"A fair, important and historic victory"

POST-MATCH

Proud of the work, commitment and spirit displayed by the Benfica team on Tuesday, June 24, against Bayern Munich, Bruno Lage stressed the justice and merit of the historic victory (1-0) in the third and final round of Group C, which put the eagles in first place on their way to the last 16 of Club World Cup.

WELL-INTERPRETED STRATEGY

"[Renato Sanches was one of the best while he was on the pitch. I'd like to know how he is after leaving?] Renato [Sanches] played a great game, just like he did against Bayern [matchday 4 of the Champions League]. Part of the strategy was to remember that game again in defensive terms, but then to have the other side of the moment of the game, which was what we didn't do so well in offensive terms in the first game. I'll talk about the game first. I think we played a very good first half in very difficult weather conditions. We deservedly scored the first goal. We've scored several goals this way, coming out on the left, going down the right flank, getting involved, crossing and arriving at the edge of the box and scoring. It's a move we practice a lot and do very well. Part of the strategy was that, and then to take advantage of individual duels and make moves and counter-moves, like Pavlidis' chance. I think that, at another point in the season, with more freshness, he could have scored that second goal. Then, in the second half, Bayern immediately made changes and brought on fresher players to try and match the same dynamic. And we kept substituting, always keeping our eyes on the goal, and we got a good chance through Kökcü. Bayern also had chances to tie the game, but the moment came when we closed the game with 3 [central defenders]. We could see that the crosses were coming in succession, the two central midfielders needed help, and we closed the game out with Adrian [Bajrami] coming on, who did very well. When I look at the result and the game, I think it's a fair, important and historic victory. We've reached this point in the season where, with this goal, I think we've surpassed the number of goals we scored in 2018/19."

BALANCE IN WORK ANALYSIS

[In the flash interview, you said that people should believe in you more, in the work of the President, the sporting director and the players. Who doesn't value themselves and everyone else at Benfica?] "You only have to look at our latest [press] conferences and flashes. Because, from the start, no one believed that we would beat Bayern Munich. We were here four times, before and after the games, where the talk was: it's a final against Boca [Juniors], then we have to score the most goals against Auckland and, curiously, there was never any talk of Benfica beating Bayern Munich. And we beat Bayern Munich. We know how great Benfica is, we know that playing every three days, when we win we're the best and everything's fine, when we lose everything's not bad and we're not the worst. There has to be a balance in analyzing the work of the people who are here. Because, and I already have some experience of this, I'm 49 years old and this is the second time I've coached Benfica, but I'm going to open my heart to you. It's not easy for some players. Sometimes scoring 2 goals is because they have to score 3; if they only score 1, it's because they have to score 2; if things don't go well, it's A, B or C who are singled out. We're a group, what happened in the last game reflects very well what our spirit is. We resolved our issues as a family, we went into this game, and everything I asked of the players, they did to the full, including being more aggressive, and we have to be more aggressive. Credit to the players, who were once again fantastic at implementing our strategy for the game."

BETTING ON PRESTIANNI AND SCHJELDERUP

"It was almost a joke - they [Bayern] go with the big boys, and we go with the little boys. But with the cheeky little guys who take men off the front, and then take advantage of Pavlidis' ability to come into the game and have men to counter-movement. And then the good example was what happened with Pavlidis. So, on the right, the movements and counter-movements between Pavlidis, Prestiani and Di [María], wide open on the right, to then be able to call on those movements. And on the left, positional exchanges between Andreas [Schjelderup] and Barreiro. Defensively, and playing with a line of four, fantastic work from Barreiro, Andreas [Schjelderup], Prestiani and Di María, coming together, being solid and then, behind them, Renato [Sanches], who really put in a great display. Renato [Sanches] is a great player. We all know that. We're very happy with his performance at this World Cup. He's an experienced player, he can play in several positions and he came off without any problems. He felt a slight knock, and at the moment we don't know if he has an injury or not, but it doesn't seem to be anything that has prevented him from playing in the past."

PLAYERS WHO DON'T LEAVE AND PLAYERS WHO DON'T ARRIVE

"[Is Álvaro Carreras leaving? It seemed, in one of the press conferences, that you almost spoke about him in the past, that you had enjoyed coaching him] All the players who are here, and I'm talking about Álvaro, are still in the competition. What I said about Álvaro - in response to a question from your Spanish colleague - was to look back a little and understand what his progress has been, but above all his performance. As I said, there are people who are looking into this. We would like to keep Álvaro, but we also understand that if there is an offer for him to continue his career, and depending on the clause, those people will deal with it. [In the next phase of the competition, will you be counting on new signings for positions in need?] Regarding any position, at the moment I don't have any information about any player arriving and being able to take part in the World Cup."

"It means a lot, especially as Benfica had never beaten Bayern Munich. It's the 15th game we've won, especially in such an important competition, which allows us to lead and finish 1st in the group. These players have had good moments with good wins throughout the season, but the most important thing was once again the way they approached the game, implementing the strategy we had devised for the match. That's the most important thing, and it's the best thing we have as coaches, realizing that the men we lead die for us and die for our ideas. That means a lot."