“The players believed until the end”

POST-MATCH

In his analysis to the 0-0 draw in the Benfica-Bologna match on Wednesday, December 11, on matchday 6 of the league phase of the Champions League, Bruno Lage expressed his frustration at the result, given the attacking flow and the numerous opportunities created by the Eagles.

FRUSTRATION AT THE RESULT

"It was a growing display from us. We had a very good start, and it was a shame Pavlidis' goal was disallowed. Then there was more balance and more time on the ball for our opponents, but we always controlled it very well. We closed down the space inside, we didn't allow our opponents any chances and then, in the last 15/20 minutes [of the 1st half], the team grew into the game, and we managed to create three very good chances to score, through Di María, [Álvaro] Carreras and Fredrik [Aursnes] in the box. In the 2nd half, we continued to grow. I think the 2nd half was practically all ours, lots of chances. In my opinion, we gave the opposing goalkeeper a very good night. He was perhaps Bologna's best player, because he actually made four saves. So looking at the result leaves us a little frustrated. Because of the chances we created, the amount of attacking play we had and the quality of those chances. We had strikers, midfielders and two defenders in the box to shoot at, and it really frustrates us to only get a point. We've added a point to our tally, we have 10 points at the moment." 

CONTROL AND DOMINANCE OF THE MATCH

"It's almost impossible to do what we want in 90 minutes. I reiterate what I said. We had a good start, which is our moment, then there's Bologna's moment, when they have more minutes of possession. The very wide central defenders forced us to be together, to be compact, to know how to defend the width and also how to defend the space inside, because the full-backs were often on the inside to create those balances. Their aim was always to bring the game out wide and then get a lot of people running between the lines and also deep. We controlled it well. We practically controlled the initiatives in that direction, and then, at that moment, we could have had another, happier transition, especially out wide and even in our exits from the goalkeeper; today [Wednesday] we had another plan: to alternate between long and short passes. But there you have it, we had our moment, Bologna had their moment, and then we had it, at the end of the first half and in the second half, practically controlling and dominating the game."

THE MISSING GOAL

"We missed the chance to take 12 points because we didn't manage to score a goal. Looking at the display, I think that's what we missed, we missed scoring a goal that would have given us 12 points."

BELIEVE UNTIL THE END

"What we wanted was to win the game, it was with that ambition, and you saw it, the players always believed until the end, and we created more than enough chances to score. That's why we can't; we can't value the 10 points we've got, we've got two more games to win points that can ensure we stay ahead in the competition, because that's our goal."