2012–13 S.L. Benfica season

Benfica

2012–13 season
President	Luís Filipe Vieira
Manager	Jorge Jesus
Stadium	Estádio da Luz
Primeira Liga	2nd
Taça de Portugal	Runners-up
Taça da Liga	Semi-finals
UEFA Champions League	Group stage
UEFA Europa League	Runners-up
Top goalscorer	League: Lima (20) All: Óscar Cardozo (33)
Highest home attendance	63,847 v Barcelona (2 October 2012)
Lowest home attendance	13,872 v Académica (9 January 2013)
Average home league attendance	42,359
Biggest win	Benfica 6–0 Desportivo das Aves (2 January 2013)
Biggest defeat	Benfica 0–2 Barcelona (2 October 2012)
Home colours Away colours

The 2012–13 season was Sport Lisboa e Benfica's 109th season in existence and the club's 79th consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football. It involved Benfica competing in the Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal, Taça da Liga and the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. Benfica qualified for the Champions League by coming second in the previous Primeira Liga.

Benfica could have enjoyed a treble in May if they could win the UEFA Europa League, maintain their lead in the Primeira Liga, and win the Taça de Portugal. In the league, they came second to Porto after conceding a 90th-minute goal; and despite a win in their last match, they could not prevent their rivals from winning the title. Afterwards, they lost the UEFA Europa League final to then European champions Chelsea (2–1) when Branislav Ivanović headed in an injury-time winner. In the Taça de Portugal, Benfica reached the final for the first time since 2004–05 Taça de Portugal but lost to Vitória de Guimarães, conceding two goals in two minutes. The Taça da Liga ended at the semi-finals, which prevented Benfica for winning their fifth league cup in a row.

In the UEFA Champions League, Benfica finished third in the group stage, with ten points, behind Barcelona and Celtic, and was relegated to the UEFA Europa League, where they reached the club's ninth European final and first since 1990.

Review and events

In manager Jorge Jesus' fourth year with the club, starting midfielders Javi García and Axel Witsel were sold to Manchester City for €23 million and Zenit Saint Petersburg for €40 million, respectively; Nemanja Matić and Enzo Pérez replaced the duo in the regular starting lineup. Striker Javier Saviola's contract was mutually terminated, where he then joined Málaga of the Spanish La Liga on a free transfer. Starting left-back Emerson was also sold, joining Turkish club Trabzonspor for a transfer fee of €1.6 million. Other notable outgoing transfers included left-back and former Spanish international Joan Capdevila to Espanyol for €500,000, the loaning of longtime Benfica midfielder Rúben Amorim to Braga and the loaning of Portuguese international striker Nélson Oliveira to Deportivo de La Coruña. In the winter transfer window, winger Nolito was loaned to Granada.

On the right wing, Eduardo Salvio, on loan with Benfica for the 2010–11 season from Atlético Madrid, returned to regain his place after the club paid Atlético €13.5 million for his services. Ola John, part of the Dutch Twente squad that faced Benfica the year before in UEFA Champions League qualifying, was also purchased for a fee of €9 million, providing Jesus with another option on the left wing behind Nicolás Gaitán, now back on the left wing. Benfica then added striker Lima from Braga, who quickly established himself as a starting striker alongside Óscar Cardozo, relegating Rodrigo to the bench.

For the upcoming season, Benfica also signed depth players Paulo Lopes from Feirense, Luisinho from Paços de Ferreira, Michel from Braga and Hugo Vieira from Gil Vicente, who was immediately loaned out to Sporting de Gijón. Returning from loan were Lorenzo Melgarejo from Paços de Ferreira, Carlos Martins from Granada, Enzo Pérez from Estudiantes de La Plata and Alan Kardec from Santos.

Competitions

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Pre-season

Benfica v Marseille

13 July 2012 (2012-07-13) Friendly	Benfica	2–0	Marseille	Sion, Switzerland
19:45 CET (UTC+01)	Cardozo 37' (pen.) Martins 90+1'	Report		Stadium: Stade Tourbillon Attendance: 7,569 Referee: Sascha Amhof

Benfica v Hamm Benfica

15 July 2012 (2012-07-15) Friendly	Benfica	3–0	Hamm Benfica	Hesperange, Luxembourg
19:45 CET (UTC+01)	Pereira 49' Cardozo 67' Nolito 85'	Report		Stadium: Stade Alphonse Theis Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Laurent Kopriwa

Lille v Benfica

16 July 2012 (2012-07-16) Friendly	Lille	0–0	Benfica	Metz, France
19:30 CET (UTC+01)		Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Antony Gautier

Śląsk Wrocław v Benfica

21 July 2012 Polish Masters	Śląsk Wrocław	2–4	Benfica	Wrocław, Poland
16:00 UTC	Elsner 67' Sobota 69'	Report	11' Cardozo 60' Luisão 73' Martins 89' Gaitán	Stadium: Stadion Miejski Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Robert Małek

PSV Eindhoven v Benfica

22 July 2012 Polish Masters	PSV Eindhoven	3–1	Benfica	Wrocław, Poland
13:45 UTC	Jørgensen 54' Lens 74' Wijnaldum 83'	Report	34' Martins	Stadium: Stadion Miejski Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Tomasz Garbowski

Benfica v Real Madrid

27 July 2012 Eusébio Cup	Benfica	5–2	Real Madrid	Estádio da Luz, Portugal
19:00 WEST (UTC+01:00)	García 4' Witsel 22' Pérez 53', 85' Martins 58'	Report	Callejón 18', 20'	Attendance: 35,476 Referee: Bruno Paixão

Gil Vicente v Benfica

28 July 2012 (2012-07-28) Friendly	Gil Vicente	2–5	Benfica	Barcelos, Portugal
19:30 CET (UTC+01)	Cláudio 40' Pereira 52'	Report	Mora 14', 23', 35' Vítor 18' Michel 67'	Stadium: Estádio Cidade de Barcelos Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Cosme Machado

Benfica v Juventus

1 August 2012 (2012-08-01) Friendly	Benfica	1–1	Juventus	Geneva, Switzerland
18:00 CET (UTC+01)	Cardozo 88'	Report	Krasić 90+2'	Stadium: Stade de Genève Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Stéphan Studer

Fortuna Düsseldorf v Benfica

11 August 2012 (2012-08-11) Friendly	Fortuna Düsseldorf	0–0 Suspended	Benfica	Düsseldorf, Germany
18:00 CET (UTC+01)		Report		Stadium: Esprit Arena Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Christian Fischer

Primeira Liga

Main article: 2012–13 Primeira Liga

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Porto (C)	30	24	6	0	70	14	+56	78	Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2	Benfica	30	24	5	1	77	20	+57	77
3	Paços de Ferreira	30	14	12	4	42	29	+13	54	Qualification for the Champions League play-off round
4	Braga	30	16	4	10	60	44	+16	52	Qualification for the Europa League play-off round
5	Estoril	30	13	6	11	47	37	+10	45	Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round

Source: LPFP (in Portuguese)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head away goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Matches won; 7) Goals scored; 8) Play-off.
(Note: LPFP decided that only criteria 1, 5, 6 and 7 would be applied to establish the classification during the competition.)
(C) Champions

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
30	24	5	1	77	20	+57	77	12	3	0	42	9	+33	12	2	1	35	11	+24

Last updated: 19 May 2013.
Source: lpfp.pt and League matches

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Ground	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H
Result	D	W	W	D	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	D	L	W
Position	5	1	1	2	1	2	1	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2

Source: LPFP
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Benfica v Braga

18 August 2012 (2012-08-18) 1	Benfica	2–2	Braga	Lisbon
20:15 CET (UTC+01)	Pereira  18' Salvio 49' Bruno César  59' Cardozo 72' (pen.)  73'	Report	Melgarejo 54' (o.g.) Mossoró 62'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 53,357 Referee: Artur Soares Dias

Vitória de Setúbal v Benfica

26 August 2012 (2012-08-26) 2	Vitória de Setúbal	0–5	Benfica	Setúbal
20:15 CET (UTC+01)	Amoreirinha  8' Bruno Amaro  17'	Report	Rodrigo 14', 88' Luisão  17' Salvio 30' Pérez 45' Nolito 66'	Stadium: Estádio do Bonfim Attendance: 10,569 Referee: Jorge Sousa

Benfica v Nacional

2 September 2012 (2012-09-02) 3	Benfica	3–0	Nacional	Lisbon
20:15 CET (UTC+01)	Cardozo 50', 88' Rodrigo 56'	Report	Školnik  46'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 34,695 Referee: Bruno Esteves

Académica v Benfica

23 September 2012 (2012-09-23) 4	Académica	2–2	Benfica	Coimbra
20:15 CET (UTC+01)	Cissé 26' (pen.) Galo  50' Dias  55' Ferreira  61' Eduardo 68' (pen.) Ogu  77'	Report	Pereira  26' Melgarejo  55' Cardozo 51' (pen.) Garay  68' Lima 86'	Stadium: Estádio Cidade de Coimbra Attendance: 8,270 Referee: Carlos Xistra

Paços de Ferreira v Benfica

28 September 2012 (2012-09-28) 5	Paços de Ferreira	1–2	Benfica	Paços de Ferreira
20:15 CET (UTC+01)	Cícero 6' Tony  59'	Report	Lima 8', 71' Pereira  73' Artur  90+3' Gaitán  90+4'	Stadium: Estádio da Mata Real Attendance: 4,247 Referee: Marco Ferreira

Benfica v Beira-Mar

6 October 2012 (2012-10-06) 6	Benfica	2–1	Beira-Mar	Lisbon
20:30 CET (UTC+01)	Pereira 58' Rodrigo 60'  64'	Report	Sasso 5'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 28,305 Referee: Rui Costa

Gil Vicente v Benfica

27 October 2012 (2012-10-27) 7	Gil Vicente	0–3	Benfica	Barcelos
20:30 CET (UTC+01)	Luís Manuel  36' Cunha  70' Pereira  89'	Report	Lima 2' Matić  21' Luisinho 26' Pérez  32'  69' Gomes 45+1' Bruno César  90+1'	Stadium: Estádio Cidade de Barcelos Attendance: 7,242 Referee: Vasco Santos

Benfica v Vitória de Guimarães

3 November 2012 (2012-11-03) 8	Benfica	3–0	Vitória de Guimarães	Lisbon
20:30 (UTC+01)	Cardozo 36', 47' (pen.) Lima 66' Gomes  79'	Report	Defendi  21' Addy  47'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 31,543 Referee: João Ferreira

Rio Ave v Benfica

11 November 2012 (2012-11-11) 9	Rio Ave	0–1	Benfica	Vila do Conde
19:30 (UTC+01)	Marcelo  77'	Report	Lima 45+1' Matić  68' Almeida  79' Artur  82'	Stadium: Estádio do Rio Ave FC Attendance: 5,028 Referee: Bruno Esteves

Benfica v Olhanense

24 November 2012 (2012-11-24) 10	Benfica	2–0	Olhanense	Lisbon
20:30 (UTC+01)	Cardozo 26' (pen.) Luisão 72'	Report	Fernandes  37'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 24,104 Referee: Rui Silva

Sporting CP v Benfica

10 December 2012 (2012-12-10) 11	Sporting CP	1–3	Benfica	Lisbon
20:15	Carrillo  69' Van Wolfswinkel 30' Boulahrouz  81' Rinaudo  84' Rojo  89'	Report	Pereira  20' Matić  45' Cardozo 58', 81' (pen.), 86'	Stadium: Estádio José Alvalade Attendance: 35,114 Referee: Marco Ferreira

Benfica v Marítimo

15 December 2012 (2012-12-15) 12	Benfica	4–1	Marítimo	Lisbon
20:30	Gomes  29' Cardozo 34', 66' (pen.), 69' Pereira  40' Melgarejo  70' Rodrigo 88'	Report	Rodrigo António 25' Ferreira  34' Dias  44' Roberge  55'  64' Fidélis  64' Sami  90+2'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 32,519 Referee: Hugo Pacheco

Estoril v Benfica

6 January 2013 (2013-01-06) 13	Estoril	1–3	Benfica	Estoril
20:15	Coimbra  16' Anderson Luís  65' Santos 89'	Report	Rodrigo  23' Gaitán 37' Lima 59' Pérez  64' Salvio 66' Almeida  80'	Stadium: Estádio António Coimbra da Mota Attendance: 5,015 Referee: Duarte Gomes

Benfica v Porto

13 January 2013 (2013-01-13) 14	Benfica	2–2	Porto	Lisbon
20:15	Matić 9'  63' Gaitán 16' Pérez  47' Pereira  85'	Report	Mangala 7' Martínez 14' Moutinho  82'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 60,556 Referee: João Ferreira

Moreirense v Benfica

20 January 2013 (2013-01-20) 15	Moreirense	0–2	Benfica	Moreira de Cónegos
20:00	Pintassilgo  28'	Report	Salvio 48' Lima 71'	Stadium: Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas Attendance: 4,139 Referee: João Capela

Braga v Benfica

27 January 2013 (2013-01-27) 16	Braga	1–2	Benfica	Braga
20:15	Ismaily  61' João Pedro 71' Haas  84'	Report	Salvio 4' Lima 34' Matić  51' Gaitán  72' Artur  90+2'	Stadium: Estádio Municipal de Braga Attendance: 17,773 Referee: Bruno Esteves

Benfica v Vitória de Setúbal

3 February 2013 (2013-02-03) 17	Benfica	3–0	Vitória de Setúbal	Lisbon
20:15	Pérez 5' Lima 48' Rodrigo 56' Pereira  61' Gomes  75'	Report	José Pedro  43'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 38,538 Referee: Vasco Santos

Nacional v Benfica

10 February 2013 (2013-02-10) 18	Nacional	2–2	Benfica	Funchal
18:00	Barcelos 6'  90+4' Marçal  39'  90+3' Mateus 52' Rodrigues  55' Gottardi  90+5'	Report	Mexer 15' (o.g.) Urretavizcaya 37' Cardozo  90+3' Matić  90+6'	Stadium: Estádio da Madeira Attendance: 4,327 Referee: Pedro Proença

Benfica v Académica

17 February 2013 (2013-02-17) 19	Benfica	1–0	Académica	Lisbon
20:15	Pereira  39' Lima 90+4' (pen.)  90+4'	Report	Cleyton  50' Dias  90+3' Cabral  90+4'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 36,306 Referee: Nuno Almeida

Benfica v Paços de Ferreira

24 February 2013 (2013-02-24) 20	Benfica	3–0	Paços de Ferreira	Lisbon
19:15	Pérez 5'  43' Cardozo 47' Salvio 84' Luisinho  90'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 40,201 Referee: João Capela

Beira-Mar v Benfica

3 March 2013 (2013-03-03) 21	Beira-Mar	0–1	Benfica	Aveiro
19:30	Vieira  15' Sampaio  56' Jaime  60' Ribeiro  90+2'	Report	Cardozo 16' (pen.) Melgarejo  87'	Stadium: Estádio Municipal de Aveiro Attendance: 18,730 Referee: Manuel Mota

Benfica v Gil Vicente

10 March 2013 (2013-03-10) 22	Benfica	5–0	Gil Vicente	Lisbon
20:15	Pereira 12' Salvio 22' Melgarejo 33' Lima 64' Gaitán 90+3'	Report	Cláudio  57'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 33,706 Referee: Duarte Gomes

Vitória de Guimarães v Benfica

17 March 2013 (2013-03-17) 23	Vitória de Guimarães	0–4	Benfica	Guimarães
20:30	El Adoua  36' Kanú  45+1'  60' Olímpio  54'	Report	Cardozo 38' (pen.)  65' Garay 61' Salvio 82' Rodrigo 90+4'	Stadium: Estádio D. Afonso Henriques Attendance: 19,395 Referee: Paulo Baptista

Benfica v Rio Ave

30 March 2013 (2013-03-30) 24	Benfica	6–1	Rio Ave	Lisbon
20:30	Melgarejo 11'  77'  89' Matić 15'  83' Lima 41', 49', 76' Gaitán  52' Rodrigo  61' Pérez 82' Cardozo  88'	Report	Wíres  8'  59' Ukra  18' Edimar  41'  71' Tarantini  43' Hassan 51'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 45,862 Referee: Rui Costa

Olhanense v Benfica

7 April 2013 (2013-04-07) 25	Olhanense	0–2	Benfica	Olhão
20:15	Fernandes  32'	Report	Salvio 52' Matić 64'	Stadium: Estádio José Arcanjo Attendance: 5,560 Referee: Hugo Miguel

Benfica v Sporting CP

21 April 2013 (2013-04-21) 26	Benfica	2–0	Sporting CP	Lisbon
20:30	Salvio 36' Luisão  66' Lima 75'	Report	Viola  84' Rinaudo  89'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 62,553 Referee: João Capela

Marítimo v Benfica

29 April 2013 (2013-04-29) 27	Marítimo	1–2	Benfica	Funchal
20:00	Rosário  4' Rossi  21' 42' Artur  27'	Report	Lima 5' (pen.) Garay  44' Luisão  67' Rossi 72' (o.g.) Cardozo  90+2'	Stadium: Estádio dos Barreiros Attendance: 4,504 Referee: Manuel Mota

Benfica v Estoril

6 May 2013 28	Benfica	1–1	Estoril	Lisbon
20:00	Pereira 67' Martins  69'  78'	Report	Evandro  20' Jefferson 58' Tavares  90+2' Vagner  90+3'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 60,897 Referee: Paulo Baptista

Porto v Benfica

12 May 2013 29	Porto	2–1	Benfica	Porto
20:30	Pereira 25' (o.g.) Rodríguez  56' Fernando  66' Defour  80' Kelvin 90' Helton  90+3'	Report	Lima 18' Pérez  46' Matić  59' Artur  85'	Stadium: Estádio do Dragão Attendance: 50,117 Referee: Pedro Proença

Benfica v Moreirense

19 May 2013 30	Benfica	3–1	Moreirense	Lisbon
18:30	Cardozo  25' 50' Lima 80', 90' (pen.) Matić  88'	Report	Vinícius 43' Diego Gaúcho  60' Paulinho  90+1'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 51,349 Referee: Marco Ferreira

Taça de Portugal

Main article: 2012–13 Taça de Portugal

Freamunde v Benfica

18 October 2012 (2012-10-18) Third round	Freamunde	0–4	Benfica	Freamunde, Paços de Ferreira
20:15 CET (UTC+01)		Report	Lima 16' Cardozo 45' Salvio 62' Gomes 74'	Stadium: Campo SC Freamunde Referee: Manuel Mota

Moreirense v Benfica

16 November 2012 (2012-11-16) Fourth round	Moreirense	0–2	Benfica	Moreira de Cónegos
21:00		Report	Bruno César  25' Matić  50' 59' Cardozo 90+3'	Stadium: Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas Referee: Duarte Gomes

Benfica v Desportivo das Aves

2 January 2013 (2013-01-02) Fifth round	Benfica	6–0	Desportivo das Aves	Lisbon
20:15	Rodrigo 5', 57' Cardozo 18', 22', 32' Lima 73' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 15,713 Referee: Hugo Miguel

Académica v Benfica

16 January 2013 (2013-01-16) Quarter-finals	Académica	0–4	Benfica	Coimbra
20:15		Report	John 5' Lima 9', 27' Salvio 71'	Stadium: Estádio Cidade de Coimbra Referee: Jorge Sousa

Paços de Ferreira v Benfica

30 January 2013 (2013-01-30) Semi-finals First leg	Paços de Ferreira	0–2	Benfica	Paços de Ferreira
20:00 CET (UTC+01)		Report	Lima 58' John 75'	Stadium: Estádio da Mata Real Referee: Cosme Machado

Benfica v Paços de Ferreira

17 April 2013 (2013-04-17) Semi-finals Second leg	Benfica	1–1 (3–1 agg.)	Paços de Ferreira	Lisbon
20:15 CET (UTC+01)	Cardozo 54'	Report	Cícero 80'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 17,118 Referee: Bruno Esteves

Vitória de Guimarães v Benfica

26 May 2013 (2013-05-26) final	Vitória de Guimarães	2–1	Benfica	Oeiras
17:00 CET (UTC+01)	Soudani 79' R. Pereira 81'	Report	Gaitán 30'	Stadium: Estádio Nacional Attendance: 36,850 Referee: Jorge Sousa

Taça da Liga

Main article: 2012–13 Taça da Liga

Group stage

Group D

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Benfica	3	2	1	0	6	4	+2	7
Moreirense	3	0	3	0	3	3	0	3
Académica	3	0	2	1	4	5	–1	2
Olhanense	3	0	2	1	1	2	–1	2

Olhanense v Benfica

19 December 2012 (2012-12-19) 1	Olhanense	1–2	Benfica	Olhão
19:45 (UTC+01)	Brandão 48'	Report	Rodrigo 69' Lima 87'	Stadium: Estádio José Arcanjo Attendance: 3,213 Referee: Paulo Baptista

Moreirense v Benfica

30 December 2012 (2012-12-30) 2	Moreirense	1–1	Benfica	Moreira de Cónegos
20:15 (UTC+01)	Ghilas 48'	Report	Cardozo 90+3' (pen.)	Stadium: Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas Referee: Cosme Machado

Benfica v Académica

9 January 2013 (2013-01-09) 3	Benfica	3–2	Académica	Lisbon
19:45	Lima 40', 65' Alan Kardec 61'	Report	Makelele 45+1' Saleiro 50'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 13,872 Referee: Manuel Mota

Knockout phase

Braga v Benfica

27 February 2013 (2013-02-27) Semi-finals	Braga	0–0 (3–2 p)	Benfica	Braga
19:45		Report		Stadium: Estádio Municipal de Braga Referee: Marco Ferreira
	Penalties
	Alan Custódio João Pedro Amorim		Rodrigo Luisão Pérez Roderick Gaitán

UEFA Champions League

Main article: 2012–13 UEFA Champions League

Group stage

Main article: 2012–13 UEFA Champions League group stage § Group G

Group G

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Barcelona	6	4	1	1	11	5	+6	13
Celtic	6	3	1	2	9	8	+1	10
Benfica	6	2	2	2	5	5	0	8
Spartak Moscow	6	1	0	5	7	14	−7	3

Celtic v Benfica

19 September 2012 (2012-09-19) 1	Celtic	0–0	Benfica	Glasgow, Scotland
20:45 CEST	Wanyama  21' Izaguirre  34' Brown  89'	Report	Matić  47' Aimar  57' Bruno César  90+2'	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 57,759 Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)

Benfica v Barcelona

2 October 2012 (2012-10-02) 2	Benfica	0–2	Barcelona	Lisbon, Portugal
20:45 CEST	Bruno César  38' Martins  84' Matić  86' Jardel  89'	Report	Sánchez 6' Pedro  28' Fàbregas  19' 56' Busquets  88'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 63,847 Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey)

Spartak Moscow v Benfica

23 October 2012 (2012-10-23) 3	Spartak Moscow	2–1	Benfica	Moscow, Russia
18:00 CEST	Rafael Carioca 3' Suchý  45' Jardel 43' (o.g.) Welliton  90+2' Ari  90+4'	Report	Lima 33' Cardozo  72' Matić  76'	Stadium: Luzhniki Stadium Attendance: 41,237 Referee: Mark Clattenburg (England)

Benfica v Spartak Moscow

7 November 2012 (2012-11-07) 4	Benfica	2–0	Spartak Moscow	Lisbon, Portugal
20:45 CET	Almeida  29' Cardozo 55', 69'	Report	Rebrov  32' Makeyev  33' Pareja  38'  76' Jurado  82'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 36,448 Referee: Florian Meyer (Germany)

Benfica v Celtic

20 November 2012 (2012-11-20) 5	Benfica	2–1	Celtic	Lisbon, Portugal
20:45 CET	John 7' Garay 71' Melgarejo  77' Almeida  90+1'	Report	Samaras 32'  38' Ledley  48' Wanyama  85'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 47,065 Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

Barcelona v Benfica

5 December 2012 (2012-12-05) 6	Barcelona	0–0	Benfica	Barcelona, Spain
20:45 CET	Rafinha  49' Adriano  60'	Report	Nolito  43' Garay  56' Luisão  59' Matić  78'	Stadium: Camp Nou Attendance: 50,659 Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (Norway)

UEFA Europa League

Main article: 2012–13 UEFA Europa League

Knockout phase

Main article: 2012–13 UEFA Europa League knockout phase

Round of 32

Bayer Leverkusen v Benfica

14 February 2013 First leg	Bayer Leverkusen	0–1	Benfica	Leverkusen, Germany
18:00	Bender  53' Kießling  73' Milik  81'	Report	Melgarejo  45' Cardozo 61' Gaitán  73'	Stadium: BayArena Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Benfica v Bayer Leverkusen

21 February 2013 Second leg	Benfica	2–1 (3–1 agg.)	Bayer Leverkusen	Lisbon, Portugal
20:05	Pérez  55' John 60'  60' Matić 77'  90+3'	Report	Bender  28' Carvajal  45+2' Schürrle 75'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Pavel Královec (Czech Republic)

Round of 16

Benfica v Bordeaux

7 March 2013 First leg	Benfica	1–0	Bordeaux	Lisbon, Portugal
20:15	Carrasso 21' (o.g.) Martins  50' Rodrigo  53'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 47,000 Referee: Alon Yefet (Israel)

Bordeaux v Benfica

14 March 2013 Second leg	Bordeaux	2–3 (2–4 agg.)	Benfica	Bordeaux, France
21:05	Henrique  10' Obraniak  31' Diabaté 74' Ben Khalfallah  77' Jardel 90+1' (o.g.)	Report	Jardel 30' Roderick  52' Cardozo 75', 90+2' John  83' Pereira  90'	Stadium: Stade Chaban-Delmas Referee: Ovidiu Hațegan (Romania)

Quarter-finals

Benfica v Newcastle United

4 April 2013 First leg	Benfica	3–1	Newcastle United	Lisbon, Portugal
21:05	Rodrigo 25' Lima 65' Cardozo 71' (pen.) Pérez  73'	Report	Cissé 12' Perch  20' Sh. Ameobi  87'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 44,133 Referee: Antony Gautier (France)

Newcastle United v Benfica

11 April 2013 Second leg	Newcastle United	1–1 (2–4 agg.)	Benfica	Newcastle upon Tyne, England
21:05	Cissé  67' 71' Cabaye  70' Yanga-Mbiwa  81' Williamson  83'	Report	Artur  32' Pérez  32' Almeida  49' Salvio 90+2'	Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 52,157 Referee: Ivan Bebek (Croatia)

Semi-finals

Fenerbahçe v Benfica

25 April 2013 First leg	Fenerbahçe	1–0	Benfica	Istanbul, Turkey
21:05	Cristian  38' Topal  50' Korkmaz 72' Webó  90'	Report	Gomes  31' Aimar  37' Pereira  41' John  45+1'	Stadium: Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium Attendance: 51,000 Referee: Milorad Mažić (Serbia)

Benfica v Fenerbahçe

2 May 2013 Second leg	Benfica	3–1 (3–2 agg.)	Fenerbahçe	Lisbon, Portugal
21:05	Gaitán 9' Pereira  28' Pérez  33' Cardozo 35', 66'	Report	Kuyt 23' (pen.) Cristian  30' Erkin  85'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 55,402 Referee: Stéphane Lannoy (France)

Final

Main article: 2013 UEFA Europa League final

Benfica v Chelsea

15 May 2013 (2013-05-15) Final	Benfica	1–2	Chelsea	Amsterdam, Netherlands
20:45 CET (UTC+01)	Cardozo 68' (pen.)	Report	Torres 60' Ivanović 90+3'	Stadium: Amsterdam Arena Attendance: 46,163 Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)

Overall record

As of 26 May 2013

Competition	First match	Last match	Record
			G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %	Source
Primeira Liga	18 August 2012	19 May 2013	30	24	5	1	77	20	+57	080.00
Taça de Portugal	18 October 2012	26 May 2013	7	5	1	1	20	3	+17	071.43
Taça da Liga	19 December 2012	27 February 2013	4	2	2	0	6	4	+2	050.00	Taça da Liga results
UEFA Champions League	19 September 2012	5 December 2012	6	2	2	2	5	5	+0	033.33
UEFA Europa League	14 February 2013	15 May 2013	9	6	1	2	15	9	+6	066.67
Total			56	39	11	6	123	41	+82	069.64

Players

Statistics

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Primeira Liga		Portuguese Cup		League Cup		Europe2
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK	BRA	Artur	50	0	30	0	4	0	1	0	15	0
13	GK	POR	Paulo Lopes	5	0	0	0	2	0	3	0	0	0
64	GK	BRA	Júlio César	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Defenders
14	DF	URU	Maxi Pereira	41	3	28	3	4	0	1	0	8	0
4	DF	BRA	Luisão	33	1	18	1	5	0	1	0	9	0
24	DF	ARG	Ezequiel Garay	46	2	27	1	4	0	1	0	14	1
33	DF	BRA	Jardel	34	0	16	0	4	0	4	0	10	0
27	DF	POR	Miguel Vítor	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	DF	POR	Roderick	7	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	3	0
25	DF	PAR	Lorenzo Melgarejo	40	2	21	2	3	0	2	0	14	0
5	DF	POR	Luisinho	10	1	5	1	3	0	2	0	0	0
75	DF	BRA	Sidnei	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
Midfielders
21	MF	SRB	Nemanja Matić	47	5	26	3	7	1	1	0	13	1
34	DF	POR	André Almeida	34	0	14	0	5	0	3	0	12	0
20	MF	ARG	Nicolás Gaitán	44	5	23	3	6	1	2	0	13	1
15	MF	NED	Ola John	42	4	22	0	4	2	4	0	12	2
10	MF	ARG	Pablo Aimar	21	0	13	0	3	0	2	0	3	0
17	MF	POR	Carlos Martins	22	0	13	0	2	0	2	0	5	0
18	MF	ARG	Eduardo Salvio	51	13	29	10	6	2	3	0	13	1
35	MF	ARG	Enzo Pérez	47	4	28	4	3	0	3	0	13	0
89	MF	POR	André Gomes	18	2	7	1	4	1	2	0	5	0
23	MF	URU	Jonathan Urretavizcaya	8	1	4	1	1	0	1	0	2	0
Strikers
7	FW	PAR	Óscar Cardozo	47	33	25	17	6	6	2	1	14	9
19	FW	ESP	Rodrigo	39	11	20	7	6	2	3	1	10	1
31	FW	BRA	Alan Kardec	5	1	3	0	1	0	1	1	0	0
11	FW	BRA	Lima	49	30	27	20	7	5	3	3	12	2
No longer at club1
6	MF	ESP	Javi García	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
28	MF	BEL	Axel Witsel	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	FW	POR	Yannick Djaló	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	MF	BRA	Bruno César	15	0	6	0	3	0	2	0	4	0
9	MF	ESP	Nolito	15	1	6	1	3	0	3	0	3	0
30	FW	ARG	Javier Saviola	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
40	FW	BRA	Michel	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

• 1.^ Players who were in the squad at the time of the first competitive fixture.
• 2.^ Also includes 2012–13 UEFA Champions League and 2012–13 UEFA Europa League.

Transfers

In

No.	Pos.	Name	Age	Moving from	Type	Transfer Window	Contract ends	Transfer fee	Sources
13	GK	Paulo Lopes	34	Gil Vicente	Transfer	Summer	2014	Free
5	DF	Luisinho	27	Paços de Ferreira	Transfer	Summer	2016	€1,000,000	[1]
25	DF	Lorenzo Melgarejo	21	Paços de Ferreira	Loan return	Summer	2016	-	[2]
17	MF	Carlos Martins	30	Granada	Loan return	Summer	2016	-	[3]
15	MF	Ola John	21	Twente	Transfer	Summer	2018	€9,150,000	[4]
18	MF	Eduardo Salvio	22	Atlético Madrid	Transfer	Summer	2018	€14,550,000	[5]
35	MF	Enzo Pérez	27	Estudiantes	Loan return	Summer	2016	-	[6]
31	FW	Alan Kardec	23	Santos	Loan return	Summer	2015	-	[7]
40	FW	Michel	25	Paços de Ferreira	Transfer	Summer	2017	€1,000,000	[8]
70	FW	Hugo Vieira	23	Gil Vicente	Transfer	Summer	2016	€155,850	[9] Archived 20 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
11	FW	Lima	29	Braga	Transfer	Summer	2016	€4,840,000	[10]
3	DF	Roderick	21	Deportivo La Coruña	Loan return	Winter	2018	-	[11]

Out

No.	Pos.	Name	Age	Moving to	Type	Transfer Window	Transfer fee	Sources
-	DF	Emerson	27	Trabzonspor	Transfer	Summer	€1,600,000	[12]
-	DF	Daniel Wass	23	Evian	Transfer	Summer	€1,000,000	[13]
-	MF	Fellipe Bastos	23	Vasco da Gama	Transfer	Summer	€300,000	[14]
-	MF	Javi García	25	Manchester City	Transfer	Summer	€20,000,000 + €3,000,000 in add-ons	[15]
-	MF	Axel Witsel	23	Zenit Saint Petersburg	Transfer	Summer	€40,000,000	[16]
-	MF	Ishmael Yartey	22	Sochaux	Transfer	Summer	€1,500,000	[17]
-	FW	Éder Luís	27	Vasco da Gama	Transfer	Summer	€3,000,000	[18]
-	FW	Joan Capdevila	34	Espanyol	Transfer	Summer	€500,000	[19]
-	FW	Hélio Vaz	23	União de Leiria	Transfer	Summer	Free	[20]
-	FW	Javier Saviola	30	Málaga	Transfer	Summer	Free	[21]
-	GK	Jan Oblak	19	Rio Ave	Loan	Summer	-	[22]
-	DF	Roderick	20	Deportivo La Coruña	Loan	Summer	-	[23]
-	DF	Léo Kanu	24	Ponte Preta	Loan	Summer	-	[24]
-	MF	Airton	24	Flamengo	Loan	Summer	-	[25]
-	MF	Rúben Amorim	26	Braga	Loan	Winter	-	[26]
-	MF	Felipe Menezes	24	Sport Recife	Loan	Summer	-	[27]
-	MF	Diego Lopes	18	Rio Ave	Loan	Summer	-	[28]
-	MF	David Simão	23	Marítimo	Loan	Summer	-	[29]
-	MF	Nuno Coelho	24	Aris	Loan	Summer	-	[30]
-	FW	Nélson Oliveira	21	Deportivo La Coruña	Loan	Summer	-	[31]
-	FW	Franco Jara	24	San Lorenzo	Loan	Summer	-	[32]
-	FW	Rodrigo Mora	25	River Plate	Loan	Summer	-	[33]
-	FW	Hugo Vieira	24	Sporting de Gijón	Loan	Summer	-	[34]
-	FW	Yannick Djaló	26	Toulouse	Loan	Summer	-	[35]
-	FW	José Luis Fernández	26	Olhanense	Loan	Summer	-	[36]
-	FW	Michel	26	Braga	Loan	Summer	-	[37]
-	GK	Eduardo	30	Genoa	Loan return	Summer	-	[38]
-	FW	José Luis Fernández	26	Godoy Cruz	Loan	Winter	-	[39]
-	DF	Léo Kanu	25	Grêmio Osasco	Loan	Winter	-	[40]
8	MF	Bruno César	24	Al-Ahli	Transfer	Winter	€5,000,000	[41]
-	FW	Hugo Vieira	24	Gil Vicente	Loan	Winter	-	[42]
-	FW	Nolito	26	Granada	Loan	Winter	€600,000	[43]
-	MF	Airton	24	Internacional	Loan	Winter	-	[44]
-	DF	Fábio Faria	24	-	Career termination	-	-	[45]