"It was a good display, the goals kept coming"

Scorer of Benfica's first goal in the 4-0 win over Tirsense in the second leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-final [9-0 on aggregate], António Silva, who captained the team, was “very happy” that the eagles had qualified for the final in Jamor, scheduled for May 25.

The central defender, who broke the deadlock at the Estádio da Luz on Wednesday, April 23rd, explained that “more than the first game [a 0-5 win]”, the important thing was for the Reds to be focused on what they could do in this second leg of the Portuguese Cup.

"Make the most of the opportunity that the manager has given to the players who haven't been playing as much," said to Sport TV.

On the game, António Silva spoke of a “difficult first half” against a Tirsense side “with personality”, even though they were “from the Campeonato de Portugal”: “Then the goals came, and it was a good display.”

THE GOAL

The Portuguese international said he was “very happy” that the Reds had qualified for the decisive match in the Portuguese Cup - Benfica's 39th appearance in the final - as well as having the opportunity to play on a mythical stage in Portuguese football, but he preferred to look to the near future.

"Benfica haven't been to Jamor for about eight years. I've seen a few Benfica finals at Jamor, we're going to play in a Portuguese Cup final, but for now we have a very important league game with AVS [matchday 31 of the Liga Betclic, scheduled for Sunday, April 27, at 6pm, at the Estádio da Luz], which we want to win. Jamor is still a few weeks away," he recalled.

In line with this idea, when asked about the fact that the final match of the Portuguese Cup is against Sporting, António Silva stressed that “the most important thing is the match with AVS”.

Having been one of the five made-in-Benfica players selected by Bruno Lage for the starting eleven - Samuel Soares, Tiago Gouveia, Florentino and Bajrami were the other four - and taking advantage of the fact that João Veloso (came on in the 62nd minute), André Gomes (79th minute) and Hugo Félix (80th minute) made their first-team debuts, António Silva pointed out that “Seixal is always full of talented players”.

"The manager is betting on the youth team, and I think they all did very well today. They're all happy in the dressing room, of course. Congratulations to them, too," he said.

The No. 4 recalled that he spent “7/8 years in Benfica's youth system”, and therefore “every game in the first team will always be a source of pride, especially wearing the [captain's] armband”.