“We played our game and achieved the goal”

Florentino, who recently achieved the milestone of 150 matches in the Reds' first team jersey, wore the "Manto Sagrado" again on Thursday afternoon, December 19, in the Nacional-Benfica match of round 8 (game in hand) of the Liga Betclic.

In a flash interview, still on the pitch at the Estádio da Madeira, the Benfica midfielder began by praising the opposition, highlighting the strengths his team had to overcome in order to win 0-2.

"Nacional are a very strong team, even more so at home, because they're used to these pitch conditions. We knew that, but our mentality was to play, even if the conditions were adverse, and we were ready. We gave a good response, controlled the game, had more chances, and our goal was achieved," said Florentino.

"These are things we can't control, and we try to do the things we can control, which is our physical and mental preparation. We were ready if it was today, if it was tomorrow, and our mentality is what gave us the game we had."

"We knew we weren't going to be able to play the way we like to play, that we had to play in a more direct way, but we played our game, we managed to balance it out, sometimes playing direct, sometimes playing shorter. And in the duels, I think we were superior, and that's what distinguished our victory,”"said the most defensive member of the Reds' midfield.

In conclusion, Florentino explained how the squad sees the schedule ahead: “We have the Estoril game in mind first, because that's the next one, and then we'll see about the other game.”