"Congratulations to the players, they interpreted the strategy"

POST-MATCH

Bruno Lage gave credit to the Benfica players for the way they interpreted the strategy outlined for the first leg of the Champions League knockout stage play-off on Wednesday, February 12, which ended in a 0-1 victory for the Eagles at the Stade Louis II.

GAME ANALYSIS

"It was a very tactical first half. Unlike the first game [of the Champions League group stage], a very open game, even with both teams pressing high, which was the record of the first game we played here, in the first round. This was a much more tactical game. It was clear that both teams understood that there was a second game to play. We got the first chance, a great chance by Álvaro [Carreras], then I felt that Monaco were slightly on top of the game. We didn't know how to take advantage of the spaces in terms of attacking transitions. However, the team began to grow. From the 30th minute onwards, we started to get the breakthroughs we wanted, especially in terms of attacking transitions. We had two good chances again, either from Álvaro [Carreras] or António [Silva], following a corner. And then the adjustment we had to make in the 2nd half, particularly to understand which spaces to exploit. And the team made a very good start. They got a goal and then had 45 minutes of great quality. We had more chances to score. I think, looking at the game and looking at what our chances were, we could have scored one more goal, but that's what I said yesterday [in the preview:we lacked the killer mentality that you need in a Champions League game. Now, of course, I have to congratulate the players. They tried and interpreted our strategy, we got the goal the way we thought we wanted to score it. The result remains, but regardless of that, what we predicted yesterday was that this would be the first game and that the tie would be decided at the Estádio da Luz. Now we have two days to recover, and we're fully focused on the game with Santa Clara."

VALUED VICTORY

"[Killer mentality to finish off the game] When it comes to the killer mentality, it's us having that, knowing how to finish off the game the way we have to, and sometimes it's those moments that lead to comfortable victories, like the last game with Moreirense, we could have scored a goal, closed out the game, it was a safe win, and then we're left with... There are little moments when we can concede a goal, and the game, for the final 5 or 10 minutes, is a victory in which we have to suffer in the last 10 minutes. But the most important thing about today [Wednesday, February 12] was what the team did. This is Benfica's second win, if I'm not mistaken, in Monaco in the same season. We left here satisfied, but aware that the tie, as we said yesterday, will be played at the Estádio da Luz, and now our focus must be on recovering as much as possible for the game against Santa Clara. I'm even taking advantage of your question to make this point, because it's the Champions League calendar, but the teams that played yesterday [Tuesday] have many more days to recover between the league game and then the Champions League game than the teams that played today. Those who played today will eventually have to play on Saturday to play on Tuesday. Those who played yesterday will play on Wednesday. So they're longer breaks. We have to be able to respond in order to recover and do what we have to do, which is focus on Santa Clara and win the game." 

"Regarding the wingers, we felt that for this game it would be the two of them [Schjelderup and Aktürkoğlu] that they would understand better what we had to do. That's why both of them had a good game. Di María has been a starter with me, he's been substituted several times, he's been on the bench a few times, always performing and behaving correctly like the great professional that he is, and today we understood that either Andreas [Schjelderup] or Aktur [Aktürkoğlu] would be the best solutions for the wings, just as they did in the game they played against Barcelona. [Bringing in Barreiro] On the subject of the Barreiro change, we felt that the game, and Monaco, as they were playing, because they also closed down, made two tight lines in front of their area, with a man up front, to provoke transitions, and we had to have a cool head to control the transitions. We opted for Tino [Florentino], we advised Álvaro [Carreras] to be more calm, but in the central corridor, having a player yellow-carded, as Tino was, would be risky, and that was our decision."

FINISH THE GAME WITH THREE STRIKERS

"We felt we could put people forward, so we ended up with three strikers, but in different positions.  Zeki [Amdouni] has a great chance, I think it's a pass from Kökcü, which sets Zeki up, he could shoot, he tried to serve his teammate, a good option; Belotti also came on well, Arthur [Cabral] too, we tried - because Monaco also defend crosses very well, but being close together in the box, and trying to push the defensive line with Arthur - there was more space between the lines, for us to look for that space and try to create our finishing situations. That was the aim of the three changes to the front men."

THE SITUATIONS OF DI MARÍA AND TOMÁS ARAÚJO

"Regarding Di María and Tomás [Araújo], the two players who asked to come out, it's too early to make any assessment at the moment."