Prolific Pavlidis makes history at Benfica: ‘It was the night of the Greek God’
Vangelis Pavlidis had a memorable night with Benfica on Sunday when they thrashed rivals FC Porto 4-1 away from home. Bagging a hat-trick in the drubbing, the former Willem II and AZ Alkmaar striker became the first Benfica player ever to score three times at the Estádio do Dragão.
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In the rich history between Benfica and FC Porto, only two other Benfica players have managed to score three goals in one game. That said, Rui Águas (1987) and Pizzi (2011) did so in Lisbon. Pavlidis became the first player from the current Portuguese leaders to achieve the feat in Porto.
‘Surrounded by stars, Pavlidis touched the sky,’ wrote sports daily A Bola. ‘What a night for the goalscorer who made history. He received a warm applause from the Benfica fans when he was replaced by Andrea Belotti, and he deserved it.’
Record wrote that Porto rolled out a ‘blue carpet’ for the ‘deadly Eagles’: ‘It was the night of the Greek God.’
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Following this deity-like performance, Pavlidis told Sport TV afterwards: “It was a very special day for me, but actually for the whole team. We played very well. Was this a dream night for me? Yes, you could say that.”
The Greek scored his 14th league goal and is battling for the title in the Primeira Liga with Benfica. Second-placed Sporting are three points behind with a game in hand. The prolific finisher was quick to acknowledge this. “We are not looking too far ahead. We still have six games to go and they are all equally important.”
Benfica coach Bruno Lage became the first Portuguese Benfica coach to win both home and away against FC Porto in one season. In 2005-06, Ronald Koeman also managed to do this as Benfica coach. Lage was full of praise for Pavlidis after the win.
“He has done a lot of important work for us. It is important to have men who score a lot of goals, but in the end, this was mainly a real team effort.”
