"Courage and ambition to play our game"

PREVIEW

It is with the ambition of advancing to the quarter-finals of the Champions League that Benfica will face Barcelona, in the 2nd leg of the competition's round of 16.

What approach do you expect from the Barcelona team in tomorrow's match [Tuesday, March 11], given that they are already ahead in the tie?

We expect a similar approach to the two games we played, with one or two differences in strategy, which is what we saw from one game to the next. But, above all, a team that, when it has the ball, likes to have the ball, likes to play through the midfielders, likes to put its forwards in various one-on-one situations, both between the lines and deep, and a team that likes to press, and that likes to press high. But the most important thing is that we feel confident for various reasons, and the most important thing is that we look at the two games. Because of what we've done, the chances we've created, we feel that we have a crucial game tomorrow, but we have to have the courage and ambition to play our game, to create our chances, to score our goals in order to move on in the competition, because that really is our goal. It would be a huge prestige for us to go through tomorrow.

It's a huge challenge, I believe, you have to look at your game and the game of the opposing team as well. Where do you think the key is for Benfica to win here, on a pitch where it's very difficult to win?

We have to understand that Barcelona are a great team, as I said, full of players of enormous quality, particularly the front three, although in the last game it was the goalkeeper who stood out, but really the front three are very strong. A coach who is doing an incredible job at Barcelona, who already has the experience of winning the Champions League and, at the moment, Barcelona is the team that hasn't lost in Europe in 2025, and we have that challenge. That's the basis, it's that we also feel the confidence that, when we played Barcelona, we created lots of chances to score, we always felt that we could have had different results, both in the first game and in the second. But we have to take everything good we did in the game and put it into practice tomorrow. When it comes down to it, when it comes down to the game, we'll understand very well how we can build on the two games we played against Barcelona, that's the most important thing.

In the other matches with Barcelona, Benfica didn't make a man-to-man marking on Lamine Yamal. Will this change? He's an important player - it's true that he hasn't scored in recent games, but he makes the team play a lot. What role could he play in tomorrow's match, and how do you plan to stop him, because he's a different player?

Our way of looking at the game isn't just to worry about one player. He's an excellent player, also because of his age and his talent, but on the other side there's Raphinha, and now he's been put forward for the Ballon d'Or [smiles], and then there's a spearhead [Lewandowski] who has been one of the best in the world over the years. So they're three very strong men, three men who combine very well. We often see Lewandowski dropping deep and combining with Yamal in one way, with Raphinha in another... the three of them have a very interesting dynamic. If we give them a lot of space at the back, they're very strong at attacking deep; if we give them a lot of space in the corridors, they're very good at one-on-one, coming inside and trying to shoot at goal; they're very good at combinations, particularly when the midfielders find them between the lines.  They're superb players, but we also have players of enormous quality and, most importantly, regardless of the individual player, I believe that the Barcelona coach always looks at the game from a collective point of view, and so do we. Tomorrow, the answer we have to give is as a team and collectively. Knowing that when we have to defend, we have to defend; we also have to take the initiative when defending and then, when we have the ball, we have to know how to look for the spaces that are less favorable to Barcelona and more favorable to us, to create those goal-scoring opportunities and score. 

Tomorrow, for Benfica, it's win or win. To do that, they need to score. Your team shoots a lot and perhaps doesn't score as many goals as you'd like given your attacking prowess. I ask you if the anxiety of the players wanting to score early can be an enemy for your team.

I don't believe it. Given the experience the team has, I don't believe it, and curiously the team in the two games against Barcelona always started very well. In the first game, in the third or fourth minute, we were already leading 1-0, and in the second, after just 20 seconds, we had already had a shot on goal. So it's not about that, I feel the team is calm and very confident, so the most important thing is for us to be able to reproduce tomorrow what we did in the two games.

How is Florentino? Will he be able to play tomorrow, even as a starter? And he talks about the good things he did in the two games with Barcelona, but Barcelona won both. What do they have to do differently to win, given the one-goal difference?

Yes, Tino [Florentino] will train next, and we won't make the final decision until tomorrow morning. What I'm saying about the two games is to take the positives into the morning game. And what was positive, either in one game or the other? We created a lot of chances. So first we have to try to create enough chances to score the goals we need to progress.