Players' reaction: “More united than ever”

In their post-match analysis of Benfica 0-2 win over Juventus, in Turin, on matchday 8 of the league phase of the Champions Leagues, Pavlidis, Kökcü, Di María, Tomás Araújo and Schjelderup stressed the fairness of the result.

PAVLIDIS

"The most important thing is that we're still in the Champions League"

"Fantastic! The most important thing is that we're still in the Champions League. Of course, winning an away game in this beautiful stadium and the way we played... I really enjoyed the game, and I'm very happy about that. The fans support us everywhere, they're everywhere, at every game and we feel it. They're very important to us, they're the most important people in the club and, of course, we're happy, and I hope they enjoyed the game."

KÖKCÜ

"We had to give a response"

"We knew we had to get a good result. We're happy with the win, and now we can prepare for the next game, that's the most important thing. [Display] It was difficult, we knew they hadn't lost many games. It was the second game they've lost all season, so we knew it would be difficult, but we prepared well, we were united, and we trained like that. We prepared everything well and in the end we got a good result. We had to respond to our defeat against Casa Pia. I think we did well and, for us, it's important to advance to the next stage of the Champions League, because it's the highest competition you can play in as a footballer; for us it was clear: we had to give everything and win this game."

DI MARÍA

"We have many important goals ahead of us"

"It's important, we needed to win, to show again the face we've already shown, and we played a great game. We won in a very difficult stadium, against a very tough rival, and it was a deserved victory.[Audios] No, I didn't listen to the audios, really, I swear I didn't listen to them. And I don't really care, we're together. We try to win everything we can win, we won our first cup a fortnight ago, and we want to keep achieving goals. We're all together, we showed that again today, and we have to keep it up. We've always been with the coach, there's never been any change. Since the day he arrived, we've been trying to do the best we can, trying to work the way he wants us to, trying to do the things he tells us before the games, and I think that's been more than demonstrated. What has happened is that sometimes we've relaxed a bit in matches and ended up drawing some games. But today [Wednesday, January 29] we showed the quality we have once again. [Have you discussed the renewal?] No, no, I'm just thinking about everyday life. I'm very happy here, I've said that many times. I'm happy in Lisbon, my family is very happy. The important thing is to carry on as I am and try to think only about today. I have to keep being happy, that's all. We're always with the fans. It's normal that when you lose, they're not happy and things go the way they have, but when things are going well, everyone is supporting you, outside the stadium, inside the stadium. The important thing is that we're all together, I've always said that and I'll keep saying it. The important thing is to continue on this path, more united than ever, and we have many important goals ahead of us."

TOMÁS ARAÚJO

"Fans are the 12th man on the pitch"

"We're very happy with the win, we knew it was going to be a very difficult game. Juventus are a very good team, but we prepared very well for the game, the manager prepared very well for the game, and we were able to implement the manager's ideas on the pitch. We knew we were going to have our space, that's how it was and we managed to come away with the win. We know that we're a group with a lot of quality and a lot of unity, and that shows especially in these away games, with great support from our fans, and thank you for that. SThey're the 12th man on the pitch, thank you very much. Now it's game by game, we'll see. We'll prepare for the next game just as we prepared for this one. We have to keep going and try to go as far as possible."

SCHJELDERUP

"We played a great game, we could have scored more goals"

"It was a very good game, we won 0-2 in a very difficult away game. We're through to the next round and we're very happy. We've been through a tough period, it was important to come here and turn it around, at a difficult ground. We played a great game, and we could have scored many more goals, me and the others. We're all very happy and excited to be through to the next round. The fans gave us a lot of energy, I listened to them throughout the game and it was incredible to see the way they supported us today. I'm very happy that they traveled all this way and helped us win."