Benfica will face Juventus on Tuesday, despite only needing a draw to advance to the Champions League. In a press conference in Seixal, coach Roger Schmidt admitted that “everyone knows” that the “incarnated” only need “one point” to qualify for the round of 16 – if Paris Saint-Germain scores at the reception of Maccabi Haifa – but he warned that Benfica does not know how to play for any result other than victory.
“We are not a team that knows how to play for a draw. When we get on the field, our goal is to win the game and tomorrow [terça-feira] equal to. We have to believe in ourselves, be brave and take advantage of the home factor,” said Roger Schmidt in the preview of the meeting with the Italians.
In the first round, Benfica even won 2-1 in Turin, but Schmidt made it a point to remember that “no two games are the same” and that despite the win “it was a difficult game” where his team had “what problems” before finding “the rhythm” that would allow him to add the three points.
On Tuesday, in Estádio da Luz, “it is a new game” and the “incarnate” coach recalled that, despite Benfica having “a small advantage”, “anything is possible for the four teams in the group”. “All teams can still qualify and Juve is Juve. It’s a great club, with great players, a very experienced coach. They want to continue in the Champions League after the group stage, so we have to wait for the best Juve and be ready to play at our best level.” remembers Schmidt.
In this sense, the coach devalued the possible bad moment of the opponent, remembering that “the situation is very clear” for the team coached by Massimiliano Allegri, which “needs two wins to qualify for the knockout stage”, and that “can always be at the best level in these decisive matches”.
“We expect the best Juve and we have to be prepared for that. We don’t count on any weakness from our opponents. We have to play at our best level to qualify in these two games,” he insisted.
Before Schmidt, Odysseas Vlachodimos also assumed that the ‘incarnate’ squad knows “the quality of the other team”, which is “very experienced and has many quality players”, but assured that he will “do his best to win”.
“We will do our best to face them, but we are also very confident because we are in a very good situation and tomorrow [terça-feira] We go to the game, as in every game, to win,” the goalkeeper admitted.
Benfica welcome Juventus on Tuesday in a fifth round match of Group H of the Champions League, which starts at 8 p.m., in Lisbon’s Estádio da Luz, and will be whistled by Serb Srdan Jovanovic. The team led by Roger Schmidt occupies second place in the group, with eight points, the same number as leader Paris Saint-Germain.
Juventus, on the other hand, are third in the group, with just three points, the same as Maccabi Haifa, and are bound to win in order to advance in the battle for qualification, although they do not depend solely on themselves to continue.
Source: DN
