"We're always very motivated because we want to be champions"

PREVIEW

Aiming for the top of the Liga Betclic, Benfica faces Braga this Sunday, December 17, at 8:30 pm, at the Estádio Municipal de Braga. In Minho, against an opponent one point behind the Eagles, the aim is to pick up three points on matchday 14 of the competition. 

Benfica and Braga are in a good moment. What do you expect from this match?

We're expecting a very good opponent. Braga is a very good team, very experienced, with a lot of individual quality, who make good decisions with the ball. They're very efficient in attack, particularly when they have space. It's a big game, we need a top performance to win. It's our goal. We've been doing very well in recent weeks, and we have to keep going. We have to be very tactically focused, defend very well and also show our attacking quality on the ball again. I think we've been doing very well, we're very creative, flexible, and we have to fight for the three points for the whole 90 minutes. I expect a tough, balanced game. In the end, the best team will win.

So far, Benfica is the only team to have won the duels between the big teams. Does that give you extra motivation?

We don't need any extra motivation. We're always very motivated because we want to be champions. It's always difficult to compete against Sporting, FC Porto or Braga. These games are clashes with direct opponents and can be decisive. We can win points or not. These games are always part of our focus, but we're on matchday 14. We're not at the end of the season and these matches aren't decisive. Step by step, we want to improve our position in the league. All the teams [at the top of the table] are very close. We're very close, and we're in very good form. So we can look forward to Braga with a good feeling. We're optimistic, we can play a very good game. If we play well, we have a chance of winning.

One of the expressions you've used the most since you've been Benfica coach is "the moment"... Arthur Cabral was decisive in Salzburg, does that "moment" put him in the eleven for Sunday, or do you prefer what Tengstedt has given the team?

I haven't decided who will be in the eleven yet. The moment was there for Arthur, but all the forwards have had opportunities this season to start. In the last game Casper [Tengstedt] was my first choice, he's been performing well from a tactical point of view, and physically he's strong, runs a lot and presses a lot, supporting in midfield and defense. Petar [Musa] is similar, Arthur is a bit different, we all know he can play more than he has so far and every goal he scores will help him do that. I'm still thinking about the best choices for Sunday.

Rafa has scored two goals in his last two games, but he's missed a lot of chances. Do you think he might be affected by being at the end of his contract?

In my opinion, Rafa is in very good form at the moment. If he's capable of having a lot of chances during a game, it's because he's doing very well, because it's not easy to have chances to score near goal. If he has good timing, combination moves and is available in the box, he's doing well. And we're doing very well. It's always a good sign to create great chances to score. For example, the goal we scored on Tuesday [against Salzburg] in the last minute was no accident. It's a goal you get with a lot of quality. In front of several players defending, trying to prevent a goal, scoring in the last minute, managing to create chances and scoring is good. Rafa is often one of the players who creates these moments. He tries hard and of course he'd like to score more, but that's his style of play.  If he was very efficient, he'd score 25/30 goals a season. Not scoring consistently has nothing to do with his contract, it's his style of play. We hope he continues as he has been, but a little more efficiently.