"Unfair result, very proud of our display"

POST-MATCH

Mixed feelings - frustration, pride, injustice... - underpinned Bruno Lage's analysis of Benfica-Barcelona (4-5), matchday 7 of the Champions League league phase, dplayed on Tuesday, January 21, at the Estádio da Luz. The coach explained why, and pointed to the “tremendous mistake” made by Dutch referee Danny Makkelie, in the compensation, in not penalizing an infringement on Barreiro in the Spanish penalty area, in the move that preceded the last goal of the match, as decisive>.

"IF A DRAW WASN'T ENOUGH FOR WHAT WE DID..."

"A good display from us, with lots of chances, but a result that leaves me completely frustrated. We scored four goals, we had two clear chances from Fredrik [Aursnes], from Di María, and when I look at the last moment of the game, what I feel like saying, and based on what I'm seeing, the analysis that has already been done on the last move, especially the information I've received from Ricardo, is that it should not have been the goal, there should have been a penalty [for a foul on Barreiro in the Barcelona area], and the outcome of the game should have been in our favor. If the draw wasn't enough for what we did, the defeat leaves us completely frustrated. However, we're pleased with the work the players put in, and we're extremely proud to feel the fans supporting the team throughout the game and pushing us to put in a very good display. We'd promised a Benfica night, we've stuck with the display, I'm very sorry about the result, but now we have to do what we did a fortnight ago, when we lost fairly to SC Braga. Not today, in my opinion, but we have to look forward. That's what I said to the players, on the pitch and in the dressing room, to look forward because whoever plays like that deserves to win things, deserves to go on in competitions, and that has to be our strength to play Casa Pia now and then play the last game of this competition with Juventus."

THE REFEREE'S INFLUENCE

"What I can say about the referee is this: if the criteria for the other penalties was followed, then a penalty should have been awarded. This is my opinion after seeing the images, after seeing Barcelona's second penalty, after seeing the images, but above all from the opinions I'm seeing from the various refereeing experts who are right."

ELECTRIFYING GAME

"[Did you feel helpless at any point in the electrifying game?] No, because the experience of the Premier League has already given me these moments, so I've had so many games in the last 10 minutes where we're 2-0 down, and we win 3-2, like being 1-0 up and allowing a draw, or the other way around. And that's the experience I bring and that I have to pass on to the players for these games, these games are of a very tremendous level. I think there's one situation where we could have had better emotional control, but it's also very difficult, which is the last moment. There's a penalty, we're asking for a penalty, we could have given a foul there to stop the game, the game was over, and we let it go in transition. So these are the moments we learn from. We can't make those mistakes again, which we're sure to make today, because this is a game. Now, what I want to pass on to our fans and what I've passed on to the players is that whoever plays like this - this has to be our demand, this has to be our determination - will always be closer to winning, and that's what we want, that's what the club demands, that's what the fans demand and want."

BARCELONA'S LUCKY GOAL (3-2)

"These are things that happen, how can we calculate that? Our first goal, the first or second, came from a situation where, if we didn't have a solution to play inside, to play short, to hold up, he [Trubin] made the decision... It's one of those unfortunate moves, and I'm sure he'll look forward, that's what I demand of our players."