Roger Schmidt: "We had to find solutions and we were the best team"

PRESS CONFERENCE

Benfica's win over Casa Pia (0-1), in Leiria, on matchday 2 of the Liga Bwin, was analyzed by Roger Schmidt in a press conference.

NARROW GAME, DIFFICULT PITCH, DISCIPLINE AND GOOD RESOLUTION

"During the first half we had some good moments, but we couldn't complete the last pass in the best way. We tried too often to find the solution in the central area of the pitch instead of using the flanks. We talked about it at halftime and we were better in the second half, we found spaces, played more in the corridors and had goal chances. In fact, that's how a goal is born. It wasn't easy, because the opponent played well, and played tight and compact. The pitch was difficult, and it's complicated to play against 10 players behind the ball. We had to find solutions. We had to have patience, and we had it, as well as concentration, mentality, self-confidence and discipline. We wanted to get the three points and we did. I'm happy, because we were the better team and deserved to win."

BAH POSITIVE ENTRANCE

"Gilberto has been playing a lot of matches and we needed another energy in the right corridor. Bah played well, as he had already done against Midtjylland [match of the 2nd leg of the Champions League 3rd qualifying round], he built some offensive moments. In tactical terms we were more intelligent. We don't need only 11 players, we need the whole squad and the players who came one played well. In games where it is difficult to score the first goal, sometimes we need other weapons."

SUBSTITUTIONS TO PROTECT AND REFRESH

"The changes were already decided. Florentino was tired, he had a yellow card, and I wanted to protect him, because they were relying a lot on the counter-attack, with fast players. Otamendi, for example, in my opinion, did nothing to get the first yellow card or even the red card. Diogo [Gonçalves] spent a lot of energy and I understood that it was the ideal time to put fresher players."

SATISFIED WITH THE ATHLETES AVAILABLE

"In the last few matches, the players launched during the course of the matches have had an influence on the game and the result. I have all the options I need and I'm satisfied with the squad. However, while the transfer market is open, we will try to adjust and optimize the group. Every team does that."

NERES AND GRIMALDO

"I don't know [if Neres will be at 100 percent] yet. I hope he is fully recovered to play Dynamo Kiyv, but we have to wait. The next few days will tell us. At this moment, we are not sure. Regarding Grimaldo [replaced by Vertonghen at 89'], he is not injured, he had a dizzy spell."