Roger Schmidt: "We deserved to win"

POST-MATCH

Despite considering that the victory, by 2-3, against Gil Vicente, was deserved, Roger Schmidt aimed that the offensive effectiveness and defensive organization of Benfica should have been at a higher level. 

GAME HISTORY

"[The Benfiquistas] were fantastic and supported us, we needed them today. We played well, in the first 60 minutes we controlled the game, we were good with the ball, we created many moments around and inside the box. At the end of the first half, we could have done a few things better. After the break, we scored a very good goal for 0-2. After that, we lost some control. It was a broken game, with many transitions in both directions and of course this is very good for the opponent, especially when we don’t use our counterattack moments to kill the game. That’s how they came back, and we had to fight until the last second to get the three points."

THE OPPONENT'S REACTION

"We must always respect our opponent. They worked hard, had a lot of moves and many players trying to be available between the lines. 0-2 is a dangerous result, with one goal the opponent is back in the game. But at the end of the day, if we’re winning 0-2 and defending well and not giving anything to the opponent, we win the game. Sometimes we lose some compactness. Last year we had very good performances in these situations. We didn’t suffer many goals, because all the players worked to defend well at these moments of the game. We have to learn from this. We lacked unity to defend, we are usually very good at not giving space. Gil Vicente was good, they returned to the game, but in the end, we deserved to win. But I also think we can learn some things from this game."

FLORENTINO AS STARTER

"We always have to think about the best approach for each game. Florentino did very well throughout the previous season, in the pre-season and also last week when he entered for the 2nd half. To have a good balance in the team, we placed Florentino and Kökcü in the center of the midfield and they did well. João Neves came off the bench. We always have to think about the best starting 11 and the approach for each game." 

NERES AND DI MARÍA AT THE SAME TIME

We always have to think about the balance of the team, but they can play together. They did it very well in pre-season, but it’s always a matter of the overall approach to the game. Also the balance and physical condition of the players. Neres had some problems during the pre-season, he’s not 100%. Last week he did very well when he came in, he changed the game. In my opinion, the best option for today was also to have him later in the game."