The game that could give Benfica the title is Saturday at 6pm against Santa Clara, who are bottom of the table for the 2022/23 I Liga. Taking into account that the opponent is already relegated, what do you expect from tomorrow’s game? “Santa Clara have nothing to lose. Look and analyze the last few matches they have played, they don’t play like a relegated team. They play good football, they play with intensity, they are fast. I’m waiting for an opponent who plays a full stadium without pressure. I expect a good game and we are prepared, we know our situation.”. It was a long journey to get here and tomorrow is the last journey, we know that if we win we are champions.”said this Friday Roger Schmidt.
In the starting eleven he will choose and whether Bah’s return after injury will put Aursnes on the bench, the German shot: “He is waiting for the eleven at the press conference… Bah had an important impact on Sunday (against Sporting, 2-2) and is back from injury. Aursnes is very important for us, he is a very flexible player and I can use him in different positions. He played in the back, in midfield, as a second striker… He always showed a lot of quality and his extraordinary personality of accepting and always giving his best no matter what position he plays we have different options it’s great to have almost all players. Unfortunately, Guedes has a problem, he had already had surgery and had a lot of impact when he came on Sunday, it changed the game. We are all very sad about his injury, but it is one more reason for us to play a good game tomorrow.”
A little over a month ago, Benfica were ten points ahead of FC Porto, now they have only two and even depend on themselves to become champions – win or draw with Santa Clara. “The season is a marathon and the situation is very clear: we have scored a lot of points this season and now we have the last game to win. Each game represented a task. Last Sunday the order was to recover and it was a very important draw because losing or drawing is something else [com o Santa Clara]. It was a good day for us,” said Schmidt.
According to the Eagles’ coach, the team is confident even with pressure, tension and nervousness in the mix. “Even in international competitions, in playoffs of the Champions League there was a lot of pressure on the players, the team and the club and we showed that we can focus on what we do on the pitch. The players showed a lot of quality but also resistance to this kind of pressure. In difficult times we often play our best football,” the coach said at the last press conference of the season.
And since it is not yet “time for the balance” because there is still a “goal to conquer”, it is also not for him to say whether Benfica was the best team in Portugal this year: “I think we deserve the title, but this is not because we deserve to win, we have to win. At the end of the season, the first place team always deserves the title.”
Source: DN
