The Benfica coach said on Tuesday that the match against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday is an opportunity to improve the team’s situation in Group H of the Football Champions League, as played in Luz.
Roger Schmidt recalled at a press conference in Seixal that the “incarnate” had “two wins in the first two games” and that therefore they kept their chances of “qualifying for the knockout stage” intact, reiterating the idea of that “Playing at home, in a group stage, is always a good chance to improve the position”.
“As I said at the beginning, when you are playing at home and have already won an away game, it is a great opportunity to improve the situation in the group and that is our focus. Using every game to show that we are Christmas in the Liga dos Champions. That is our big goal,” the German insisted.
However, Benfica faces “one of the best teams in the world” which is why Schmidt believes that he does not need to motivate the players, because they are “motivated by themselves”, but reminded that “motivation alone does not make it happen” “.
“I think they have an extra space for motivation and we have to use this extra part to be tactically at the best level, to always be ready to influence the game in a positive way, to use this quality extra to tactically make a top game. The motivation alone is not enough. We need everything tomorrow [quarta-feira]took it over.
And by “everything”, Schmidt means “a complete set” of the team’s “technical weapons”, to challenge Paris Saint-Germain “in defense, but also in attack and in midfield”.
The coach assumed that “it is always necessary to make adjustments depending on the opponent, especially when playing against a team with so much individual quality up front”, but emphasized that “it will not be important to have more players in the defense”, but “to make a good game tactically” and “return situations from one to one with a lot of space” to the opponent.
“Defending them one-on-one is very difficult, so we have to be very good at our tactical balance. We need support, to have players close to the ball to help each other. That’s key. to believe in ourselves”, be the coach of the ‘incarnates’.
Before Schmidt, Enzo Perez also emphatically said that “concentration” and belief in the qualities of his own team are the key to beating an opponent like Paris Saint-Germain.
“Concentration. I think concentration is the most important. The attitude, the will, to believe in ourselves, in the team we have and in our teammates. We formed a spectacular group, there is a very good positive energy. want, that is to win,” said the Argentine midfielder.
Benfica welcomes Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday in a third round match of the Champions League group stage, which starts at 8 p.m., in Lisbon’s Estádio da Luz, and will be whistled by Spaniard Jesús Gil Manzano.
The team led by Roger Schmidt remains in second place in Group H of the competition with six points, the same as the French, after beating Maccabi Haifa (2-0) and Juventus (2-1) at home in Turin, while the Parisians defeated the Italians (2-1) at home and the Israelis (3-1) away.
Source: DN
