Manchester United loanee Alvaro Fernandez was called into the team for his second Benfica start last night.
Alvaro Fernandez is beginning to get opportunities at Benfica. Last night he made his Europa League debut.
Fernandez has not played a single game for Manchester United. He spent last season on loan at Preston, then Granada in Spain earlier this season, before a loan switch to Benfica.
He made his first Benfica start in the Portuguese Cup last week, and and has made a further three appearances as a substitute.
How Alvaro Fernandez fared
Benfica won the home leg of their last 32 fixture against French side Toulouse 2-1. But he will be a little disappointed.
His team came out with a flat performance against the 14th ranked team in Ligue 1. Perhaps there was a little over-confidence.
He was one of two players substituted in the 59th minute with the game scoreless at 0-0.
Benfica took the lead 10 minutes later through an Angel di Maria penalty, before Toulouse equalised, and then Di Maria netted another penalty in the eighth minute of injury time to win 2-1.
Fernandez had tried to make an impact, he did little wrong defensively, and had a long range effort from goal which tested the goalkeeper.
But Benfica were struggling to get the ball into their forwards, Fernandez included, who made just two passes into the final third and did not create any chances.
Needing a goal, the manager made two changes, taking one of the predictable options by replacing the young loanee making his European debut.
Benfica boss responds to whistles
Benfica’s error-strewn performance can be summed up by this: They had 27 shots in total, but only five were on target. Two of those were Di Maria’s penalties. Fernandez had one of the other three.
This frustrating performance led to whistles from the Benfica fans, and manager Roger Schmidt blamed this on a tired team, even though he had tried to freshen it up with changes.
He told Mais Futebol: “There are always difficulties, especially if we play every three days. Today we had some problems, we had to improve, but we also had a lot of good moments. Furthermore, we also have to respect. It is impossible to dominate an opponent for 90 minutes every three days.”
Asked about the jeers, he said: “I have to focus on the game. Fans always have their opinion, it’s normal. I have to make the best decisions for the team.”
He also defended his changes: “Arthur did well, but he was tired and we needed new energy, so I put Marcos Leonardo on. He won a penalty and I think the substitutions were good. Bah and Neres gave energy to the game.”
Alexander Bah was the player who replaced Fernandez. He had one shot at goal but it missed the target, sailing wide.
Schmidt is optimistic ahead of the second leg, adding: “It will be a different game in Toulouse, it will be more open. We can improve, but today we were good enough to win fairly.”
It is all great opportunities for Fernandez, however they go. While he will be disappointed not to get the full 90, just to be playing Europa League football is a step up from his loan in the Championship last season, and he should be looking at the positives.
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