"The main goal was achieved"

POST-MATCH

Praising the combination of quality and solidity shown by Benfica in the win secured on Sunday, August 31, over Alverca (1-2), in Matchday 4 of the Liga Betclic, Bruno Lage highlighted the achievement of the goals set for this first competitive cycle.

CONSISTENT, SOLID, AND COURAGEOUS PERFORMANCE

"The main goal, which was to win the game, was achieved. I think we played a consistent and solid first half, controlling the game. We created the scoring opportunities that allowed us to go into halftime with the lead. We also had another chance at the start of the second half: I remember Schjelderup's shot against the post after a good move down the left. And just when I thought the game was heading for a comfortable win – as we were controlling the game with and without the ball – Dedic was sent off and the game changed. But the team showed courage and determination. We had already played like this at Fenerbahçe, with 10 men, and we closed down the goal enough to win the 3 points."

TOO MANY CARDS

"[You are a thoughtful man, but today...] I was irritated, irritated is the word, because it was obvious. When I look at the game, at how it was going, calm, with two teams wanting to play good football, on a difficult pitch and with the wind that was blowing – credit also to Alverca for their quality, their system, their youth, their three forwards; I didn't know this striker and I was very surprised by the way he plays – such a quiet game, I think there were too many fouls and too many yellow cards, and that made me angry, especially the sending off. I think that Dedic, from the information I have, gets two yellow cards for three fouls, I think that's excessive."

CREATING A SQUAD THAT MEETS BENFICA'S DEMANDS

"[Players leaving before the transfer window closes] We still have a lot of work ahead of us, there are still two days, a day and a half, before the transfer window closes. We are working to create a squad that allows us to play every three days, as Benfica demands."

FLORENTINO'S FAREWELL

"I gave Tino [Florentino] a hug. I think it's a very difficult moment, but at the same time a good one. Difficult because it's the farewell of a great player, whom I had the opportunity to launch, who helped me immensely, both in the B team and in the first team. Interestingly, in the locker room, I also reinforced the importance of coach Roger Schmidt, because he knew how to bring him back to Benfica at the right time, so he could once again be the great player he was. And, in the end, it also turns out to be a good moment. I had a conversation with Tino at the Club World Cup, and he also understood that if a good opportunity came along, he, at 25/26 years old, could have an adventure abroad different from those he had had before. So we made the reinforcement we made in the market because we felt, given Tino's quality and his performance last year in the Champions League, that a team from a major league could come and get him. And that's what happened. Tino would always have a place with me because, as you know, we've talked about this several times, what I like is to have two competitive players for each position. And, at the time, Manu's arrival was to give us exactly that: two players with different profiles, who could give us what the game demanded at any given moment. And Enzo [Barrenechea]'s arrival was for that reason, so that we could eventually prepare for Tino's departure and, at the same time, Manu's absence due to injury."

DIAGONALS IN ATTACK

"[How to overcome the difficulties in penetrating the opponent's defense?] I understand your question, but before answering it, I'd like to ask you a question, because I was also asked that in the flash interview. How many men did we play up front? We made a lot of moves, and that's why we scored the goals that way. We have to look a little at the profile of our players and what we could do: movements, and I can say it another way that you will understand... when the ball came out wide, especially to Dedic and Samuel [Dahl], diagonals, double diagonals with Ivanovic's movements. What could we have done at one point or another? More crosses from Fredrik [Aursnes] and, eventually, Samuel [Dahl]. More low crosses to catch the defensive line trying to defend the goal and to try to catch our men in front of the goal. I think that was something we could have done, and that's what we reinforced at halftime for the team to do."

STRATEGY AND MANAGEMENT DICTATED CHANGES

"When I look at the game, and at what this cycle has demanded, without the pre-season, at this moment, and this is an explanation of what Benfica's team is going through right now, it is more difficult for us to control the physical wear and tear during the game of the players who play less than those who play regularly. And today, some players had already played 6 and 7 games, a very difficult cycle. It was in this sense that we refreshed the team. We tried to change things up, to have at least one player per position, because we knew that at some point in the second half, the players could slow down. So, who came on... Samu [Samuel Soares], great performance. Let there be no doubt, anticipating your question, that Trubin remains number 1, but Samu is very important to us and today he put in a great performance. And since you like to talk about technique and tactics, why did we use [Tomás] Araújo? He's faster. Alverca's striker [Marezi] is very fast, very good at attacking the defensive line, and our fastest defender is Araújo. That's why we put him on and controlled most of the transitions through him. Barreiro and Andreas [Schjelderup] stayed very close to the man in front [Ivanovic] to keep the team together under pressure. So when I look at the game, I feel that we controlled the game with and without the ball. We faced a great team and when we were reduced to 10 [players], the team closed up, held on to the 3 points, because, I repeat, at this moment it was very important for us to close this cycle with 3 more points."

SUDAKOV'S ADDED VALUE

"He is a great asset. He is a player of enormous quality who, once again, as he said yesterday [Saturday], will allow us to continue building this team in which, regardless of the system, we have solutions to play according to the strategy and the opponent, thanks to the various positions he plays."