"A match between two great teams who respect each other a lot"

STATEMENTS

Simão Sabrosa, Benfica's director of international relations, views the Champions League play-off against Monaco with respect and confidence. The Eagles' opponents were determined in the draw held in Nyon on Friday morning, January 31.

Recalling Benfica's recent 2-3 triumph in the previous league match between the two teams, Simão Sabrosa spoke of the mutual knowledge between opponents who have had a good campaign in this competition.

"It's a team that we already know, that we've played against and beaten. They're a team that also had a great campaign in this [league] stage of the Champions League. It's going to be a very tough game, but we're ready for this big match. We already know Monaco well. Let's wait and see how we get on at this stage and how we find Monaco, after their good run in the Champions League, just like we did," said the Benfica director, speaking to BTV.

Highlighting the energy of the fans and their impact on the comeback in round 5 of the league phase against Monaco, Simão Sabrosa guaranteed that the support of the Benfiquista Family will be fundamental to achieving the goal of qualifying for the next stage of the Champions League.

"When we played Monaco, the support of all the Portuguese was very important. We have a large Portuguese community in France and, in fact, they were very important in turning that game around. We hope we can count on that support, because we, Benfica, play at home in almost every stadium. We want to count on that support and that energy coming from the stands to help our team in this game, the support of all the fans will be essential," said the director of international relations.

"There are no seeded teams here. It's a match between two great teams who respect each other a lot and will give it their all. We're going to rely on the support of the fans, with that positive energy that comes from the stands and that also ends up helping the players. And then, in the second game, at home, with our fans and a full stadium, we want to play our best game to stay in the Champions League, and we're counting on the fans, both in Monaco and in our stadium, to bring that energy to the players, so we can get a good result and get through to the next stage," he concluded.