“Impose our game and win”

PREVIEW

Determined to continue Benfica's positive displays and results, Bruno Lage has set his sights on picking up three points against Monaco, their rivals on matchday 5 of the league phase of the Champions League, on Wednesday night, November 27, at 8 pm, at the Stade Louis II.

Which Monaco do you expect and which Benfica can impose its game on?

I expect Monaco to be aggressive in pressing, strong in transitions, with a very vertical game attacking our depth, with the front four trying to create a lot of momentum to create goal-scoring opportunities, and what I expect from Benfica is for Benfica to continue the good performances we've put in recently, and for them to understand the game they have to play very well. Without the ball, we have to be a pressing team and, with the ball, we have to be an intelligent team and understand where the spaces are to create our chances. It's fundamentally in that aspect, where we have to have the ball, where we have to control the game and know how to have more time on the ball, which are the spaces where we have to have the ball to create our chances. So it's with that ambition that we've planned this game, and it's with that ambition that we're going to play tomorrow [Wednesday] and try to win, which is our goal.

Why should Benfiquistas, members and fans believe that tomorrow [November 27] they will see the Benfica that played against FC Porto and not the one that played against Bayern?

Or against Atlético de Madrid, for example... That's football, it's timing, and our timing is every three days, so we always prepare the team to put in good performances, to have quality in their play. Sometimes it doesn't turn out the way we planned or wanted because, from a distance, we didn't want to do what we did in Munich, especially when we had the ball, but that's in the past. We're going to look at what we've done recently, and it's that step of continuity that we want to achieve here tomorrow [November 27]. Play a good game; when we have to defend, we have to know how to defend, sometimes how to press, sometimes how to keep spaces, but the most important thing is what we have to do with the ball, how to be aggressive, how to look for the spaces to score our goals.

How important is it to pick up points here in Monaco?

It's important, I think it's important, just like every game is important. Our desire is to keep going in the competition, so if we have that desire and that ambition, we have to get the number of points that will allow us to keep going. That's why tomorrow [Wednesday, November 27] is another game, with three points at stake. We're going to take to the field with the ambition of winning three points, so these are three points that could be important for our continuity.

I wanted to ask you about one player in particular, Leandro Barreiro. When he arrived at Benfica, it was a signing that was greeted with some enthusiasm, however, since Bruno Lage arrived, he hasn't played much of a role, he's played around 40 minutes in various games. It's true that he also had a physical problem, but he's been playing for the national team. How does he fit into your plans, and what do you see in him as a player?

You said he's been playing for the national team, but he's finished his recovery with the national team, so he hasn't been available with us for long. He was with us for the first two weeks and, after a Champions League game, he got injured and has been out. I thought he was a very interesting player, he knows that, we've talked about it. I don't see him in a position like Florentino's, I do see him in more advanced positions on the pitch, because he really is a player with good technical quality, with dynamics, and with the attacking depth that I like, so I think he's a very interesting player, and I'm sure that - if he works the way he's been working, especially on his return to the national team, when he worked with us for three days and did again what we had seen two or three days before he got injured - he'll have his space and the opportunity to play for Benfica.

At the departure, in Lisbon, the President [Rui Costa] said that Benfica didn't want to lose points, and the Monaco coach said that Benfica is under a lot of pressure to win. Do you feel that way? Did you think back to when Benfica were eliminated against Eintracht Frankfurt in 2018/19 [Europa League quarter-finals] with this coach [Adi Hütter] to draw any lessons for this match?

When you play for Benfica you always feel the pressure to win, because that's part of it. As you know, you know me, you've followed my journey, it's inherent from the Under-11s to the first team, we go out on the pitch to win. That's part of our mentality, part of my upbringing here in this house. That's why I know very well how to prepare the players so that tomorrow [Wednesday] they maintain that ambition of going out to win. You've just reminded me of that moment [the game with Eintracht Frankfurt], I remember that moment not so much because of the game, but because of other things that I don't want to talk about here.

At Monaco's press conference, one name clearly stood out because it was mentioned so often: Ángel Di María. According to Monaco coach Adi Hütter, he really is a difference-maker and one of the best players in this edition of the Champions League. Do you share this opinion, given the moment he's going through? And if you'd also like to take an X-ray of this Monaco, I'd be grateful.

I share and agree, because recently, in an interview for UEFA, when I chose my dream five of Champions League winning players, I put Di María. My five was Ederson, Rúben Dias, President Rui Costa, Di María and Cristiano Ronaldo. There were those five, a goalkeeper, a central midfielder, a midfielder and two strikers. Monaco are a very interesting team. A very well-defined 4-4-2 with an attacking midfielder. The front four have a very interesting dynamic, both between the lines and when attacking deep. They're very strong at breaking down lines, both on short and long diagonals. A very strong characteristic of the team: the moment they lose the ball. They're strong in transition and can create a lot of goal-scoring opportunities from that moment on, so it's no surprise what they've done in the league, as well as in the Champions League, they're a very strong team. Over the last few days, we've worked on the information we've gathered about our opponents and I think we've prepared the team in the best possible way so that tomorrow [November 27] we can also impose our game and win, which is our goal.

Florentino was asked about a move to Monaco in 2020/21. Here, they felt he was too young. The Florentino who won the championship with Bruno Lage at Benfica and the Florentino who is 25: has he grown much since then?

Yes, as a player and as a man. It shows perfectly. What he just said reflects a lot of Tino's [Florentino] mentality. He's sitting behind Costinha, and Tino [Florentino] made his debut in the game against Costinha. Costinha certainly looks back on this moment; seeing Tino [Florentino] here now, the boy he also saw being launched 4/5 years ago, playing for the same club he played for and becoming a man. So I'm very proud of him... He's one of the best examples we have as a professional, and it's an example we can highlight here, which has been his record since we arrived, both in terms of performance and being ready whenever necessary. When he left the team, it wasn't because of his performance, but because of strategic reasons, and that's what he is. He always prepares in the same way, with a very strong mentality. When he's needed, he plays, he performs. When he's not needed, he prepares so that when the opportunity arises again, or when the team needs him, he'll be able to perform again. We have here an athlete and a man with very good maturity, and that's the most important thing. The other side of the question... I'd like to take advantage of your question to emphasize that it's really the home factor, the way Benfica over the years has made the transition from young talent to the professional team; because sometimes people wonder how an individual like Tino [Florentino], who was a national champion, then leaves for other clubs and can feel the differences; it's also worth emphasizing the work that is done at home, in all the preparation, so that when the players reach professional football they don't feel so many differences. They do exist, especially when transfers are made to other clubs.