Roger Schmidt: "A difficult start, but a deserved victory"

POST-MATCH

Although he identified "connection problems" in his team in the first 40 minutes, Roger Schmidt was satisfied with Benfica's comeback against Estrela da Amadora (1-4), in a game from matchday 19 of the Liga Betclic held this Monday, January 29, at the Estádio José Gomes.

TWO-SIDED GAME

"We had 40 minutes with big problems connecting with everything, with the opponent, with the game. They scored the first goal, they could have scored the second. They made the game difficult for us, very good in transition, we also lost too many balls too easily, we were too static in possession. The last 50/55 minutes were good, we turned it around before half-time, it was very important. With the two very good goals, we turned the game in a different direction and, after the break, we were much better. We played the right soccer, we used the right spaces, we were able to create chances as we wanted right from the start, and we decided the game in a good way, scoring four goals. It was a good win for us, a difficult start but, in the end, a deserved victory."

ADJUSTMENTS TO THE TACTICAL APPROACH

"Our plan is to have a very good 90 minutes, not to have this start, but that's football. We have to accept it, it wasn't so easy, we weren't so flexible and creative in possession at the start, so we have to accept it and find solutions. At half-time, we talked about a few topics, using the wings and depth more. Our tactical approach was completely different from the first 40 minutes. Of course, the opposition closed down a lot and were very compact, but there were still spaces, as we showed in the way we scored the goals, which were very good examples of how to use these spaces. We were a little too focused on vertical balls between the lines, instead of using the wings and deep-lying runs. We needed to realize that, but later on we did it well. We were better in the second half."

FLORENTINO'S ENTRANCE

"The opposition had a lot of counter-attacking moments, and they also played a lot of long balls, where we always have to be ready to recover second balls to support the central defenders. That's exactly what Florentino can give the team, greater control of the important spaces. Florentino is a very good player in that phase of the game, a very good ball retriever, very disciplined and strong at winning these duels, he always gives us a lot of stability in front of the central defenders. I think it was wise to use him, he did very well, he was very important for us and, in the second half, he showed why we put him on the pitch."

GOOD FORM IN ATTACK

"Arthur [Cabral] had a good game, he scored a fantastic goal, so we're very happy with that, but we need all the players for the next few weeks. We have a lot of games starting on Sunday [hosting Gil Vicente on matchday 20 of the Liga Betclic, at 6 pm on February 4], so I'm happy that many players in attack are in good form, like Marcos Leonardo, who has scored three goals in three league games, David [Neres] is back, we need all these players. I'm very happy for Arthur [Cabral], because it's very good for his confidence."

NEW ENERGY IN THE TEAM

"All the players who are coming back now, David Neres, Alex Bah, Casper Tengstedt, who will hopefully be back on Sunday... We're very happy, they're almost like new players, they haven't played for the last three/four months and, with the other new players, there's new energy in the team. I'm very happy that they're all back on the pitch."