Nélson Veríssimo: "We must be at a very high level"

PREVIEW

It is with everything tied (2-all in the 1st leg ) that Ajax and Benfica meet again at the Johan Cruijff Arena, in Amsterdam, Tuesday, March 15, at 8:00 pm. Nélson Veríssimo previewed, in a press conference and also exclusively to BTV, the 2nd leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League.

Do you expect an open game, or do you foresee a strong Ajax team pressing Benfica?

We expect an open game between two teams that like to have ball possession and impose their game. We will play away from home, and we expect a strong start from Ajax. We must be competent and have a very high level of activation, as has been happening, and recognize that the opponent is strong in some offensive moments but has some weaknesses. We are very confident in the game that we are going to have, knowing that we are going to face a team with quality, but we believe in our process. We want to play a good game, win, and move on to the next stage of the Champions League.

In the 1st leg, Benfica showed it can beat Ajax. The game plan for Amsterdam is the same as the match at Estádio da Luz?

The game plan is to look at the opponent, recognize that they have quality and that we must take advantage of the different moments of the game. We can't say that we will only play in an offensive organization or in an offensive transition. We must maximize the qualities of our players, set up the team, the strategy, and alternate this game. We also know that we must be very rigorous and competent in the defensive organization process. We must be at a very high level to overcome this difficult obstacle. We believe as I said in the 1st leg, that we will split this game with Ajax 50/50.