“The victory is dedicated to the fans”

POST-MATCH

For Bruno Lage, the mission has been accomplished. With Benfica's 0-2 win over Juventus, on matchday 8 of the league phase of the Champions League, the Eagles advanced to the play-off for the last 16 of the competition after “a great game, of enormous quality” on Wednesday night, January 29, in Turin.

STRATEGY TO WIN

"Spirit, showing our unity and playing our game. We created a lot of chances, scored two goals and, with merit, moved on in the competition."

"[Influence of recent events on the display?] No, because we weren't listening to any music. What matters is what we did today [Wednesday, January 29]. We played a great game, we scored 13 points, which allows us to move on, that's the most important thing."

VICTORY DEDICATED TO THE FANS

"[Display oscillations] I've been explaining that since I joined. We have to find that consistency. I'm not relieved, I feel the same, calm. You saw the game, the way I was on the bench. I know the team, the team knows me, I know the fans perfectly. I know they're there, and this victory is dedicated to them. Those who are there, the joy we gave these Benfiquistas, who supported us, and those who were suffering at home, supporting our club. I respect them a lot for their pain, but they know that they have a team that also feels a lot when things don't go our way, but that works hard to match it, because they have to know what the club demands, to give victories, to give good wins, to give good displays and to give, once again, a great moment of pride to all Benfica fans."

COLLECTIVE UNITY

"The most important thing for me is that I know how to shield the locker room and protect my players, and within the dressing room, what I saw was always this unity, from everyone. You heard what the captain said yesterday, you heard what Tomás [Araújo] just said. That's what's most important to me."

FEELING AT THE END OF THE GAME

"My first reaction was to greet the players on the bench, then greet the opposing coach and thank the fans for their support. The fans know they have a team and they have to believe in us, because we're going to continue on this path. We have to find the consistency I've been talking about and, once again, we put in a great display."

OPTION FOR BAH AS LEFT-BACK

"[The reason for the choice]It's half of what I said yesterday. 100 percent committed to the team and no problem playing in that position. And then the second, too, because we know [Francisco] Conceição, he's fast. Bah is fast. He [Francisco Conceição] has the ability to dribble inside and out, and we felt that we would be safer defensively with him [Bah], and then in terms of maintaining depth, both outside and inside, with Bah. Defensively, it was an interesting duel to watch and, offensively, Bah managed to get into a finishing area and set up Pavlidis for the goal. It went well, we won the game. That's the most important thing."