In the press room at Estádio Algarve, the Benfica coach valued the performance of his players in a cycle of three consecutive games and Farense’s merit in maintaining uncertainty about the result until the end. Praise for Ricardo Velho
Bruno Lage agrees that Benfica did not have a “brilliant” performance in the triumph (1-2) over Farense at the Algarve Stadium, in line with the previous ones, but highlighted the passage of a cycle of three games (Rio Ave, Santa Clara and Farense ) with a positive note. He also mentioned that Bah’s substitution at half-time was due to the full-back’s «small discomfort». Lage praised Ricardo Velho, who he saw live for the first time. Keep up with everything the Reds coach said in the press room
– What analysis do you make of the game and what made the difference for Benfica to win?
«We knew about the difficulties, because we have seen Farense grow, the way they play, the way they press, in addition to the difficulty of this cycle of Rio Ave, Santa Clara and Farense, with only two days between games, which could create some problems. The team even enters the game very well. We made some changes in search of that, of freshness, of different dynamics and of putting pressure on Farense in a different way. I think it worked very well, because we immediately had a lot of good pressure after three minutes when Di Maria recovered the ball in the central area and we could have done better. We always try to look for space and there is a moment when we score. I think we could have been stronger, whether in the individual confrontation or also in the crossover.”
«To highlight the team’s ability to quickly create scoring opportunities, score the equalizer in the first half and then make some readjustments to surprise the opponent. I think we did it, the second half was even better for us because of what we did, the way we pressed, the changes we made, both on the field and with Beste’s entry and the way we started to press. With some naturalness, we scored 2-1, we could have scored another goal – and now, after seeing it live, I understand all the opinions you have of Farense’s goalkeeper [Ricardo Velho]who made two very good saves.”
«With 2-1, the game is divided and we could have had greater control. It’s easy to admit that in the final minutes, with the game divided, Farense has a ball that crosses our entire area. We could have done the third, but the most important thing is to look at this cycle of games in which we played Rio Ave two days apart, Santa Clara two days apart, and Farense, we scored 10 goals, conceded one, added six points and we move on to the final four [da Taça da Liga]. We closed this cycle satisfied and now we have four days to prepare for the game against Bayern Munich.”
– Was Bah’s departure due to a physical problem or was it a tactical choice?
— He felt slight discomfort and our intention, at half-time, was to start playing with just two midfielders. Knowing Bah’s discomfort, nothing special, and two or three more players showing a lot of fatigue, especially those who have played more. Realizing that Fredrik [Aursnes] could close there and then attack inside, we started to defend practically with three, with Tomás [Araújo]Nico [Otamendi] and Carreras, and have dynamic on the right inside and out with Di Maria, and on the left with Beste and Akturkoglu.”
– Benfica takes the three points, but left a margin at the end so that Farense could win one. Does it have to do with the wear and tear of this three-game cycle or was it due to Farense’s merit?
«Firstly, there is merit from Farense, because it has made very good progress. I know the coach, I know his quality and I think he will do a good job. And then also due to the sequence of games, with just two days [de diferença]. If you look across Europe today, there are so many surprising results from those teams that play in the middle of the week, with short breaks. Four days would be ideal, it’s not possible. The most important thing is to look at the cycle and realize that we scored ten goals, conceded one, added six points and reached the final four. [da Taça da Liga].»
— It’s not a brilliant performance like the one we had against Rio Ave or the second half, with goals, that we had against Santa Clara, but it’s a consistent performance. Growing from the first to the second half, appreciating another turnaround in the scoreboard and realizing that we could have scored the third goal earlier. And when we take the result 2-1 to the end, we always give hope to the opponent to try to score the equalizer.”
