Roger Schmidt: "I'm very happy with the team's development"

POST-MATCH

This Thursday, December 21, Benfica secured the qualification for the final four of the League Cup after beating AVS by 4-1, on matchday 3 of Group B of the League Cup, held at Estádio da Luz. Roger Schmidt stressed the fairness of the result in a competition that he aspires to win. 

QUALIFIED WITH CATEGORY

"The situation before the game was clear, we could qualify for the semi-final, and we did it in a good way. We created a lot of chances and scored four goals. The opposition also showed their quality, they're an excellent team, it's no coincidence that they're top of the table in Liga 2. They were able to score the first goal and create a few chances. It was hard work, but in the end we deserved to win and play in the semi-final. Now we're looking forward to Christmas and later in January in this competition, also for the semi-final against Estoril."

COLLECTIVE DEVELOPMENT

"In the last nine days we've had three very important games in three different competitions. We won all three, which is very good for us because we gained confidence. We know that we can perform at a very high level in difficult games, at difficult moments in games, so I'm very happy with the development of the team and we have to keep going."

TIAGO GOUVEIA'S EVOLUTION

"All the players want to play. Tiago [Gouveia] is doing well in training, for him, it's a big step from Estoril and, before that, from training, to Benfica's first team. He's a very talented player. He's already had a few minutes, today [Thursday] he was good when he came on, he showed his quality, not just with the goal, but also with some other moments. I hope he can play more in the second half of the season, but in the end it's up to him. He has to give everything on the pitch, with the ball, without the ball, he has to be reliable tactically and then, of course, he can play in different positions in attack. I hope he uses every training session to develop and every minute he has on the pitch to do better and better. I'm open to all players, so in the end it doesn't matter to me. The players decide for themselves how much they play. Today [Thursday], it was a good 30 minutes from him and I hope it continues like that."

BALANCE IN MIDFIELD

"Orkun [Kökcü] was injured for a long time, he was out for almost eight weeks, and before that he also played with some problems. We're happy that he's back and now, with the games, his fitness is good again. Of course he's a very complete central midfielder, but with the others, João Neves, who is playing well, but also Florentino and Chiquinho, we have four very good options in this position, and João Mário has also played in this position. It's always a question of balance in the team. Of course we need very good control of the ball, we need players who can keep the ball under pressure, make good decisions, accelerate at the right time, draw opponents in and overload opposing players who make decisions. All the players can do that. On Sunday, against SC Braga, Orkun [Kökcü] showed his quality playing forward and creating chances. Today [Thursday], he also provided an assist for Tiago Gouveia, and that's what we want to see in this position. They're central midfielders, they're also responsible for giving us balance in defense, for being in front of our defensive line, it's a very important tactical task for them, but even so, we also need them in attack, to bring our attacking players into the right positions at the right times and then, of course, they're always capable of creating something, but all the players are playing very well. At the moment, João [Neves] and Orkun [Kökcü] are in the starting eleven." 

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE TO BENFICA FANS

"We can always count on our fans, no matter if we play at home or away. We're happy to be playing at home again just after Christmas. I hope everyone enjoys the next few days without football, it's a very short break, but it's very good for all of us to spend time with our families. I'm very happy, because I know that for all of us in football, and also for Benfica fans, it's very important to be satisfied with the state of football. We've improved our situation a lot and everything is still possible. I want to thank all the fans for their support, and we need them after Christmas too. The season isn't over yet."