In six seasons at the helm of the club, tactician Jorge Jesus took Benfica to three league titles,
six domestic cups and two Europa League finals.
When the time came to replace him, Rui Vitória was the chosen man.
The 47-year-old didn’t make many tactical adjustments, taking advantage of the basis
left by the previous manager and focusing on player relationships and nurturing youngsters
into the first team.
This lead to two more league titles, as well as the rise and consequent valuable sale of
players like Nelson Semedo, Ederson, Gonçalo Guedes, Renato Sanches and Victor Lindelof.
This season, however, things didn’t go quite as planned.
Little investment despite the summer departures, was followed by the team dropping out early
from every competition possible.
The situation forced the manager to be tactically inventive, switching from their customary
4-4-2 to a 4-3-3.
A new system that got them back on track to compete for the league title.
They field their 4-3-3 with Ljubomir Fejsa [LUBE-OH-MEER FAY-SA] as the single defensive
midfielder, while Pizzi and Zivkovic take up the spots ahead of him.
Unlike a lot of big teams, Benfica’s centre-backs and defensive midfielder aren’t exceptional
from a technical point of view, which restricts them to simpler involvements with the ball.
Usually playing lateral passes to their full-backs instead of vertical ones.
The build-up is then, in large part, done through combination play between wide triangles
of composed by full-back, winger and interior midfielder, who tend to outnumber the opposition’s
full-back and wide midfielder with their passing triangles.
The right side balances out the team.
André Almeida has improved going forward but is still a very good defender, while Salvio
or Rafa Silva – despite being right footed players – tend to get to finishing positions
and provide some support to the striker without having to be the difference makers.
Pizzi, the team’s main creator last season, has been delegated to an equally important
yet less flashy role this season.
The Portuguese international doesn’t have as much creative responsibility in this midfield
trio, instead orchestrating the team’s tempo with his passing from slightly deeper.
The left sided triangle, however, is the one responsible for the system’s offensive proficiency.
Grimaldo, an elegant Spanish full-back from Barcelona’s La Masia academy, is clever
moving forward in possession.
A capable passer and ball-carrier, he’s great at interpreting when to overlap or underlap
his winger, depending on what will be more troubling for the opposition.
To cover the wide area alongside him, he found a perfect partner in FRANKO Cervi [CHAIR-V].
The Argentine is a classic winger, good dribbler and crosser, who is comfortable hugging the
touchline and letting Grimaldo indulge in the left half-space where he excels.
Cervi also provides plenty of defensive support, which is important taking into account how
much ground Grimaldo often leaves exposed.
Zivkovic is the man to complete the trio.
The Serbian under-20 World Cup winner is finally getting his chance to shine in Portugal, with
his dribbling and ball control as assets to get away from defenders in central areas.
With freedom to roam, the 21-year-old combines well on the left, but continuously opens spaces
for himself and his teammates elsewhere with his movement.
While the changes to the team’s dynamic have given Rui Vitória’s men a different
edge, Jonas has kept his brilliance throughout.
With 96 goals and 33 assists in just 106 league games in Portugal, the Brazil international
is capable of finishing even the most difficult of chances.
He likes to drop deep and combine with his teammates.
This lets him take advantage of his vision and technique to create for others, as well
as opening the possibility for him to run onto cut-back crosses at the top of the box.
These types of crosses are preferred as a means of generating chances duo to the forward’s
lack of aerial ability.
The team’s mobility and dynamism in central areas from their midfielders and forward are
extremely important having in account that, in most matches, they’re forced to spend
a substantial portion of the time trying to unlock deep blocks.
Without the ball, Fejsa’s importance shines through.
With such an array of attacking talent pushing forward, there’s often a lot of space to
explore between the midfielders if a ball is lost in the opposition half and their non-particularly-organized
press is broken.
The Serbian, who boasts the league’s highest tally for Tackles plus Interceptions per 90
minutes – with 6.5 –, is forced to cover a lot of ground.
But does it well, knowing how to position himself to cut out passing lanes and when
to stop opponents in transition.
If the opposition opt to transition via long-balls, the centre-backs aerial prowess tends to help
them recover the ball and recycle it to the full-backs all over again.
A team that was once overly reliant on their individual talent, is now learning how to
combine their skilful units in favour of a system, better than the sum of their parts.