Roger Schmidt: "A deserved and necessary victory"

POST-MATCH

Satisfied with the team's display and stressing the importance of winning games like the one against Estoril on Sunday, March 10, Roger Schmidt analyzed Benfica's 3-1 victory on matchday 25 of the Liga Betclic. 

HAPPY WITH THE VICTORY

"I'm very happy that we won this game. It was an important win, as always. It was the third time we've played Estoril, it's always a challenge in my opinion. It's true that they're fighting to stay in the league, but they're playing good football, and it's not easy to play against them. There's a lot of individual quality, a lot of quick players, the team is always very compact. As I said, it's a task we have to solve, and we'll solve it. It's a deserved win, and it was necessary. We made some changes, the players had to get used to each other and the opposition, and I think it was very important that we scored the second goal before half-time. Then we played very well, scored the third goal, and controlled the game very well. We won 3-1 and we're very happy."

GIVE RAFA, DI MARÍA AND JOÃO NEVES A REST

"Looking at the last few weeks and the last three games - with Sporting, FC Porto and Glasgow Rangers - and seeing the load that João Neves, Rafa Silva and Di María have had in recent weeks - they're players who always give everything on the pitch, have a lot of duels, and have a lot of intensity in their play - in my opinion, it was time to look after them. We have another important game on Thursday [in Scotland, for the Europa League], and of course they are decisive, key players for us. However, we have other options, and it was the right time to give them a rest and give other players game time. We also need these other players in very good shape. That was the reason, especially, for these three players. Nico [Otamendi] was suspended. It was important to show that our squad has different options and that other players can win games and play good football. We played a good game, and I'm glad we managed to leave these key players out and still win the game. I'm happy about that, but it was important to give some players a rest."

MARCOS LEONARDO IN THE STARTING XI

"I'm very happy with Marcos [Leonardo]. He needed to get in shape, physically and football-wise to play for us first. At the start he was fantastic as a substitute, he came on and always scored goals. But it's also normal for [players] to start, feel the load and then lose a bit of physical power, and that's what happened to him. That's why I had to take precautions with him, but I've seen in recent training sessions that he's getting better and today [March 10] was the right time to give him the starting position.  I'm happy with him for scoring, it's always important for strikers. It was a good performance."

INJURY PRECAUTIONS

"It wasn't just because of Thursday [March 14]. There's a science to the players' load. If you look at football studies, players who play a lot of games in a row, with less than four days' rest, reach a point where they are more likely to get injured. In this case, we've looked after several players in recent weeks, and the only ones who have played almost every game are Rafa, Ángel Di María and João Neves. That's why, in my opinion, it was the right time to give them a rest. Not only because of Thursday [the game with Rangers], but also to prevent injuries. Our defenders today [March 10], first Fredrik [Aursnes], then Alex [Bah], had problems at the end of the game. We don't have a clear option at right-back, in fact, our 'backup' for both positions is Fredrik [Aursnes], which is why Álvaro [Carreras] had to play a few minutes at right-back. He did very well, it wasn't a problem."

DEFENSIVE PROCESS

"Before the FC Porto game, we had the best defense in the league, then we conceded five goals. Our goal is always to score, but also to have a good defense and, preferably, a clean sheet. Sometimes you have to accept that you concede goals like today [March 10], there was no need, I think it was the first time they were in our half, and they scored straight away. At the moment, the players reacted well and focused on the game. We still have things to improve, it's true, in attack, in possession, without the ball and defending in the last 30 meters. We're trying to develop the players to do things better. We have to accept that we conceded another goal, but we're working on it."