"Proud of how far we've come"

POST-MATCH

Without hiding the fact that Benfica could "have done more" in the Champions League round of 16 against Barcelona, hose second-leg result was unfavorable (3-1, and 4-1 on aggregate) on Tuesday, March 11, at the Estadio Olímpico Lluís Companys, Bruno Lage considered that the eagles' current journey should serve as a lesson to “repeat and do better”.

Taking stock, Bruno Lage highlighted the Eagles' progress in the 2024/25 Champions League, which was marked by the debut of the competition's new format.

"We ended up having a good Champions League. From the start, they gave us away... we almost didn't get through, but the team always had a very good run, with the fact that, away from home, they always behaved with dignity.  I think we have to be proud of what we've done, and that's why I say: proud of what we've done, but at the same time knowing our opponents and feeling frustrated, because we really could have done more in both games," he emphasized, looking to the future with optimism.

"The journey we've been on must serve as a learning experience so that we can come back stronger and do it again. That has to be our feeling: to repeat and do better," he said.

"This is the end of our work in the Champions League, and now we're fully focused on the two competitions we have left, both the league and the Portuguese Cup, and now we have to prepare as well as possible, recover and focus on the league, on the next game against Rio Ave," he claimed.

FRUSTRATION, BUT ALSO PRIDE

"First, I'd like to share with you the feeling of frustration we're going through right now, because with what we've done in both games, we felt we could have had a different outcome. However, I'm also proud of how far we've come. We played against a great team. We even felt we went into the game well, conceded the first goal, and the team responded very well and scored straight away. Barcelona scored a great goal in the second half, and then we were a bit hurt by the way we conceded the third goal, in transition. We went into the second half with the aim of trying to score our own goal. The changes we made were always along those lines, to improve the team and try to score the second goal, but we didn't manage it. We have to congratulate Barcelona, who really played a great game. A very good team, a coach with a huge amount of experience, and I could feel it in the way they prepared for the game and the respect they had for us throughout the games, especially this one. And it's to their credit that they're moving on."

"ANOTHER RESPONSE" WITH MORE FRESHNESS

"[Was the way Barcelona forced Benfica to make mistakes in midfield decisive?] Yes, we could have gone that way, that's why I mentioned the huge amount of respect in the build-up to the game, the pressure up front wasn't as close as it usually is, and it was more about trying to control what we could do in midfield, fundamentally with our changes of flank from one corridor to the other and attacking the defensive line. I also feel that if we came into the game fresher, we could have had a better response, especially in individual duels, both offensive and defensive."

OFFENSIVE CAPACITY AND DEFENSIVE STRATEGY

"[What changed to make Benfica more offensive in the 2nd half?] I understand the idea of the 2nd half, but I think that in the first 15 minutes the team behaved like that, they managed to have the ball, they managed to play in the opponent's attacking half, they managed to make two or three turnovers as we wanted. Then it was the 2nd half, we tried to reorganize, try to find our own goal, and the changes we made, curiously enough, were always to change the three men in the middle to give freshness and have a closer offensive capacity. [Defensive strategy to stop Barcelona] In defensive terms, we had to interpret three moments very well, which were the goalkeeper's clearance, the way we pressed, then understand how the opponent plays, be high, be up high, with very strong control of the defensive line when attacking deep, and then, when we were low, we had to be together and try to control the space between the lines, let the game go out wide. It's true that Barcelona created a few chances, but, curiously, the second goal came from a set piece, and both the first and third came from two defensive transitions that we could have done better with."