No conversation about Benfica’s stunning form under Roger Schmidt is complete without a mention of Goncalo Ramos. You know, the fleet-footed centre-forward who replaced Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal’s starting XI during the Qatar World Cup, and marked it with a hat-trick against Switzerland?
The guy high on Manchester United’s radar as Erik ten Hag pursues an elite-level goalscorer to take his side to another level? The man who produced one of the finest individual performances anywhere in this Champions League campaign while costing Scott Parker his job at Club Brugge?
No one has scored more goals for Benfica in 2022/23 than Goncalo Ramos. But Joao Mario comes closer than most.
Before Schmidt arrived at the Estadio da Luz in May, the one-time West Ham United loanee had scored just 27 goals across his last eight seasons combined, four of those coming in 2021/22. With two months of this term still to go, however, Joao Mario could still match that tally in the space of just a single campaign.
The former Inter Milan playmaker, when slotting home a penalty against Brugge, became the first Benfica player since the legendary Eusebio in the 1960s to score in five straight European games. His form on the domestic stage has been even more eye-catching. A brace in Saturday’s 5-1 thumping of Vitoria Guimaraes took his tally in all competitions to a remarkable 23.
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Add 12 assists into the mix and you’ve got the recipe for arguably Europe’s most in-form attacking midfielder.
“Benfica have worked a miracle with Joao Mario,” Italian reporter Massimo Marianella tells Sky Italia of a man who scored four times in just 69 games during a forgettable spell at the San Siro.
“After he arrived in Italy, he had been very bad at Inter. Even in England, at West Ham, he did not play well during his loan (during 201718). At Benfica, the former Sporting player has flourished finally.”
In April, Benfica and Inter will go head to head with a place in the Champions League semi-finals on the line. Schmidt’s side will not be short of motivation. But Joao Mario, returning to the scene of his most difficult spell, will have more reason than most to fight tooth and nail for every loose ball.
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