"Fully satisfied with the commitment, attitude and dynamics"

POST-MATCH

Bruno Lage praised the “important victory” obtained by the eagles, considering that it was “fair”, as he said in the analysis of Vitória SC-Benfica (0-3), referring to round 30 of the Liga Betclic, played this Saturday, April 19, at Estádio D. Afonso Henriques.

Benfica's coach saw an “intense” game with “two distinct parts”, but marked by “enormous quality”, as he pointed out in the Sport TV quick interview area. “There were chances for both teams, great saves from both goalkeepers, it was a very intense game, with enormous quality, a fantastic atmosphere, and I think that in the end we're the rightful winners,” he said.

Bruno Lage admitted that the “players felt the importance of the game” and that at half-time it was necessary to “calm them down a bit”, which led to a “safer and more controlled” second half display. For the Eagles coach, Benfica showed that they are “a very united team”.

"Today, in our pre-match talk, I practically didn't speak, because [the players] are very committed to their work. This team is a working team. One moment or another, they might lose a point, they might concede a goal, but that's the team. And that's what I always want to see, and that's what I've told the players. I want to see the team, the team of work, the team of commitment, the team that, regardless of who plays, fulfills the game plan as we have been doing. So that's what makes me satisfied, and today I'm fully satisfied with the commitment, the attitude, the dynamics and, once again, the players understood very well what we had to do," he said.

THE TEAM'S PERFORMANCE AND THAT OF THE FANS

"[How do you rate the team's performance in tonight's win?] First of all, I'd like to talk about the team's performance, and the fans' performance, because until now, when the lesser-used players and those who didn't play went to train, the fans were supporting the players, so there was support during the game and even at the end of the game. It was fantastic, the weather as it was, and the Benfica fans gave very important and decisive support for this victory. I think that when you play this team, with the quality they have, playing at home in front of their fans, and when you score three goals, I feel you're the rightful winner. However, we have to highlight all the progress that Vitória have been making, and that makes our victory even more valuable. We didn't have a good start to the game, especially when we had the ball. Defensively and in terms of pressure, we were in the game, but when we won the ball we didn't have the ability to keep it to have more prolonged possession, and when we did, we scored a goal. Then the team got into the game, chances on our side, chances on Vitória's side, we calmed the players down, we had a different positioning in the 2nd half, at half-time we calmed the players down, repositioned some pieces, and I think we had a much better 2nd half. There's a very good chance from Andreas [Schjelderup], a great save from [Bruno] Varela, Trubin also made some very good saves, the chances came, we scored, and I feel we're fair winners. A difficult game, in a very difficult stadium, against a great team with a very good record, and it's three important points on our journey."

CONSISTENCY OF VICTORIES

"[Do you know the extent of Tomás Araújo and Di María's injuries?] Look, I can't tell you anything about the injuries. [Was this the response you wanted from the team after what happened against Arouca?] I always want this answer, and I don't like to look at blocks of two games, I like to look at what the team has been doing over the last two and a half months, that's what I want, for the team to find the consistency it has, so in two and a half months, we have one draw in the league. Regarding the 3 points, it's another 3 points to add to our tally, it's up to us to win the league. Now, next week, we have two challenges to prepare for, the match with Tirsense for the Portuguese Cup knockout round, because we want to be at Jamor, and then we have AVS, which is another 3 points that are just as important to win."

THE PAVLIDIS “KETCHUP”

"[Is there a direct link between Pavlidis' hat-trick against Barcelona and the confidence the player has brought from that to his goalscoring record in recent games?] It doesn't come directly from the 3 goals he scored against Barcelona, it comes from all the work he's been doing, because we talked about it occasionally in September, October, November, when he didn't score so many goals, I always gave him the guarantee, because what I saw in training, the way he played, both offensively and defensively, was the question of having the opportunity for things to start appearing, we even used the term ketchup. Today he even scored a very well-worked goal, it was a situation we worked on during the week, where he was in an offside position. He's a player with enormous character, he's simplicity itself, he works hard for the team, and the moment he's having deserves it, because he's worked hard for it. And I'm taking advantage of your question because there are a lot of people working hard, there are a lot of dedicated people, and there are a lot of people who deserve more minutes to play, but right now I'm the one who has to make the decisions, they have to keep working so that, when they get the chance, they can show their worth."

FLORENTINO, THE MAN OF THE MATCH

"[When Florentino was yellow-carded, were you telling him to force the card?] No, I was telling him exactly the opposite: 'It's won, and you'll be the best player on the pitch.' [Was Trubin one of the best on the pitch?] If I say [Florentino] Tino is the best, Trubin is not. Trubin made some good saves, as did Bruno Varela. But Trubin's work was very important, as was the work of the whole team."

CONCENTRATION AND SERIOUSNESS

"[What can Benfica bring to this decisive phase in the title race with Sporting?] Look, just what I said yesterday: maximum concentration and taking the games seriously, as we did today."