"We were much better, we deserved to win"

POST-MATCH

In his analysis to the Benfica's 2-all draw against Rangers, in the 1st leg of the Europa League round of 16, held this Thursday, March 7, at Estádio da Luz, Roger Schmidt prasied the display and reaction of his team.

BITTER OUTCOME

"Football is simple. In the end, the result is based on goals. We played good football, the team gave everything and of course deserved to win. For this game, it wasn't a good result, because we were much better than them, we had many more chances, so this was the worst possible result for this game. We played a very good game. It was very difficult, because the opposition scored two goals in two moments, always at stages of the game when we were doing very well. It wasn't easy, but we still played some good soccer and created a lot of chances. It was 1-2 at half-time, but we were the better team and could have been on top in the first half. Both halves were good. In the end, we have to accept that it's 2-2. Now we have to win in Glasgow [on Thursday, March 14, at 5:45 pm] to be promoted to the quarter-finals. Of course it will be a different game because it's at their stadium, but we have the confidence to play a good game there and win."

POSITIVE REACTION

"We showed a very good reaction. Everyone saw that we played a good game, we also showed character, because it's not easy to respond after the last game. It means we have to be prepared for the situation and focused for the 90 minutes. From the start, we showed confidence, quality in our possession play, very good at pressing, so we did a lot of things very well, the way we want to play, the way Benfica want to play. We did our best to find a good rhythm and create chances. We were good with and without the ball, we won a lot of balls in their half. We dominated the game, that's why it was a very good reaction from the team. They fought until the end to win the game, everyone felt that at the stadium. The fans appreciated that and supported the team in a very good way."

A QUESTION OF EFFICIENCY

"The match is always to create as many chances as possible to score as many goals as possible. Unfortunately, we weren't as effective in the box or as objective as we can be. Sometimes you're very effective and score a lot of goals, and at other times, like today [Thursday, March 7], you need a penalty and an own goal to score two goals, but with so many chances, it was possible to score more goals. In defense, we allowed them two moments to score, and in attack, we had a lot of very good moments, clear chances. Still, also a lot of situations in the box, around the box, with possession close to the goal and, in these moments, we lacked the last precision, the last decision-making, to score more goals, because it was possible. Football is like that sometimes. We have the quality to score goals, we've shown that. It's always the same when you miss a lot of chances and talk about inefficiency, of course there's something missing. Precision, decision-making, timing, crosses. They're used to defending in the box, and they did well, but even so, there were so many moments when we could have scored. It wasn't our best day in terms of effectiveness, but we still have to focus on how we played today [Thursday, March 7]. If you look at the performance, we played very well."

FLORENTINO AND JOÃO NEVES DUO

"I'm very pleased, they both played a good game. Of course we knew they were going to throw in a lot of long balls, we had to win a lot of second balls, also in pressure, and Florentino is one of our best players in this area. Florentino deserved to play and showed his quality. Together with João [Neves], they dominated the center of midfield with and without the ball. That was the idea, and they did very well. We've played a lot of games in recent weeks and we need all the players fresh, especially in these games, that's why it was good to let them play. Not just these two players, but the team did very well overall and I was happy with the performance."

FOCUS ON FUTURE MATCHES

"We always have to do our best. Everyone at the stadium saw that we played a very good game, I think everyone agrees. That's what you can do and what the players can do. We can't focus on the past, we have to focus on the next game. Today [Thursday, March 7], we were here, we were good, in good spirit, in good physical and tactical shape. Now we have to accept the result and can still fix it next week. Of course we wanted to win, but in the end it's a draw and anything is possible. The next game is for the Portuguese league [against Estoril, at Estádio da Luz], and we have to be ready again on Sunday [March 10, 8:30 pm]. If we play like we did today [Thursday, March 7], the probability of winning the game is there, and that's our focus."