Roger Schmidt: "I'm very happy with the three points"

POST-MATCH

Roger Schmidt congratulated his players on their 4-1 victory over Rio Ave on matchday 17 of the Liga Betclic, played on Sunday, January 14, at the Estádio da Luz. 

VICTORY, DESPITE WEAR AND TEAR

“It was very tough. As I said before, Rio Ave is a good team, very aggressive, they can run with a lot of intensity, very compact, tactically disciplined. It was obvious that we were a bit tired today [January 14], not as fresh or focused, and we played against a team with exactly that attitude. If you're a bit too slow and the timing isn't right, then it's difficult to create really good moments in attack. When you're not so fresh, you suffer a bit. That was the situation, we had to suffer. The most important thing is that we accepted that it was difficult and that we still needed the three points. What the team did was very good, they worked hard, we didn't play fantastic soccer, but we played intelligent football, especially after the break. The players showed a good attitude, we talked about it at half-time, and we said that we needed a lot of will and mentality to go further. The players who were on the pitch had to give their all for the next 10/15 minutes and then we needed very good substitutes. I think that's what the players did, they were perfect, scored the second goal, and set up a very good situation for the players who came on afterward. In the end, we scored four goals and were able to create a lot of moments. We also needed a bit of luck at the right time, but if you look at other games, I think we deserved it, so congratulations to the team.”

FAIRNESS OF THE RESULT

"I think they [Rio Ave] deserved more, they played a good game, but in the end, we showed that we're capable of fighting. After they got the red card, we showed good quality and were able to decide the game intelligently. They had nothing left in the last 30 minutes, and we could have scored a few more goals. It's always difficult to talk about the fairness of the result because football is a game of results. We scored four goals, they scored one." 

THE IMPORTANCE OF WINNING DEMANDING MATCHES

"In games where everything is at the highest level, we win anyway, but in these games, we have to show mentality and that we're able to accept that the opponent sometimes has good moments. When you have to play 60 games a season, you're not super fresh in every game, everything isn't perfect, and the players aren't in top form. You also have to win games when it gets tough. Today [January 14], it was difficult. I'm very happy that we got the three points. Of course, the history of the game was a bit in our favor, but I think we deserved it."

WINNING STREAK

"Seven wins in a row isn't important to me, every game is important. Of course we have to win a lot of games when we play in all competitions, so I'm not too interested in these statistics. For me, on Friday [January 19, against Boavista on matchday 18 of the Liga Betclic] we must be well recovered and ready again to play the next difficult game."

MARCOS LEONARDO MAKES HIS DEBUT AND SCORES

"I'm very happy with Marcos [Leonardo] and for him. Forwards always want to score, especially when they're playing their first game for a new club, on a new continent. When you take the big step to Europe, to a big club like Benfica, and you get your first minutes and score a very important goal, you're very happy and proud. Of course that was his goal and we're very happy. It was an important goal because it decided the game, and it was also a very good goal. In training, he has already shown that he has a lot of quality, good timing and feels the moment of the game, which is why I felt he was ready to play. Of course, he needs more games and weeks to be in perfect shape, he's been on vacation, but he's getting better and better. He's gained a lot of self-confidence and appreciation from the fans. He's a very good signing. He's a player who can play alongside another central striker. I think it's possible to play with two strikers because he can adapt very well."