🎥 Bruno Lage: “Will and ambition to make a great game”

PREVIEW

Bruno Lage previewed the clash against Shakhtar Donetsk, scheduled for 5:55 pm GMT at the OSK Metalist Stadium, in Kharkiv.

What are your expectations for the match against Shakhtar, with Benfica having an overloaded schedule and the Ukrainians with no official matches in the last two months?

Yes, but those are the calendars and competitions for each team. We will face an excellent team. We have to hold on to work. What we're doing right we must continue to do so; we must amend what is not going so well. It's time to look at us and have the will and the ambition to make a great match.

Will Florentino play alongside Taarabt? Will Seferovic replace Vinícius in the attack? Will Rafa play on the left, instead of Cervi, or as a second striker?

These are solutions we've been using. The players still don't know the starting eleven and they will always be the first to know.

In Kharkiv, the most important thing is not conceding or scoring?

The most important thing is to play well. Right now, we want to make a good result, but more than that, the team has to be solid and consistent, which is our ambition.

What do you prefer: to beat Shakhtar and reach the Europa League final, but win the Championship, or to lose against Shakhtar and be eliminated and win the Portuguese league title?

And in the final? Do we win? Can I just win one or the other? If I answer your question and choose to win one over the other, the President will fire me. Benfica's mentality is to win everything!

Text: João Sanches and Marco Rebelo

Photos: João Paulo Trindade / SL Benfica