“Our focus is already on the next game”

POST-MATCH

It was with praise for the team's personality and the support of the Benfica fans who came to the Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade that Bruno Lage analyzed the victory on Thursday, September 19, over Red Star (1-2), on matchday 1 of the Champions League. 

ENTERING WITH CONFIDENCE AND PERSONALITY

"The most decisive thing was the positive atmosphere we brought back from the last game, and the confidence and personality to get the team into the game very well. That gave us a lot of confidence straight away, regardless of the atmosphere in the stadium, which has been very important here over the years. But the team came on very well, with personality, and knew how to look for those passes, especially for the first goal. Then there are the events that happen throughout the game. We had to make a first stoppage in the first half for a substitution [Bah for Kaboré]. Then a second. It wasn't planned to bring Fredrik [Aursnes] on... Maybe to play 20 minutes, but at that moment it was important, and we only had one stoppage to make substitutions. But the most important thing was the good start we had in the Champions League, with the new format. It's three points, we've added another win to the one we got last time out in the league. But we have to keep our feet on the ground. It's another win, and the message I've already given the players is that this game is over, and our focus is on recovering and preparing for the next game against Boavista."

A LONG WORK AHEAD

"The beginning of your question leads me to say that there is a lot of work ahead of us. One of the things that conditioned today's work [Thursday, September 19] was the two moments of substitution. Because when we made the first substitution, for Bah, and then the second, for Aursnes, we only had one [substitution] from the 60th minute onwards. And we had to make two substitutions: the first due to injury, and the second to give us greater control of the game. Our opponents also have their strengths and, near the 70'/75' mark, we could have made another substitution to essentially close down the play down the flanks. The team [Red Star] looked for their left flank a lot, and for our right flank, in one-on-one situations, and with some easy crosses. At first, we solved this by changing our wingers to close down and try to make a line of five. Kerem [Aktürkoglu] was very important in helping Issa [Kaboré] at that moment and giving Di María some freedom, so that in one transition or another we could score the third goal. Then we tried to close out the game with three changes. Zeki [Amdouni] trying to find depth, Beste helping to close down on the left and Barreiro giving freshness in midfield by swapping with Kökcü. We still have a first plan that we have to consolidate, and we still have to prepare a B and a C for situations in which the opponent looks for other spaces. There was some uncertainty there, especially when the goal was scored. We've got two men to one and no one got on the man, let him get forward and, when he was closer to the box, he made some dangerous runs that led to the goal. The most important thing is the win, the three points and to be able to add this win to the one we got so that we have the momentum to win. Now we have to focus on Boavista and realize that we still have a long way to go."

PLAYERS KNOW WHAT TO DO IN SEVERAL POSITIONS

"[On Bah's injury] We still don't have any concrete information. [On Kökcü] That role is not just for him, but for all the players. We have a way of communicating, not just me, but my coaching staff, with all the players, and what's most important is that they all have to know how to do what we want in various positions. We prepared Aursnes and Kökcü to be able to play in both positions and, when we adjusted, we wanted to make some situations. When I spoke to him [Kökcü] towards the end, it was to address the pressure and what was happening on the right, so that we didn't always leave Issa [Kaboré] in one-on-one situations."

THANKS TO THE “FANS WHO MADE THEMSELVES HEARD”

"It's just another win. Look, what you're telling me [Red Star's first home defeat since December 2023] is something new. What I worried about was analyzing the opponent and preparing the team to win the game. Regarding the atmosphere, what I said yesterday [Wednesday the 18th], and what I'm reinforcing today, is that I knew and felt that the 500 - and I'm saying 500 because that's the information I have; we could also say 300, which is more like the movie - were going to make themselves heard. And our 500 fans made themselves heard when the team needed them most. This record makes the victory even more valuable. A win for Benfica, and for me and the team it's just another small victory. We have to stay calm and add this to the win against Santa Clara, focusing on the work we have to do to grow and the strategy for the next game."

TIME AND PATIENCE FOR THE NEW ADDITIONS

"He [Beste] helped close the team. I'll start at the beginning. There are no Roger Schmidt players, no Bruno Lage players. The players are Benfica players, I have to get to know them, I have to understand what they can offer me in individual terms and what contribution they can make to the team. From then on, they get minutes. Beste had a very good start at the club, got injured, came back from injury and today [Thursday, September 19] he had the chance to get some more minutes, in the Champions League. I'm going to add your question to the previous one, because we have to understand something... With some players, because of the culture and the arrival at a new club, things don't happen overnight. I've been fortunate enough to have had several experiences abroad, with different cultures, and that then gives us the baggage to be in certain places, like this one, and have a completely different experience. That's it here. We all, internally as well as the fans, have to realize that there are these situations. The player arrives and has to adapt to a club, without speaking the language, adapt to the country, the new customs and the demands of the club. For some players it's easier, for others it takes longer. What's fundamental is that, when a club makes a move for a player, it realizes - and that's why four and five-year contracts are signed - that it has a player with the quality to help build a competitive team. That's the most important point."