“A beautiful tribute to the coach Nené will go down in history”

POST-MATCH

Happy with Benfica's show of strength in the 4th round of the Portuguese Cup against Estrela da Amadora on Saturday, November 23, Bruno Lage highlighted the numerous scoring opportunities that led to the 7-0 win and a “beautiful tribute” to Nené on the occasion of his 75th birthday.

A VERY STRONG START

"[Changes to the starting eleven and Rollheiser in midfield] those who perform. I think that was the starting point for us to choose this eleven. That's what I said yesterday [Friday, November 22], because that's how the eleven is made, every time. We felt that this was the best line-up given what this break has been like, with some national team matches and some players playing more and others less. And so we decided on this eleven. Then it's all about dynamics, both offensive and defensive. That's basically it. As for the game, I think we started very strongly and, practically throughout the game, we created several chances. Once again, a beautiful tribute will go down in history. Let's remember that a few years ago we had the chance to win 10-0 on the [birthday] of Chalana, the number 10, and today [Saturday] there was a perfect script again. The number 7 [Amdouni] scored a goal, and we scored seven goals to pay this beautiful tribute to the coach Nené."

DI MARÍA:BICYCLE KICK GOAL IN A GREAT DISPLAY

"There were two bicycle kicks today [Saturday, November 23], the one from Arthur [Cabral] and the one from Di María. In the flash interview they already talked about renewing his contract, you want me to put a spot on Di María's [bicycle goal], but the most important thing is for him to be like this: motivated, relaxed and with the dynamics that he offers the team so that, at all times, he gives us good goals and good displays, as has been normal in recent months. But it's a great goal, and I even celebrated. I'm usually calmer, but it really lifted me up. We've scored so many goals, our team scores so many goals... But maybe my celebration was my best."

FAN SUPPORT CRUCIAL FOR ARTHUR CABRAL

"[Di María's contract renewal] If we renew Di María's contract and then Di María stops playing, you'll say that we rushed into renewing Di María's contract, as was the case a while ago. But now it's the second question about Di María's renewal. Let him be. He's already recovering, and if we have to put him in the freezer so he can recover and be ready to play against Monaco, that's the most important thing. Performance is every three days. Nowadays, players, and we have the example of [Cristiano] Ronaldo, play until they're 40. The most important thing is that Di María is happy and knows how to help and give the team these performances. As for Arthur [Cabral], I'm very happy with everything that's happened to him. There was a huge outpouring of support from the fans, and that was fundamental. And then I also saw the squad, both those who were playing and those on the bench, celebrating Arthur's two goals. For the next game [Wednesday 27th, at Monaco, in the Champions League], it's about understanding who comes out of here and choosing the best eleven and the best strategy to win in Monaco, which is our goal." 

ENCOURAGEMENT TO KEEP WORKING

"It encourages us to keep working. That was one of the challenges we had coming into this break, to continue the performance we had made against FC Porto. Our motivation came from that, from looking back and seeing what we've done in the last three months. It was a fundamental objective to have this positive energy and this relationship that the team is having with the fans and their support. For the team to be dynamic in attack, to put on good shows and score goals. I think we've managed to do that very well in the first three months. That gives us encouragement for the future in the competitions we're involved in. We want to reach the final of the [Portuguese] Cup and win it, we want to get through to the next stage of the Champions League and, until the end of the year, what's on our horizon is to win every league game, get to 2nd place and reduce the gap to the 1st place. That's what we have to do, so it gives us that confidence in the work we've been doing to try to do our best in the next game."