The coach Roger Schmidt said this Wednesday that the match against SC Braga, scoring for the Portuguese Soccer Cup, is an opportunity for Benfica to show that it can also win in the land of Minho. Gonçalo Ramos and Rafa are once again in the options and can help meet that objective, but the coach does not ensure that they will be starters.
Arsenalistas was the only team that defeated the ‘incarnated’ this season, 3-0, in an I Liga match, and the German coach acknowledged, in Seixal, that “they deserved it”, because Benfica “was not at his best level”, but stressed that Thursday will be a different game.
“Whenever we go to a match there is an opponent who wants the same thing as us and in football we have to accept that sometimes the other team gets the best result, that’s what happened in that match. But tomorrow [quinta-feira] It’s another match, another competition and another opportunity to show that we managed to win in Braga”Schmidt stated.
For the quarterfinal match of the Portuguese Cup, the coach confirmed that he will already be able to count on Gonçalo Ramos, but he did not reveal whether he or Rafa will start and even considered that the players who were starting the lineup in recent games he starts at the front of the race for a place in the starting eleven.
“Of course, the players who have played in recent weeks have an advantage, because they have rhythm, they are in shape, while Gonçalo [Ramos] and Rafa have to go back to that level again. So we will have to decide what suits them, start from the beginning or join in”, commented the coach of the ‘incarnated’.
Therefore, the continuity of Chiquinho in the starting eleven must be assured, a player who “has already played in various positions and has done very well” and who has shown “all the qualities that are needed” for the position in which he he comes playing since the departure of Enzo Fernández.
“He is doing well, he has to stay in shape and I am very happy with his performances, because he is always a very positive player in training. Even when he didn’t play so much, he trained very well and now he himself is being rewarded for that”, the German acknowledged.
Finally, Schmidt also addressed the situations of Grimaldo and Otamendi, players who end their relationship with Benfica at the end of this season and “know” that the coach wants them to stay at the club.
Grimaldo and Nico [Otamendi] both are leaders in our team, very regular in their good performances, they are showing a great attitude. Of course, I hope they renew the contract, but, I have said it a few times, when the players end the contract in the summer it is always very difficult, ”he warned.
Benfica visits Sporting de Braga on Thursday, in a match for the quarterfinals of the Portuguese Cup, starting at 8:30 p.m., at the Estádio Municipal de Braga, with refereeing by Tiago Martins (AF Lisboa).
To reach the quarterfinals, the team led by Roger Schmidt eliminated Caldas (1-1 after extra time and 5-3 on penalties), Estoril Praia (1-0) and Varzim (2-0), always out from home.
Já Sporting de Braga, who beat the ‘incarnates’ 3-0 in the I Liga, beating Felgueiras (2-1) away from home and Moreirense (2-1) and Vitória de Guimarães (3-2), both at home .
In the I Liga, Benfica has one more game played and leads with 53 points, 10 more than Braga, which fell to third place a week ago, behind FC Porto, after being thrashed by Sporting, 5-0.
Source: TSF
