Benfica a 2-0 win at Pevidém in the Portuguese Cup third round.

Benfica's game at Nacional on 6 October was abandoned after only nine minutes due to heavy fog and rescheduled for 19 December.

Kerem Aktürkoglu has eight goals in his last eight games for club and country.

The Türkiye winger scored and provided an assist in a 4-2 UEFA Nations League victory in Iceland on 14 October.

Vangelis Pavlidis got both Greece goals in a 2-1 win in England on 10 October.

Zeki Amdouni scored in Switzerland's 2-2 draw against Denmark on 15 October.

On 10 October Nicolás Otamendi scored Argentina's goal in a 1-1 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying draw in Venezuela.

Feyenoord

Feyenoord have won four of their first eight Eredivisie games, drawing the other four. They were 5-1 victors at Go Ahead Eagles on Saturday.

The Rotterdam club are unbeaten in the Eredivisie since a 1-2 loss at home to eventual champions PSV Eindhoven on 3 December; their record since is W20 D8.

Feyenoord's Matchday 1 defeat at home to Leverkusen is their only loss in 36 games in all competitions – a sequence that includes 25 wins.

Santiago Giménez was replaced in the first half of a 2-0 win at home to NAC on 22 September with a thigh injury that is expected to sideline him for three months.

Bart Nieuwkoop has been out since 14 September.

Midfielder Calvin Stengs underwent knee surgery at the end of August.

Quinten Timber was named Feyenoord captain on 13 September.