Benfica Formation and 4-2-3-1 Tactical Structure

Benfica formation — tactical board

How Benfica's 4-2-3-1 is organised

On paper the shape is a 4-2-3-1; without the ball it is closer to a 4-4-1-1. The back four holds a narrow, fairly deep line and the double pivot of Enzo Barrenechea and Richard Ríos screens the space directly in front of it, while Andreas Schjelderup and Gianluca Prestianni drop onto the opposing full-backs. The ten stays higher, guarding the route back into midfield, and Pavlidis presses the centre-backs alone. The result is a mid-block with no natural seam through the middle: the route out that Benfica leave open runs around the block rather than through it.

Build-up is deliberately short. Anatoliy Trubin plays into the back four, but the first real decision belongs to Barrenechea, who drops between Nicolás Otamendi and António Silva to make a three and pull an opposing forward out of shape. From there the right-sided centre-back steps forward to find Ríos, already half-turned, and that is how settled possession becomes territory. When the first line is genuinely trapped, Trubin goes long to Pavlidis and the attacking band chases the second ball rather than gamble in front of its own goal.

Width comes from the full-backs, and the two flanks are not built the same way. On the left Schjelderup narrows into the half-space, which leaves the touchline to Samuel Dahl, whose job is to arrive there and cross. On the right Prestianni holds his width and takes defenders on, so Amar Dedić underlaps inside him rather than overlapping outside. Ríos pushes into the right half-space once possession is settled, giving Benfica a four-man box around Sudakov and Pavlidis in the final third.

The tactical units

1. Goalkeeper

   On the pitch: Anatoliy Trubin

   Trubin is a shot-stopper first, and the block in front of him is designed to funnel opponents into wide areas and long-range attempts. His second job is range: when Benfica's first line is closed down he skips it entirely with a long ball towards Pavlidis, and the attacking band pushes up to contest the drop. He builds short only when the press can be beaten cleanly.

2. Back four

   On the pitch: Samuel Dahl, Nicolás Otamendi, António Silva, Amar Dedić

   The line is narrow rather than high, defending the width of the penalty area instead of the width of the pitch. Otamendi is the aggressive one, stepping into the ball-carrier and sliding across to cover Dahl whenever the left-back is up the pitch. The right-sided centre-back is the one asked to carry the ball out, and Benfica split that slot between António Silva and Tomás Araújo all season. Dahl and Dedić provide almost all of the width in possession.

3. Double pivot

   On the pitch: Enzo Barrenechea, Richard Ríos

   Barrenechea and Ríos split the two jobs a Mourinho pivot has to cover: one screens, one carries. Barrenechea drops into the first line to start build-up and sits in front of the centre-backs the moment the ball is lost. Ríos is the progressive half, breaking lines with the ball at his feet and stepping into the right half-space to counterpress. They stagger rather than sit level, and Fredrik Aursnes and Leandro Barreiro also started in the pair.

4. Attacking band

   On the pitch: Andreas Schjelderup, Heorhiy Sudakov, Gianluca Prestianni

   The band narrows in possession. Schjelderup comes off the left touchline into the half-space and trades places with the ten, who works between the opposition pivot and their centre-backs. Prestianni is the exception, keeping his width on the right and attacking his full-back one-on-one. Out of possession all three drop level with the pivot. The ten was never settled: Sudakov started there most often until January, then Rafa Silva, with Barreiro used in both halves of the season.

5. Lone striker

   On the pitch: Vangelis Pavlidis

   Pavlidis plays alone without being isolated. He scored 22 league goals and 30 in all competitions, attacking crosses from the left and dropping a few metres to combine with the ten whenever Benfica have time on the ball. He is also the entire first line of the press, curving his run to shut off one centre-back and steer the ball into a flank Benfica can trap.

Key player relationships

Anatoliy Trubin → Vangelis Pavlidis — Goes direct to

The accepted escape route. Rather than work through a press with three short passes, Trubin clears the first line and asks Pavlidis to hold the ball or win the header, with Sudakov and the wingers stepping up to collect the second phase.

Samuel Dahl → Vangelis Pavlidis — Supplies crosses

Because Schjelderup vacates the left touchline, Dahl arrives there with time and space to deliver, and a striker who holds the centre gives him something to aim at. It is a route to goal that asks little of Benfica's midfield, which is why a deep side keeps a left-back that high.

Nicolás Otamendi → Samuel Dahl — Covers

Dahl is the more advanced of the two full-backs, so the left centre-back has to be the one who slides. Otamendi reads the switch early and covers the space in behind, which is the price Benfica pay for taking their width from a high left-back.

António Silva → Richard Ríos — Builds play through

Silva is the centre-back given licence to step out of the line with the ball. His target is Ríos, already half-turned in the right half-space, and that single pass is how Benfica move from holding possession to gaining territory.

Amar Dedić → Gianluca Prestianni — Underlaps

Prestianni keeps his width, so an overlap would only stack two players on the same touchline. Dedić instead runs inside him, occupying the full-back's inside shoulder and giving Prestianni a release the moment a defender commits to the dribble.

Enzo Barrenechea → Nicolás Otamendi — Drops between

The first movement of a Benfica build-up. Barrenechea drops between Otamendi and Silva to make a back three, which pulls an opposing forward towards him and opens the pass into the half-space behind. It is what lets a narrow back four play out.

Enzo Barrenechea → António Silva — Screens

The same player has the reverse job without the ball. Barrenechea holds his position in front of the centre-backs, shutting the lane into the opposition's ten and forcing play square or backwards. Benfica conceded twenty-five goals in thirty-four league matches, and a closed middle is where that starts.

Enzo Barrenechea ↔ Richard Ríos — Rotates with

The pivot rarely sits level for long. Whichever of the two steps forward, the other drops in behind him, so Benfica always keep a rest-defence screen between the ball and the back four even when Ríos has joined the attack.

Richard Ríos ↔ Heorhiy Sudakov — Links play

The join between midfield and attack. Ríos carries until an opponent steps to him, then releases Sudakov, who has already turned to face forward. When the ball is recycled, Sudakov drops beside Ríos so two options stay on the same line.

Richard Ríos ↔ Gianluca Prestianni — Counterpresses with

Ríos pushes into the right half-space in settled possession, which puts him close enough to Prestianni to hunt the ball the moment a dribble breaks down. The pair are how Benfica keep the attack alive on that flank instead of conceding the transition that a lost duel invites.

Andreas Schjelderup → Samuel Dahl — Creates space for

The mechanism behind Benfica's left side. Schjelderup steps inside into the half-space, which either drags the opposing right-back with him or forces a hand-off, and in both cases the touchline is left free for Dahl to arrive at speed.

Andreas Schjelderup ↔ Heorhiy Sudakov — Switches with

Both players can occupy either slot and they trade them freely to unsettle the marking. Sudakov drifting left while Schjelderup slides into the ten keeps the shape identical but changes the profiles, and it is how Benfica escape a man-marking midfield.

Andreas Schjelderup ↔ Vangelis Pavlidis — Presses with

The pressing trigger. Pavlidis curves his approach so the centre-back's only clean option is out to the full-back, and Schjelderup is already leaving his man to arrive as the pass does. The touchline does the rest of the defending.

Heorhiy Sudakov ↔ Vangelis Pavlidis — Combines with

The join at the top of the shape. Pavlidis drops a few metres to receive and lay off, then attacks the space he has just vacated, or the ten feeds him back into the channel with a first-time pass. It is the combination the final third is built around.

Tactical strengths

• The mid-block has no natural seam: the double pivot screens the ten space while the wide players tuck in, so the ball is pushed towards crosses and shots from distance.
• Barrenechea dropping between the centre-backs gives a narrow back four a repeatable way to play out without committing extra bodies forward.
• The two flanks are built to different rules, so a full-back is a crossing threat on one side and an underlapping runner on the other.
• Pavlidis is a genuine penalty-box finisher: 22 league goals from 30 starts, and 30 in all competitions, in a side that funnels its chances to one man.
• Game-state management is the point of the shape: Benfica went the whole Primeira Liga season without defeat, drawing eleven and losing none.
• Ríos can beat a press on his own, which reduces the side's dependence on rehearsed passing patterns.

Tactical weaknesses

• Eleven draws in thirty-four league games left Benfica third: an unbeaten season worth 80 points, eight behind Porto.
• Creation is concentrated in the wide pair, so containing Schjelderup and Prestianni leaves Benfica with a cross from a full-back as the remaining route in.
• If one pass bypasses the double pivot, the back four is left defending a large area with Otamendi, who turned 38 during the season, as the covering centre-back.
• Goals are concentrated in Pavlidis: nobody else in the attacking band reached double figures in the league, so a match in which he is marked out is hard to win another way.
• Dahl's advanced position leaves a counter-attacking entry point behind him, and it is covered by a slide across rather than by numbers.

Famous tactical characteristics

Barrenechea dropping in for a back three

The pattern Benfica's build-up is designed around. Barrenechea withdraws between the centre-backs, which turns a back four into a back three, widens Otamendi and Silva, and invites one opposition forward to follow him. The pass into the vacated half-space follows. It is a modest, low-risk mechanism, and it is what allows a deep line to progress without inverting a full-back.

The double pivot as a screen, not a base

Mourinho's two midfielders are judged on what they deny rather than what they create. Barrenechea holds the lane into the opposition ten while Ríos covers the ball side, and they stagger so one is always the deepest outfielder. Benfica conceded twenty-five goals in thirty-four league matches; the block is built to send opponents around the middle rather than through it.

Two flanks built to different rules

Schjelderup narrows from the left, so Dahl inherits the touchline and delivers from it. Prestianni holds width on the right, so Dedić underlaps inside him instead. The asymmetry is deliberate: it gives Benfica one flank that delivers early crosses and one that isolates a defender in a duel, and it means the two full-backs are not asked to do the same job.

Pressing towards the touchline

The press is a trap rather than a chase, and it starts from the mid-block. Pavlidis curves his run to remove one centre-back and force the ball wide; Schjelderup or Prestianni leaves the full-back late and arrives with the pass, using the touchline as an extra defender. The pivot shifts across to close the return ball into midfield.

The ten-to-striker axis

The ten is the one role in this side licensed to take risks. Pavlidis drops to receive and lay off, the ten attacks the space he leaves, and the ball comes back into the channel first time. The slot itself changed hands during 2025/26 — Sudakov, Barreiro and Rafa Silva all played it — while the pattern stayed the same.

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Related formations

• Portugal National Team Formation and Tactics

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• Manchester United Formation and Carrick's Tactics

  Mourinho spent two and a half seasons at Old Trafford, and United's 2025/26 shape is another 4-2-3-1.

• Ajax Formation and Tactics: Inside the 4-3-3

  Two academy-driven selling clubs, though Ajax rebuild a 4-3-3 where Benfica rebuild a 4-2-3-1.

Frequently asked questions

What formation does Benfica play?

Benfica play a 4-2-3-1. Under José Mourinho in 2025/26 it defended as a 4-4-1-1 mid-block, with a double pivot of Enzo Barrenechea and Richard Ríos screening in front of the back four and Heorhiy Sudakov, Leandro Barreiro and Rafa Silva all used in the ten space behind Vangelis Pavlidis.

Who managed Benfica in the 2025/26 season?

Bruno Lage began the season and was dismissed in mid-September 2025. José Mourinho took charge on 18 September, returning to the club where he started his coaching career, and led Benfica for the remainder of the campaign in the league and in Europe.

Who plays in Benfica's midfield?

Richard Ríos and Enzo Barrenechea started most often as the double pivot, with Fredrik Aursnes and Leandro Barreiro also used there. The ten was shared: Heorhiy Sudakov started it most often until January, and Rafa Silva, signed from Beşiktaş that month, most often after it.