Five rounds, five wins. With this Saturday’s triumph against Farense in the Algarve, Bruno Lage maintained his completely victorious record in the Championship since taking over again as coach of Benfica. In fact, the Reds’ five consecutive Premier League wins are a record the team has not achieved since the period between December 2023 and January 2024.
Carreras, a true tenor who doesn’t go out of tune and sets the tone (the Farense-Benfica chronicle)
Benfica even started to lose against Farense, but tied in the first half and turned around in the second, making it the third comeback of the season. The red-and-blacks have won every away game since Bruno Lage has been coach, with four wins in four matches away from the Estádio da Luz across three different competitions.
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After the final whistle, in the quick interview area, the red-and-black coach recalled that he already knew this would be “a very difficult game”. “Because of the preview we made and the quality of Farense. It doesn’t justify the position he occupies at all. And then for the three-game cycle we had to play. We knew how difficult this was. We started very well, Farense got the first goal, we reacted and tied. I think we had a very good start in the second half and scored the winning goal. I think we could have scored the third goal, we tried to score one more. Then, in the last minutes, the team knew how to hold on to the game. It ends up being a fair result, there are three more points. In three games we scored ten goals, conceded one and reached the final four of the League Cup. Now it’s time to recover for an important game in the Champions League”, he said, anticipating the visit to Bayern Munich in the middle of the week.
Further on, Bruno Lage confirmed that the team has different nuances from game to game. “This is what we aim for with the work we do daily, looking at the characteristics of the players. We tried to surprise Farense with the eleven, causing some uncertainty. You remember that in the second minute, we recovered a ball at the edge of the Farense area and it was another great occasion. Coaching Benfica offers that, having the talent we have in individual terms, and then it’s up to us to have those nuances. We have been fortunate to have competent people on the bench, who can bring energy. Guys who come off the bench help build the performance and the result”, he added.
“Now, after this cycle, another begins with at least one more day of recovery. We have to go back to doing what we have been doing. Prepare the game in the best way, with the ambition to win. That’s our spirit. I just congratulated the players. They ran, fought, turned the score around and had a performance that leaves us satisfied. There are three points and we have to look at the next game with the same ambition as always”, concluded Lage.
Álvaro Carreras, who scored the equalizer in the first half and was voted the best player on the field, was satisfied with the team’s performance. “We came with the clear objective, which was to get the three points. The environment was very beautiful. Wherever it is, the fans are always with us. It’s spectacular to play at a club like this. The manager saw it from outside and made the substitutions. We improved. For each match we have a different plan, depending on the opponent. With our quality we have to win matches”, concluded the Spanish full-back.
