S.L. Benfica in international football

The first continental competition organised by UEFA was the European Cup in 1955. Conceived by Gabriel Hanot, the editor of L'Équipe, as a competition for winners of the European national football leagues, it is considered the most prestigious European football competition.[1] That year, Benfica had won the Primeira Divisão, but the European Cup organizers selected Sporting CP to take part in the first edition.[2] Another club competition, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, was established in 1955 and contested in parallel with the European Cup. It eventually came under the auspices of UEFA in 1971, who rebranded it as UEFA Cup. Since the 2009–10 season, the competition has been known as the UEFA Europa League.[3]

In 1957, Benfica won the league title and assured their European debut in the 1957–58 European Cup. The following years, UEFA created additional club competitions. The first, the Cup Winners' Cup, was inaugurated in 1960 for the winners of domestic cup competitions. Established in 1973, the UEFA Super Cup was originally a match played between the winners of the European Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup. Since 2000, it has been contested by the winners of the Champions League (formerly the European Cup) and the Europa League (formerly the UEFA Cup).[4]

The Intercontinental Cup was a competition for the winners of the European Cup (the later UEFA Champions League) and its South American equivalent, the Copa Libertadores. Established in 1960, the Intercontinental Cup was jointly organised by UEFA and the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL). It ran until 2004, when it was replaced by the FIFA Club World Cup, which includes the winners of all six continental confederations' premier club competitions.[5]

Benfica's first European silverware came in 1950 when, managed by Ted Smith, they beat French side Bordeaux at the Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, Portugal, to win the Latin Cup.[6] Seven years later, the team reached their second and last Latin Cup final, but lost to Alfredo Di Stéfano's Real Madrid.[7] After an unsuccessful UEFA competition debut in the 1957–58 European Cup, where they lost to Sevilla in the initial round,[8] Benfica hired Hungarian manager Béla Guttmann, who led the team to their first ever European Cup final on 31 May 1961.[9] Having overcome Hearts, Újpest Dózsa, AGF Aarhus and Rapid Wien, Benfica faced Barcelona in the final, where goals from José Águas, Mário Coluna and an own goal from Antoni Ramallets helped the club lift its first European Cup.[10] The following year, Guttmann guided the team to back-to-back European Cup successes. After defeating Austria Wien, 1. FC Nürnberg and Tottenham Hotspur,[11][12] Benfica met Real Madrid in the final on 2 May 1962. A hat-trick from Ferenc Puskás put the Spanish champions ahead before half-time, but a double from Coluna and rising star Eusébio overturned the score to 5–3.[13][14]

After consecutive European Cup wins, Guttmann reportedly approached the club's board of directors asking for a pay rise. As his demand was turned down, he left the club and reportedly professed his alleged curse.[15] Benfica replaced him with Fernando Riera, and while the Chilean manager led the team to a third-straight European Cup final, he was unable to emulate Guttmann's success. On 25 May 1963, against Milan, Benfica's chances were slim after a harsh tackle from Gino Pivatelli severely debilitated Coluna.[16] In a time when substitutions did not exist, Benfica played the rest of the match crippled, and two second-half goals from José Altafini sent the trophy to Italy.[17][18][19] After a poor performance in the 1963–64 European Cup, Benfica returned to the final in the following season. Led by Romanian manager Elek Schwartz, Benfica eliminated Real Madrid 5–1 in the quarter-finals on their way to meet the holders Inter Milan in the final, played at Inter's home ground, San Siro, in a muddy and waterlogged pitch.[20] A mistake from Alberto da Costa Pereira, allowing a shot from Jair to pass between his legs, cost Benfica their second attempt at a European Cup treble.[21]

The following season, Benfica defeated Stade Dudelange 18–0 on aggregate, establishing a European record for biggest win on aggregate.[22] However, at a later stage of the competition, they conceded a record home defeat to Manchester United and were eliminated.[23] After one year competing in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup,[24] Benfica returned to the European Cup and reached their fifth final in 1968. After eliminating Juventus 3–0 in the semi-finals, Benfica faced Manchester United at Wembley Stadium on 29 May 1968. Bobby Charlton opened the score, but Jaime Graça equalised on the 79th minute. Near the end of regular time, Eusébio squandered a one-on-one chance against Alex Stepney and the match went to extra time, where three goals in eight minutes gave the English side their first European title.[25] The following season, Benfica were stopped in the quarter-finals by Ajax after a replay in Paris. As in the previous season's final, Benfica conceded three goals during extra time and were eliminated.[26][27] In 1969–70, Benfica fell in the second round against Scottish team and eventual finalists Celtic in a coin toss decision.[28]

After a mildly successful period in the 1960s, where they stood among the top contenders, Benfica lost influence in the European stage in the following decade, as Dutch, German and English teams appeared stronger over the Southern European ones. In the 1971–72 European Cup, Benfica lost in the semi-finals to a Johan Cruyff-led Ajax on their way to a second consecutive win.[29][30] They reached the quarter-finals of the 1974–75 European Cup Winners' Cup before being eliminated by another Dutch team, PSV Eindhoven.[31] As historic players like Eusébio and Simões left the club, Benfica only secured two European Cup quarter-final presences in the late 1970s: in 1975–76 they lost 5–1 to the holders Bayern Munich;[32] and in 1977–78 they were knocked out by the defending champions Liverpool with a 6–2 aggregate score.[33]

Competitive record

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Agg.
1955–56	European Cup	Denied entry[2]
1957–58		PR	Sevilla	0–0	1–3	1–3
1960–61		PR	Hearts	3–0	2–1	5–1
		R1	Újpest Dózsa	6–2	1–2	7–4
		QF	AGF	4–1	3–1	7–2
		SF	Rapid Wien	3–0	1–1	4–1
		F	Barcelona	—	—	3–2
1961	Intercontinental Cup	—	Peñarol	1–0	0–5	2pts–2pts (1–2 rep)
1961–62	European Cup	PR	Bye
		R1	Austria Wien	5–1	1–1	6–2
		QF	1. FC Nürnberg	6–0	1–3	7–3
		SF	Tottenham Hotspur	3–1	1–2[12]	4–3
		F	Real Madrid	—	—	5–3[13]
1962	Intercontinental Cup	—	Santos	2–5	2–3	0pts–4pts
1962–63	European Cup	PR	Bye
		R1	IFK Norrköping	5–1	1–1	6–2
		QF	Dukla Prague	2–1	0–0	2–1
		SF	Feyenoord	3–1	0–0	3–1
		F	Milan	—	—	1–2[17]
1963–64		PR	Lisburn Distillery	5–0	3–3	8–3
		R1	Borussia Dortmund	2–1	0–5	2–6
1964–65		PR	Aris Bonnevoie	5–1	5–1	10–2
		R1	La Chaux-de-Fonds	5–0	1–1	6–1
		QF	Real Madrid	5–1	1–2	6–3
		SF	Győri Vasas ETO	4–0	1–0	5–0
		F	Inter Milan	—	—	0–1
1965–66		PR	Stade Dudelange	10–0	8–0	18–0
		R1	Levski Sofia	3–2	2–2	5–4
		QF	Manchester United	1–5	2–3	3–8
1966–67	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	R1	Bye
		R2	Spartak Plovdiv	3–0	1–1	4–1
		R3	Lokomotive Leipzig	2–1	1–3	3–4
1967–68	European Cup	R1	Glentoran	0–0	1–1	1–1 (a)
		R2	Saint-Étienne	2–0	0–1	2–1
		QF	Vasas	3–0	0–0	3–0
		SF	Juventus	2–0	1–0	3–0
		F	Manchester United	—	—	1–4 (aet)
1968–69		R1	Valur	8–1	0–0	8–1
		R2	Bye
		QF	Ajax	1–3	3–1	4–4 (0–3 rep)
1969–70		R1	KB	2–0	3–2	5–2
		R2	Celtic	3–0	0–3	3–3 (c)
1970–71	Cup Winners' Cup	R1	Olimpija Ljubljana	8–1	1–1	9–1
		R2	Vorwärts Berlin	2–0	0–2 (aet)	2–2 (3–5 p)
1971–72	European Cup	R1	Wacker Innsbruck	4–0	3–1	7–1
		R2	CSKA September Flag	2–1	0–0	2–1
		QF	Feyenoord	5–1	0–1	5–2
		SF	Ajax	0–0	0–1	0–1
1972–73		R1	Malmö FF	4–1	0–1	4–2
		R2	Derby County	0–0	0–3	0–3
1973–74		R1	Olympiacos	1–0	1–0	2–0
		R2	Újpest Dózsa	1–1	0–2	1–3
1974–75	Cup Winners' Cup	R1	Vanløse	4–0	4–1	8–1
		R2	Carl Zeiss Jena	0–0	1–1	1–1 (a)
		QF	PSV Eindhoven	1–2	0–0	1–2
1975–76	European Cup	R1	Fenerbahçe	7–0	0–1	7–1
		R2	Újpest Dózsa	5–2	1–3	6–5
		QF	Bayern Munich	0–0	1–5	1–5
1976–77		R1	Dynamo Dresden	0–0	0–2	0–2
1977–78		R1	Torpedo Moscow	0–0	0–0 (aet)	0–0 (4–1 p)
		R2	B 1903	1–0	1–0	2–0
		QF	Liverpool	1–2	1–4	2–6
1978–79	UEFA Cup	R1	Nantes	0–0	2–0	2–0
		R2	Borussia Mönchengladbach	0–0	0–2	0–2
1979–80		R1	Aris	2–1	1–3	3–4

Note: Benfica score is always listed first.

In the beginning of the 1980s, Benfica's domestic dominance had dwindled, leaving the team to play in second-level competitions, namely the Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Cup. In 1980–81, the team reached the Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals but lost to Carl Zeiss Jena from East Germany.[34] This performance was bested two seasons later, as Benfica reached the 1983 UEFA Cup Final after overcoming a quarter-final bout against a Roma side featuring Falcão and Bruno Conti. In the two-legged final, Benfica faced Belgium's Anderlecht. In the first leg, on 4 May 1983, Benfica lost in Brussels with a sole goal from Kenneth Brylle. In the second leg, fourteen days later, Benfica manager Sven-Göran Eriksson chose not to start Zoran Filipović and João Alves, both undisputed starters, and the team drew 1–1, losing another European final.[35][36] Benfica returned to the European Cup in the following two seasons, but defeats against Liverpool in both participations showed that the team was not yet ready to compete with Europe's best teams.[37]

Mercedes-Benz Arena (former Neckarstadion) and Ernst-Happel-Stadion (former Praterstadion)

After four seasons, Benfica proved ready to challenge for the European Cup in 1987–88. After eliminating teams like Anderlecht and Steaua București, they reached their sixth final in the competition, where they met PSV in a match played at Stuttgart's Neckarstadion on 25 May 1988.[38] Following a goalless draw at the end of extra time, the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out. The Dutch side – fielding five Netherlands national team players that would go on to conquer the UEFA Euro 1988 a month later – converted all of their penalty kicks, whereas António Veloso allowed goalkeeper Hans van Breukelen to defend his penalty kick, and sealed Benfica's fourth consecutive European Cup final loss.[39] Benfica did not wait long to make another appearance in the European Cup's showpiece match, as two years later – and with Swedish manager Eriksson again in charge – a team including Brazil's starting centre-backs Ricardo Gomes and Aldair, together with midfielders Valdo and Jonas Thern, eliminated Marseille with a controversial handled goal from Vata to reach their seventh European Cup final.[40] Before the final, Eusébio visited Béla Guttmann's grave, asking for forgiveness in hope of ending the curse.[41] On 23 May 1990, Benfica faced title holders Milan at Vienna's Praterstadion and were unable to prevent Frank Rijkaard to score the winning goal and give the Italian side its fourth and second consecutive European Cup title.[42]

In the early 1990s, Benfica took part in the last edition of the European Cup before being reformulated and converted into the UEFA Champions League. They reached the tournament's group stage after a successful performance at Highbury against Arsenal, with Isaías and Vasili Kulkov scoring in extra time.[43] In the group stage, Benfica ended in third place, behind Barcelona and Sparta Prague.[44] In 1992–93, Benfica reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup, beating eventual winners Juventus at home (their only loss in the competition), but losing 3–1 in Turin.[45] The following season, Benfica returned to the Cup Winners' Cup and reached the semi-finals after a 5–5 aggregate draw against Bayer Leverkusen in the quarter-finals was decided on away goals. In Lisbon, Benfica beat Parma 2–1 for the first leg of the semi-finals, with Vítor Paneira even missing a penalty. However, in the return leg, centre-back Carlos Mozer was sent off on the 20th minute and the team resisted for 55 minutes before Roberto Sensini scored the only goal of the match, which put the Italians through.[46] In their debut in the Champions League in 1994–95, Benfica won their group but succumbed to Milan in the knockout phase.[47]

In the late 1990s, the club's European performances did not match Benfica's historic record, with only a quarter-final presence in the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup as a highlight.[48] The team's performances were subpar, with their lowest peak coming in the form of a 7–0 loss against Celta Vigo, Benfica's heaviest European defeat.[49]

Competitive record

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Agg.
1980–81	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	PR	Altay	4–0	0–0	4–0
		R1	Dinamo Zagreb	2–0	0–0	2–0
		R2	Malmö FF	2–0	0–1	2–1
		QF	Fortuna Düsseldorf	1–0	2–2	3–2
		SF	Carl Zeiss Jena	1–0	0–2	1–2
1981–82	European Cup	R1	Omonia	3–0	1–0	4–0
		R2	Bayern Munich	0–0	1–4	1–4
1982–83	UEFA Cup	R1	Real Betis	2–1	2–1	4–2
		R2	Lokeren	2–0	2–1	4–1
		R3	Zürich	4–0	1–1	5–1
		QF	Roma	1–1	2–1	3–2
		SF	Universitatea Craiova	0–0	1–1	1–1 (a)
		F	Anderlecht	1–1	0–1	1–2
1983–84	European Cup	R1	Linfield	3–0	3–2	6–2
		R2	Olympiacos	3–0	0–1	3–1
		QF	Liverpool	1–4	0–1	1–5
1984–85		R1	Red Star Belgrade	2–0	2–3	4–3
		R2	Liverpool	1–0	1–3	2–3
1985–86	Cup Winners' Cup	R1	Manchester United	Bye[lower-alpha 1]
		R2	Sampdoria	2–0	0–1	2–1
		QF	Dukla Prague	2–1	0–1	2–2 (a)
1986–87		R1	Lillestrøm	2–0	2–1	4–1
		R2	Bordeaux	1–1	0–1	1–2
1987–88	European Cup	R1	Partizani Tirana	4–0	Bye[lower-alpha 2]	4–0
		R2	AGF Aarhus	1–0	0–0	1–0
		QF	Anderlecht	2–0	0–1	2–1
		SF	Steaua București	2–0	0–0	2–0
		F	PSV Eindhoven	—	—	0–0 (aet) (5–6 p)
1988–89	UEFA Cup	R1	Montpellier	3–0	3–1	6–1
		R2	Liège	1–1	1–2	2–3
1989–90	European Cup	R1	Derry City	4–0	2–1	6–1
		R2	Budapest Honvéd	7–0	2–0	9–0
		QF	Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	1–0	3–0	4–0
		SF	Marseille	1–0	1–2	2–2 (a)
		F	Milan	—	—	0–1
1990–91	UEFA Cup	R1	Roma	0–1	0–1	0–2
1991–92	European Cup	R1	Ħamrun Spartans	4–0	6–0	10–0
		R2	Arsenal	1–1	3–1 (aet)	4–2
		GS	Dynamo Kyiv	5–0	0–1	3rd
			Barcelona	0–0	1–2
			Sparta Prague	1–1	1–1
1992–93	UEFA Cup	R1	Izola	3–0	5–0	7–0
		R2	Váci Izzó	5–1	1–0	6–1
		R3	Dynamo Moscow	2–0	2–2	4–2
		QF	Juventus	2–1	0–3	2–4
1993–94	Cup Winners' Cup	R1	GKS Katowice	1–0	1–1	2–1
		R2	CSKA Sofia	3–1	3–1	6–2
		QF	Bayer Leverkusen	1–1	4–4	5–5 (a)
		SF	Parma	2–1	0–1	2–2 (a)
1994–95	UEFA Champions League	GS	Hajduk Split	2–1	0–0	1st
			Anderlecht	3–1	1–1
			Steaua București	2–1	1–1
		QF	Milan	0–0	0–2	0–2
1995–96	UEFA Cup	R1	Lierse	2–1	3–1	5–2
		R2	Roda JC	1–0	2–2	3–2
		R3	Bayern Munich	1–3	1–4	2–7
1996–97	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	R1	Ruch Chorzów	5–1	0–0	5–1
		R2	Lokomotiv Moscow	1–0	3–2	4–2
		QF	Fiorentina	0–2	1–0	1–2
1997–98	UEFA Cup	R1	Bastia	0–0	0–1	0–1
1998–99	UEFA Champions League	QR2	Beitar Jerusalem	6–0	2–4	8–4
		GS	1. FC Kaiserslautern	2–1	0–1	2nd
			PSV Eindhoven	2–1	2–2
			HJK Helsinki	2–2	0–2
1999–2000	UEFA Cup	R1	Dinamo București	0–1	2–0	2–1
		R2	PAOK	1–2 (aet)	2–1	3–3 (4–1 p)
		R3	Celta Vigo	1–1	0–7	1–8
2000–01	UEFA Cup	R1	Halmstad	2–2	1–2	3–4

Note: Benfica score is always listed first.

After missing two seasons of European football for the first time since 1960,[50] Benfica returned to UEFA competition in 2003–04. They entered that season's Champions League in the third qualifying round, but defeats against Lazio demoted them to the UEFA Cup. There, the team played their first European match at the new Estádio da Luz (3–1 win against Molde) and reached the fourth round, where they were eliminated by Inter Milan with a 4–3 away loss.[51] After another season without playing in the Champions League, Benfica returned to UEFA's main competition in 2005–06, where they achieved their best performance in eleven years. Benfica knocked Manchester United out of the competition in the group stage and eliminated title holders Liverpool in the subsequent round, grabbing the club's first-ever win at Anfield. In the quarter-finals, Benfica were eliminated by Barcelona after a 2–0 loss at Camp Nou.[52][53] The next two seasons were fairly similar; in 2006–07 and 2007–08, Benfica finished third in the group stage and were demoted to the UEFA Cup, where they reached the quarter-finals.[54]

In 2009–10, Benfica had a noteworthy run in the newly created UEFA Europa League, progressing all the way from the play-off round to the quarter-finals. Their campaign featured a 5–0 thrashing of English side Everton in the group stage and an aggregate 3–2 defeat of Marseille in the round of 16[55] The following season, Benfica returned to the Champions League, but as in 2006–07 and 2007–08, they were demoted to the Europa League. This time, however, the team overcame the quarter-final stage to reach their first European semi-final in 17 years. In the first ever European match between Portuguese teams, Benfica were surprised by Braga and missed the chance to qualify to the final.[56] Benfica improved their European performance in the 2011–12 Champions League, progressing all the way to the quarter-finals.[57] In the group stage, Benfica topped their group – knocking Manchester United out of European competitions once again – and defeated Zenit Saint Petersbourg in the last 16 before losing 3–1 on aggregate to Chelsea.[58]

Benfica faced Chelsea in the 2013 UEFA Europa League Final, played at the Amsterdam Arena.

In the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons, Benfica's run in the Champions League was not so successful, but the club managed to reach two Europa League finals, the first of them 23 years after their last appearance in a European final. Benfica lost the first final on 17 May 2013 to then Champions League holders Chelsea, with a 2–1 injury-time header from Branislav Ivanović,[59] and drew 0–0 against Sevilla on 15 May 2014, losing the match penalty shoot-out 4–2.[60] This extended the club's run of European final unsuccesses to eight,[61] in a total of ten finals – a domestic record that ranked seventh all-time among UEFA clubs in 2014.[62]

In the mid 2010s, Benfica reached the Champions League knockout stage twice in a row for the first time. They qualified to the quarter-finals for a 18th time in 2015–16, where they lost 3–2 on aggregate to Bayern Munich,[63][64] and were eliminated by Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16 in 2016–17.[65] The following season, Benfica did not advance to the later stages of UEFA's prime tournament, setting the worst ever performance by a Portuguese team in the competition's group stage, with 6 losses and a negative goal difference of 13.[66][67] Moreoever, by losing 5–0 to Basel, they equalled their previous biggest loss in the competition, against Borussia Dortmund in 1963–64.[68]

Competitive record

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Agg.
2003–04	UEFA Champions League	QR3	Lazio	0–1[lower-alpha 3]	1–3	1–4
2003–04	UEFA Cup	R1	La Louvière	1–0[lower-alpha 3]	1–1	2–1
		R2	Molde	3–1	2–0	5–1
		R3	Rosenborg	1–0	1–2	2–2 (a)
		R4	Inter Milan	0–0	3–4	3–4
2004–05	UEFA Champions League	QR3	Anderlecht	1–0	0–3	1–3
2004–05	UEFA Cup	R1	Dukla Banská Bystrica	2–0	3–0	5–0
		GS	Heerenveen	4–2	—	2nd
			VfB Stuttgart	—	0–3
			Dinamo Zagreb	2–0	—
			Beveren	—	3–0
		R32	CSKA Moscow	1–1	0–2	1–3
2005–06	UEFA Champions League	GS	Lille	1–0	0–0	2nd
			Manchester United	2–1	1–2
			Villarreal	0–1	1–1
		R16	Liverpool	1–0	2–0	3–0
		QF	Barcelona	0–0	0–2	0–2
2006–07		QR3	Austria Wien	3–1	0–0	4–1
		GS	Copenhagen	3–1	0–0	3rd
			Manchester United	0–1	1–3
			Celtic	3–0	0–3
2006–07	UEFA Cup	R32	Dinamo București	1–0	2–1	3–1
		R16	Paris Saint-Germain	3–1	1–2	4–3
		QF	Espanyol	0–0	2–3	2–3
2007–08	UEFA Champions League	QR3	Copenhagen	2–1	1–0	3–1
		GS	Milan	1–1	1–2	3rd
			Shakhtar Donetsk	0–1	2–1
			Celtic	1–0	0–1
2007–08	UEFA Cup	R32	1. FC Nürnberg	1–0	2–2	3–2
		R16	Getafe	1–2	0–1	1–3
2008–09		R1	Napoli	2–0	2–3	4–3
		GS	Hertha BSC	—	1–1	5th
			Galatasaray	0–2	—
			Olympiacos	—	1–5
			Metalist Kharkiv	0–1	—
2009–10	UEFA Europa League	PO	Vorskla Poltava	4–0	1–2	5–2
		GS	BATE Borisov	2–0	2–1	1st
			AEK Athens	2–1	0–1
			Everton	5–0	2–0
		R32	Hertha BSC	4–0	1–1	5–1
		R16	Marseille	1–1	2–1	3–2
		QF	Liverpool	2–1	1–4	3–5
2010–11	UEFA Champions League	GS	Hapoel Tel Aviv	2–0	0–3	3rd
			Schalke 04	1–2	0–2
			Lyon	4–3	0–2
2010–11	UEFA Europa League	R32	VfB Stuttgart	2–1	2–0	4–1
		R16	Paris Saint-Germain	2–1	1–1	3–2
		QF	PSV Eindhoven	4–1	2–2	6–3
		SF	Braga	2–1	0–1	2–2 (a)
2011–12	UEFA Champions League	QR3	Trabzonspor	2–0	1–1	3–1
		PO	Twente	3–1	2–2	5–3
		GS	Manchester United	1–1	2–2	1st
			Oțelul Galați	1–0	1–0
			Basel	1–1	2–0
		R16	Zenit Saint Petersburg	2–0	2–3	4–3
		QF	Chelsea	0–1	1–2	1–3
2012–13		GS	Celtic	2–1	0–0	3rd
			Barcelona	0–2	0–0
			Spartak Moscow	2–0	1–2
2012–13	UEFA Europa League	R32	Bayer Leverkusen	2–1	1–0	3–1
		R16	Bordeaux	1–0	3–2	4–2
		QF	Newcastle United	3–1	1–1	4–2
		SF	Fenerbahçe	3–1	0–1	3–2
		F	Chelsea	—	—	1–2
2013–14	UEFA Champions League	GS	Anderlecht	2–0	3–2	3rd
			Paris Saint-Germain	2–1	0–3
			Olympiacos	1–1	0–1
2013–14	UEFA Europa League	R32	PAOK	3–0	1–0	4–0
		R16	Tottenham Hotspur	2–2	3–1	5–3
		QF	AZ	2–0	1–0	3–0
		SF	Juventus	2–1	0–0	2–1
		F	Sevilla	—	—	0–0 (aet) (2–4 p)
2014–15	UEFA Champions League	GS	Zenit Saint Petersburg	0–2	0–1	4th
			Bayer Leverkusen	0–0	1–3
			Monaco	1–0	0–0
2015–16		GS	Astana	2–0	2–2	2nd
			Atlético Madrid	1–2	2–1
			Galatasaray	2–1	1–2
		R16	Zenit Saint Petersburg	1–0	2–1	3–1
		QF	Bayern Munich	2–2	0–1	2–3
2016–17		GS	Beşiktaş	1–1	3–3	2nd
			Napoli	1–2	2–4
			Dynamo Kyiv	1–0	2–0
		R16	Borussia Dortmund	1–0	0–4	1–4
2017–18		GS	CSKA Moscow	1–2	0–2	4th
			Basel	0–2	0–5
			Manchester United	0–1	0–2
2018–19		QR3	Fenerbahçe	1–0	1–1	2–1
		PO	PAOK	1–1	4–1	5–2
		GS	Bayern Munich	0–2	1–5	3rd
			AEK Athens	1–0	3–2
			Ajax	1–1	0–1
2018–19	UEFA Europa League	R32	Galatasaray	0–0	2–1	2–1
		R16	Dinamo Zagreb	3–0 (a.e.t.)	0–1	3–1
		QF	Eintracht Frankfurt	4–2	0–2	4–4 (a)
2019–20	UEFA Champions League	GS	RB Leipzig	1–2	2–2	3rd
			Zenit Saint Petersburg	3–0	1–3
			Lyon	2–1	1–3
2019–20	UEFA Europa League	R32	Shakhtar Donetsk	3–3	1–2	4–5
2020–21	UEFA Champions League	QR3	PAOK	—	1–2[lower-alpha 4]	—
2020–21	UEFA Europa League	GS	Standard Liège	3–0	2–2	2nd
			Rangers	3–3	2–2
			Lech Poznań	4–0	4–2
		R32	Arsenal	1–1[lower-alpha 5]	2–3[lower-alpha 6]	3–4
2021–22	UEFA Champions League	QR3	Spartak Moscow	2–0	2–0	4–0
		PO	PSV Eindhoven	2–1	0–0	2–1
		GS	Dynamo Kyiv	2–0	0–0	2nd
			Barcelona	3–0	0–0
			Bayern Munich	0–4	2–5
		R16	Ajax	2–2	1–0	3–2
		QF	Liverpool	1–3	3–3	4–6
2022–23		QR3	Midtjylland	4–1	3–1	7−2
		PO	Dynamo Kyiv	3–0	2–0	5−0
		GS	Maccabi Haifa	2–0	6–1	1st
			Juventus	4–3	2–1
			Paris Saint-Germain	1–1	1–1
		R16	Club Brugge	5–1	2–0	7–1
		QF	Inter Milan	0–2	3–3	3–5
2023–24		GS	Red Bull Salzburg	0–2
			Inter Milan		0–1
			Real Sociedad	0–1

Last updated: 24 October 2023
Note: Benfica score is always listed first.

Eusébio is the Benfica player with the highest goal tally in international competitions, with 56 scored.

As of 24 October 2023

Benfica were the first Portuguese side to reach the final of the European Cup, the first to win it and the only one to this day to win the trophy in consecutive years.[72] In the 1960s, they reached the final five times, more than any other team, surpassing Real Madrid and Milan, who reached three finals each.[73] Their ten European finals are also a domestic record,[74] and with 42 participations in the Champions League (formerly the European Cup), only Real Madrid has played more seasons in the competition.[75]

• Most appearances in European competition: Luisão, 127[49]
• Most goals in European competition: Eusébio, 56[49]
• First European match: Sevilla 3–1 Benfica in the European Cup, on 19 September 1957[76]
• Biggest win: Benfica 10–0 Stade Dudelange in the European Cup, on 5 October 1965[49]
• First goal in European competition: Francisco Palmeiro, in the 40th minute against Sevilla, on 19 September 1957[77]
• Biggest defeat: Celta Vigo 7–0 Benfica in the UEFA Cup, on 25 November 1999[49]
• Highest European home attendance: 110,000, against Marseille in the European Cup, on 18 April 1990[78]

By country

S.L. Benfica record in continental football by country[80]

Country	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win%[lower-alpha 8]
Albania	2	2	0	0	7	0	+7	100.00
Austria	9	5	3	1	21	7	+14	055.56
Belarus	2	2	0	0	4	1	+3	100.00
Belgium	23	14	5	4	41	20	+21	060.87
Brazil	2	0	0	2	4	8	−4	000.00
Bulgaria	6	4	2	0	13	8	+5	066.67
Croatia	7	4	2	1	9	2	+7	057.14
Cyprus	2	2	0	0	4	0	+4	100.00
Czech Republic	6	2	3	1	6	5	+1	033.33
Denmark	16	14	2	0	36	9	+27	087.50
England	40	11	8	21	55	72	−17	027.50
Finland	2	0	1	1	2	4	−2	000.00
France	32	15	9	8	40	31	+9	046.88
Germany	51	14	14	23	56	88	−32	027.45
Greece	20	11	2	7	29	23	+6	055.00
Hungary	14	9	2	3	37	13	+24	064.29
Iceland	2	1	1	0	8	1	+7	050.00
Israel	6	4	0	2	17	7	+10	066.67
Italy	36	11	6	19	38	50	−12	030.56
Kazakhstan	2	1	1	0	4	2	+2	050.00
Luxembourg	4	4	0	0	28	2	+26	100.00
Malta	2	2	0	0	10	0	+10	100.00
Netherlands	29	12	11	6	44	31	+13	041.38
Northern Ireland	8	5	3	0	21	7	+14	062.50
Norway	6	5	0	1	11	4	+7	083.33
Poland	6	4	2	0	15	4	+11	066.67
Portugal	2	1	0	1	2	2	+0	050.00
Republic of Ireland	2	2	0	0	6	1	+5	100.00
Romania	12	7	4	1	13	5	+8	058.33
Russia	21	9	4	8	25	23	+2	042.86
Scotland	12	6	3	3	19	14	+5	050.00
Serbia	2	1	0	1	4	3	+1	050.00
Slovakia	2	2	0	0	5	0	+5	100.00
Slovenia	4	3	1	0	17	2	+15	075.00
Spain	28	7	9	12	31	39	−8	025.00
Sweden	8	3	2	3	15	9	+6	037.50
Switzerland	7	3	3	1	14	8	+6	042.86
Turkey	17	7	6	4	28	15	+13	041.18
Ukraine	16	10	2	4	29	9	+20	062.50
Uruguay	3	1	0	2	2	7	−5	033.33

UEFA competitions

Year	Competition	Opposing team	Score	Venue
1961	European Cup	Barcelona	3–2	Wankdorf Stadium, Bern
1961	Intercontinental Cup	Peñarol	1–0	Estádio da Luz, Lisbon
			0–5	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo
			1–2[lower-alpha 9]
1962	European Cup	Real Madrid	5–3[13]	Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam
1962	Intercontinental Cup	Santos	2–3	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro
			2–5	Estádio da Luz, Lisbon
1963	European Cup	Milan	1–2[17]	Wembley Stadium, London
1965		Inter Milan	0–1	San Siro, Milan
1968		Manchester United	1–4 (a.e.t.)	Wembley Stadium, London
1983	UEFA Cup	Anderlecht	0–1	Heysel Stadium, Brussels
			1–1	Estádio da Luz, Lisbon
1988	European Cup	PSV Eindhoven	0–0 (a.e.t.) (5–6 p)	Neckarstadion, Stuttgart
1990		Milan	0–1	Praterstadion, Vienna
2013	UEFA Europa League	Chelsea	1–2	Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam
2014		Sevilla	0–0 (a.e.t.) (2–4 p)	Juventus Stadium, Turin

Other international competitions

Year	Competition	Opposing team	Score	Venue
1950	Latin Cup	Bordeaux	3–3 (a.e.t.)	Estádio Nacional do Jamor, Oeiras
			2–1 (a.e.t.)[lower-alpha 10]
1957		Real Madrid	0–1	Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid

UEFA competitions

Year	Competition	Opposing team	Agg.	Other semi-finalists
1961	European Cup	Rapid Wien	4–1	Barcelona Hamburg
1962		Tottenham Hotspur	4–3[12]	Real Madrid Standard Liège
1963		Feyenoord	3–1	Milan Dundee
1965		Győri Vasas ETO	5–0	Inter Milan Liverpool
1968		Juventus	3–0	Manchester United Real Madrid
1972		Ajax	0–1	Inter Milan Celtic
1981	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	Carl Zeiss Jena	1–2	Dinamo Tbilisi Feyenoord
1983	UEFA cup	Universitatea Craiova	1–1 (a)	Anderlecht Bohemians ČKD Prague
1988	European Cup	Steaua București	2–0	PSV Eindhoven Real Madrid
1990		Marseille	2–2 (a)	Milan Bayern Munich
1994	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	Parma	2–2 (a)	Arsenal Paris Saint-Germain
2011	UEFA Europa League	Braga	2–2 (a)	Porto Villarreal
2013		Fenerbahçe	3–2	Chelsea Basel
2014		Juventus	2–1	Valencia Sevilla

Other international competitions

Year	Competition	Opposing team	Score	Other semi-finalists
1950	Latin Cup	Lazio	3–0	Bordeaux Atlético Madrid
1956		Milan	2–4	Athletic Bilbao Nice
1957		Saint-Étienne	1–0	Real Madrid Milan

• List of UEFA club competition winners

Bibliography

• Tovar, Rui Miguel (2012). Almanaque do Benfica [Benfica Almanac] (in Portuguese). Revised by Luís Milheiro (1st ed.). Alfragide, Portugal: Lua de Papel. ISBN 978-989-23-2087-8.
• Pereira, Luís Miguel (December 2011). O Livro de Recordes do Benfica [Benfica records book] (in Portuguese) (1st ed.). Portugal: Prime Books. ISBN 978-989-655-109-4.