"We ended a month in which we achieved several goals"

POST-MATCH

Bruno Lage considered Benfica's victory over SC Braga (1-0), in the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup, played on Wednesday, February 26, at the Estádio da Luz, to be “fair”.

Satisfied with his team's “very strong start” to the game, the Benfica coach said that the Eagles could have “scored one more goal” in the first half.

Bruno Lage, in his analysis in the rapid interview area for RTP and Sport TV, also praised the importance of the result. “I feel that today we took a very important step towards the final,” he said.

"We had a very good month in February, where we achieved our goals. We reached the semi-finals of the Portuguese Cup, got through to the last 16 of the Champions League, and it was up to us in the national championship," he added.

“FAIR” VICTORY

"A fair win, we played a very good first half, perhaps one of the best we've played this season, against a difficult and competent opponent. We managed to bring back the good emotions from the last game with Boavista, and that makes us really happy about the first half. We could possibly have ended that first half with a different result. In the 2nd half, the game became more even, although I think we had the better chances throughout. And, as such, we're happy, because today marks the end of a month in which we've achieved several goals. They're not finals, but they've allowed us to reach the semi-finals of the Portuguese Cup, the last 16 of the Champions League and be dependent on us in the fight for the title."

SIX-DAY BREAK UNTIL THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 

"It's a good period to recover and prepare for the game, but the team has already done that with two and three days off. What's most important now is that we prepare for the game in the best possible way. I feel we had a good game against Barcelona in the league phase, and it's a shame about the result, but now we're going to set out with the mission of playing these two games and being able to move on in the competition."

STRONGEST TEAM IN PORTUGAL?

"It's up to us, it's not up to me, it's up to us. What we're interested in is what we're doing at each moment and how the team is developing. The team this month... and you've been doing this analysis and asking this question, what Benfica are we going to find tomorrow depending on the positioning of our players. That's what interests us, having several roles for each position and having several tactical variants with which we can start any game. And it's this progression and evolution that interests me. [The irritation with the referee at the end?] Towards the end of the game, I hadn't finished the game yet, and what had happened against Barcelona was already coming to mind. What I was saying was that 51 minutes had been played, and it was already 51:30, 51:40, and we didn't want to be in the same situation and go to extra time, when we did what we did, and we didn't deserve to be in the last 10 minutes, when the game was divided."

DI MARÍA'S RETURN? SAMUEL SOARES AND TRUBIN...

"We don't have any news yet about any [injured players] coming back, and I'm very pleased with what Samuel [Soares] has done in these two games. And in the next game with Barcelona, Trubin will play."

DAHL'S VERSATILITY

"I'm very pleased with the four new recruits and the team's performance. We've done something very similar in the past, with Álvaro [Carreras] building down low and eventually having a more open man like Beste. So we've played games like that, with Álvaro and Beste, and now we're playing with Samuel [Dahl]. It's very important nowadays to have this type of player, who can play in more than one position, and also understand what we tried to do today. So he played in one position in attack - and well - and in another in defense, so we're very happy to have players like that in the squad, as we also have, for example, Fredrik [Aursnes], who started in one position and finished in another. So it gives us that ability to change the positioning of our players without making substitutions"

BENFICA AND BARCELONA CALENDAR

"I think it's much more interesting than discussing this - and I've never had the opportunity to be at a Champions League meeting - to possibly think about other time slots between games, and not worry about this specific situation, whether Benfica will play or not. I'll give you an example, because we were lucky again in the draw to play with two days between games, and there are teams that are going to play with four days between games. IThat could be more interesting, because whoever plays on Wednesday will have to play in the league after our game, Wednesday, league, and play on Tuesday. Why don't we play on Wednesday, and keep the break between the two games with the league game? And there are teams who will play on Tuesday, in the league, and then only on Wednesday. That's what will be interesting to discuss, and it's not this specific situation."