Marco Silva went into Benfica’s meeting with Santa Clara with a clear selection problem and an equally clear preference: he wants both Prestianni and Andreas in the starting eleven. Before Monday’s 18h45 match in the 9th round of the Liga Betclic, he said he is trying to find the best way to fit both players into the XI without losing balance.
That is why Santa Clara Vs Benfica is being searched now. Silva’s comments were not about a finished team or a post-match explanation. They were about the decision still being made before kickoff, with Benfica trying to line up its best attack for a league game that could hinge on small choices in the XI.
The coach was direct about the two players at the centre of the discussion. Prestianni has been used on the left because, in Silva’s view, that is where he performs best. Andreas, he said, is also a huge talent. The message was simple: he wants both on the field, but he also wants both to deliver at their highest level. Silva said his aim is to bring together the players who best understand the game, and he sees those two as clear examples of that group.
There is another reason the lineup talk matters. Silva also pointed to Rafa’s recent form, saying he made a tremendous start with numbers and that it is normal for people to talk when those numbers are not as strong in recent matches. He added that the team wants goals spread across all players, which underlines why this is not only about one attacker but about how Benfica distributes responsibility across the pitch.
The friction is that Silva’s desire to use both players runs into the practical demands of the opponent and the match plan. He said Andreas played after the break against Vitória and did not play against Celtic, while Prestianni also missed one match. He also stressed that he can be satisfied when Benfica does not concede goals, even as he admitted he was furious about the goal conceded in the away result against Omonia. That mix of satisfaction and frustration shows a coach still measuring his team by control as much as by output.
Silva said Benfica has created more chances than it has converted in some matches and insisted the team’s identity does not change much from one game to another. For now, the open question is the one he has not answered publicly: whether he will actually start both Prestianni and Andreas against Santa Clara, or hold one back in the name of the balance he keeps talking about.
