Benfica will be well-rested ahead of their Champions League quarter final second leg tie with Liverpool on Wednesday after leaving out a number of key players in their latest league fixture.
The Eagles find themselves 3-1 down on aggregate as they prepare to make the trip to Anfield, having been outclassed during the initial meeting between the sides in Lisbon last week. Goals from Ibrahima Konate, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz capped off a memorable night for the Reds, who were good-value for their two-goal advantage after 90 minutes played.
Back on home soil on Saturday evening, Benfica matched the scoreline achieved by Liverpool in the Portuguese capital in their own favour on this occasion as they got the better of Belenenses thanks to a Darwin Nunez hat-trick.
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Manager Nelson Verissimo decided to rest five of the players who started against the Reds last Tuesday, with the full-back duo of Alex Grimaldo and Gilberto not involved, as well as midfielder Julian Weigl. Elsewhere, Goncalo Ramos and Rafa Silva both started the game on the bench, only being deployed late on in the contest to see out the result. Jan Vertonghen was also left out of the squad, though this was due to serving a suspension.
Only player deemed undroppable was Nunez, who has now scored 31 goals in 36 appearances in all competitions this term. The Uruguayan striker is attracting plenty of interest ahead of the summer window, with Liverpool among the clubs to have been linked with the 22-year-old.
Should the club sell, there's every chance a huge transfer fee could be banked - similar to that of the capital received by Benfica for the £113million sale of Joao Felix to Atletico Madrid in 2019. Asked if Nunez could earn the Eagles a similar amount of money if sold, Verissimo, as reported by goal, said: "What do you think? Darwin is an excellent player, he has shown all his quality. He has helped the team a lot, it is true that the team has also helped him a lot.
"He is a young player with a lot of potential, it is natural that given what has been his growth throughout this season and also a lot as a result of the performance he has had in the Champions League games, it is natural that he arouses the interest of the big European clubs."
