Santa Clara Stun Benfica with Late Equaliser to Spoil Sudakov’s Debut

Benfica were held to a shock 1-1 draw by 10-man Santa Clara in a frustrating night at the Estádio da Luz, a result that cost the Eagles top spot in the Primeira Liga and overshadowed the debut of highly rated Ukrainian midfielder Georgiy Sudakov.

From the outset, Benfica dominated possession and pressed high, but found Gabriel Batista in inspired form between the sticks. The visitors, despite being under pressure, nearly stunned the hosts when Venâncio went close early on.

The match tilted in Benfica’s favour in the 34th minute when Paulo Vítor was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Araujo. However, despite the numerical advantage, the home side struggled to break down a disciplined Santa Clara defence — and were even booed off the pitch at half-time by their frustrated supporters.

It took over an hour, but the breakthrough finally came in the 62nd minute. After a dangerous free-kick delivery, Nicolás Otamendi saw his header parried by Batista, only for Vangelis Pavlidis to pounce on the rebound and slot home his seventh goal of the season.

Sudakov made his much-anticipated debut in the 72nd minute, but just four minutes later, his compatriot Anatoliy Trubin was forced into a crucial save to deny Kahila, as Santa Clara showed they weren't done yet.

And then came the twist. Deep into stoppage time, in the 92nd minute, disaster struck for Benfica as veteran striker Vinícius capitalised on a rare error from Otamendi to fire past Trubin and snatch a dramatic — and deserved — equaliser for the underdogs.

2025-26, Portugal - Liga Portugal

Benfica - Santa Clara 1:1 (0:0)
Goals: Pavlidis E., 59 (1:0); Lopes Vinicius, 90 (1:1)

Benfica: Trubin; Silva A.; Dahl; Otamendi; Araújo T. (Prestianni, 46); Barrenechea; Aursnes; Pavlidis E.; Ríos (Barreiro L., 72); Schjelderup (Sudakov, 72); Ivanović Fr. (Araujo P., 72)
Substitution: Prestianni (from 46); Sudakov (from 72); Barreiro L. (from 72); Araujo P. (from 72)
Bench: Soares S.; Obrador; Oliveira; Leandro Santos; Prioste
Yellow Cards: Barrenechea 58

Santa Clara: Batista G.; Matheus Pereira (Carter A., 81); Venâncio; Lima; Matheus Nunes; Soares L.; Victor P. (till 38); Adriano Firmino (Ferreira Pe., 82); Serginho (Luquinhas, 82); Silva Gabriel (Diogo Calila, 61); Brenner (Lopes Vinicius, 61)
Substitution: Diogo Calila (from 61); Lopes Vinicius (from 61); Carter A. (from 81); Ferreira Pe. (from 82); Luquinhas (from 82)
Bench: Neneca; Luís Rocha; Dje; Costa J. P.
Yellow Cards: Silva Gabriel 21
Red cards: Victor P. 38'