Down From the First Leg, Then Total Domination
Rough opening leg forgotten fast. Benfica had lost 2-1 away in St. Gallen the week before, and needed a big response at home to turn the tie around. Got exactly that. Vangelis Pavlidis put on one of the great individual European nights, scoring four of Benfica’s five goals as they demolished St. Gallen 5-0 at Estádio da Luz to seal a 6-2 aggregate win and a spot in the third qualifying round.
Didn’t take long either. Just past the ten-minute mark, a long throw-in, a clever pass, and a sharp finish gave Pavlidis his first, with Alexander Bah doing the early legwork to unlock the visitors’ defense. From there Benfica just kept coming. Marco Silva’s side, playing with real purpose in only his first European game in charge, launched wave after wave at a St. Gallen backline missing its first-choice keeper — Lukas Watkowiak deputizing for the injured Lawrence Ati Zigi and having a torrid evening of it.
Stanic Sees Red, Pavlidis Completes His Hat-Trick
Pavlidis doubled his tally in the 55th minute from a nice bit of combination play, and things got even worse for the visitors seven minutes later — St. Gallen defender Jozo Stanic picked up a second yellow and was sent off, leaving his side down to ten men and any hope of a comeback all but gone. Pavlidis made the extra man count almost immediately, heading home his third in the 65th minute after a scrambled sequence of crosses in the box, completing his hat-trick and putting the tie firmly out of reach.
He wasn’t done, either. Richard Rios was hauled down in the box by Leon Frokaj in the 74th minute, and Pavlidis stepped up himself to smash the penalty into the top corner for his fourth of the night — four goals from four shots, an absurd return by any measure. Clément Lenglet, on for his first Benfica goal, put the finishing touch on it in the 82nd minute to make the final score 5-0.
What It Means Next
It’s a huge night for Silva, whose side move through 6-2 on aggregate after looking dead and buried a week earlier, and Pavlidis — Benfica’s top scorer last season — has picked up right where he left off. For St. Gallen, it’s a tough way to bow out, dropping into the Conference League despite a battling display in the first leg. Benfica play a domestic friendly against Académico de Viseu on Sunday, while St. Gallen head back to the Swiss Super League against Vaduz the same day.
Match Summary
Benfica 5-0 St. Gallen (Benfica win 6-2 on aggregate) UEFA Europa League, Second Qualifying Round, 2nd Leg — Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal Wednesday, 30 July 2026
Goals: 11′ Vangelis Pavlidis (Benfica) 1-0 (assist: Alexander Bah) 55′ Vangelis Pavlidis (Benfica) 2-0 65′ Vangelis Pavlidis (Benfica) 3-0 74′ Vangelis Pavlidis (Benfica) 4-0 (penalty) 82′ Clément Lenglet (Benfica) 5-0
Red card: Jozo Stanic (St. Gallen), 62′ — second yellow
Result: Benfica advance 6-2 on aggregate to the third qualifying round of the Europa League. St. Gallen drop into Conference League qualifying.
For live Europa League qualifying scores and coverage, visit fawanews. Full results and bracket at the official UEFA Europa League website.
