“Being Benfica's captain is more than a privilege”

At the end of the match at the Estádio António Coimbra da Mota, matchday 32 of the Liga Betclic, Otamendi, who was voted Man of the Match, highlighted the importance of the 1-2 victory against Estoril.

“Our mentality is to think game by game. We're still the same, we still believe in our group, in our well-established bond. It's important to stay calm and keep picking up the 3 points. There are still two games to go, we have to go with the same mentality, rest and prepare ourselves as best we can for the game, which is the most important thing,” said the Benfica team captain, to Sport TV.

Otamendi praised the opponents: “Estoril play well here at home, they're intense, they have good players, but our mentality was to go into the game well. We knew it would be difficult, but we have to keep believing in our style of play, our aggression and our competence. We have to stay calm for what is left. Now it's time to rest and prepare for next weekend's game.”

Regarding his performance this season, in which he has scored 7 goals, 6 in the League, the Argentinian international highlighted the team's performance.

“My season is based on the group, on how we compete. Being Benfica's captain is more than a privilege. It's important to keep the squad motivated, our players and our fans, who always believe in us. On a personal level, I feel good, I'm happy, because I'm a competitive person who's always looking for the maximum, giving the maximum on the pitch, and I'm privileged to be here,” he said.

OTAMENDI'S GOAL

As for the next match against Sporting, Otamendi guarantees that the team is focused and confident.

“As I've said since the previous games, we're preparing one game at a time, and that's important. We know that the weekend's game is more than important, and it's still important to prepare in the same way: with concentration, with the confidence of our fans and believing that anything is possible. And we're more than happy because today we also felt the support of all of them, and we're always grateful,” he concluded.

In addition to the goal, the Eagles' No. 30 made 8 clearances, 4 interceptions and won all 5 aerial duels he played in, registering an 80 percent pass accuracy (65 out of 81). The statistics are from the Sofascore platform.