Pavlidis poker sends Benfica through in Europa League
Vangelis Pavlidis scored four goals to lead Benfica to a 5-0 victory over St. Gallen, overturning their first-leg deficit in the Europa League qualifiers.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Author: Alvesgaspar
At the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, Benfica hosted St. Gallen in the return leg of their UEFA Europa League 2026/27 second qualifying round tie. Trailing 1-2 from the first game, Marco Silva's side needed a strong performance to keep their European campaign alive.
Vangelis Pavlidis proved to be the difference-maker, scoring four goals in total. The striker opened the scoring in the 11th minute and added three more in the second half, including a penalty. Clement Lenglet added the final goal to secure a 5-0 win. The visitors' task was further hampered when Tom Gaal was sent off while the hosts were 2-0 up.
Ukrainians Anatoliy Trubin and Georgiy Sudakov both played the full match for the Eagles. With this victory, Benfica advances to the third and penultimate qualifying round, where they will face Hearts.