"We were competent, and it's spectacular to see so many Benfiquistas"

Scorer of the goal that paved the way for Benfica's 1-4 victory in the Azores against Lusitânia on Friday, October 20, in the 3rd round of the Portuguese Cup, João Mário onsidered that the good start to the match was fundamental to the success.

"We were serious and competent. It was a good game, and we achieved our main objective, which was to get through this knockout round. Above all, I'd like to thank the reception here on Terceira Island, it's spectacular to see so many Benfiquistas", said João Mário in a flash interview with Sport TV. 

Listen to João Mário

The goal (with his back heel) that he netted in the 9th minute of this Lusitânia-Benfica match was the first in 2023/24 for the number 20, who said that "it's always good to score". However, what was really "important" was to "win" and "get back on track", not least because "a difficult month lies ahead". "The team was very competent, congratulations on that," he said.

Arthur Cabral, who scored his first goal for Benfica, received words of encouragement: "For a striker, especially, it's important to score. I'm very happy for him because he's been working hard. He's a great player, I'm sure this goal will 'unlock' things a bit. He's going to help us a lot this year."

Having completed their mission in the Portuguese Cup, "a competition" that the Reds want to "win", it's now time to turn their attention to the Champions League, where Benfica hosts Real Sociedad on Tuesday, October 24, at 8 pm, in a game from matchday 3 group D. João Mário assured that the Eagles know what they want "to do in the Champions League".

"Now comes a game of even greater difficulty, but we're prepared. We're a very experienced team. We're playing at home, and it's a match we want to win," he said.