An in-depth look at the ex-Manchester United full-back excelling at Benfica this season.
By Zach Lowy
On December 29, 2015, Benfica completed the €1.5 million signing of Álex Grimaldo from FC Barcelona. The rest, as they say, is history: Grimaldo scored 27 goals and 66 assists in 303 appearances – 32 of those goal contributions coming in his final season – and won four league titles before leaving in 2023 as arguably the greatest left back in Benfica history.
Grimaldo joined Bayer Leverkusen on a free transfer, a move that would have major repercussions for all parties involved: Whilst Grimaldo spurred Leverkusen to an undefeated domestic double, Benfica’s inability to find an adequate replacement doomed their attempts to retain the championship, finishing 10 points behind Sporting and failing to claim any major silverware. With neither of their summer arrivals – David Jurásek and Juan Bernat – convincing at left back, Benfica had no other choice but to head to the transfer market in January.
Exactly eight years and 19 days after Grimaldo’s arrival, Benfica attempted to repeat that formula by signing a 20-year-old, Spanish left back whose pathway to first-team football was blocked, and who had no other choice but to leave one of the biggest clubs in Europe in order to play senior football. Álvaro Carreras (also more widely known as Álvaro Fernández in the UK) joined on loan from Manchester United with a €6 million option to buy, whilst United retained a €20m buyback clause. With Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia both spending more time on the treatment table than the pitch, and with Carreras taking his game to new heights this season, it may only be a matter of time before United bring Carreras back to Old Trafford as they look to solve a problem position in defence.
After bouncing around from Racing de Ferrol to Deportivo de la Coruña to Real Madrid, Carreras left Spain in 2020 and joined Manchester United, where he emerged as a regular for the U23s and was named their Player of the Season, but never quite managed to make his first-team debut. He was loaned out to EFL Championship side Preston North End for the 2022/23 campaign and quickly impressed with 6 assists in 42 appearances before heading to newly promoted LaLiga side Granada for the 2023/24 season, only to be recalled in January and join Benfica. Carreras was gradually eased into the team, remaining on the bench in six of his first 11 league matches before playing 87+ minutes in five of his next six to end the campaign, enough to convince Benfica to trigger their option and sign him on a contract through 2029.
Having spent the past two seasons on loan, Carreras finally has the chance to settle down and develop in the same place over a long-term period, and it’s clear to see that this stability is paying dividends. After coming on for the final half-hour of their opening day defeat at Famalicão, he replaced the injured Jan-Niklas Beste in the 20th minute vs. Casa Pia and seized the opportunity, completing 4/5 long balls, registering 3 key passes, and winning 6/10 duels. Since then, Carreras has started in each of Benfica’s last 14 matches, making him the sole outfield player to play every single minute since the appointment of Bruno Lage on September 5. Only three Benfica players have created more chances than Carreras (13), who boasts the joint-second-highest FotMob rating (7.73) in their squad after Kerem Aktürkoğlu (8.19).
“Carreras looks like a completely new player this season,” said @CurtaVermelha, one of the biggest Benfica accounts on Twitter. “Whilst Benfica use a 4-3-3 base, they attack in a 3-4-2-1 and switch between a 5-3-2 or a 4-4-2 in defence. Carreras is that piece that offers all these dynamics because he is a fast, physically imposing defender who covers space well, who’s hard to beat in duels, and who is looking far more comfortable on the ball and capable of penetrating through the middle with vertical passes.”
“Last season, he pretty much lost the ball 50% of the times that he touched it, losing possession 12 times in a 45-minute cameo vs. Toulouse in February. This season, not only is he defending well, but he can build from the back and pop up in the box and the flanks. He can’t change a game by himself with his attacking quality like Grimaldo, but he’s a much more solid defender. Similarly to Riccardo Calafiori, he’s a hybrid of a centre back and a left back, a player who allows the team to be much more solid defensively and for players like Ángel Di María to be more focused on going forward.”
At 21 years old, Carreras is in the form of his life at Benfica, and the proof is in the pudding. With the exception of their 1-0 defeat at Bayern, he’s racked up one goal contribution in each of Benfica’s last four matches, ending October with an assist vs. Rio Ave and Santa Clara before equalizing in a 2-1 win vs. Farense, beating Ricardo Velho at his near post with a well-drilled effort. He was back at it again in their next league fixture, feigning to go wide before cutting inside and carving a way past yet another Portuguese international goalkeeper – Diogo Costa – with a sensational weak-footed finish. Porto equalised before halftime, but Benfica would storm back to a 4-1 victory, the first time since 1964 that they scored 4+ goals vs. Porto in a league fixture.
Benfica sit third in the table, two points behind Porto and eight behind Sporting, with a game in hand on both. They have won each of their last eight matches vs. Portuguese opponents, and they’ll be counting on Carreras – a player who has scored more goals in his last three matches (two) than in the first 85 matches (one) of his senior club career – as they look to build on their momentum and close the distance on their rivals.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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