Benfica will retain their attacking football away at Midtjylland in the second leg of the third qualifying round of the Champions League, despite a 4-1 lead at Lusa guaranteed on Monday by manager Roger Schmidt.
At a press conference at Seixal that preceded the last training session before traveling to Denmark, the German coach emphasized that his team had a “more active” game idea and that he would therefore play “for goals”. because “it’s the best way to keep them [aos dinamarqueses] away from the Benfica goal.
“What they are looking for is counter-attacks, set pieces, winning second balls and transitional moments, of course. That’s why we have to be ready for these moments, but also challenge them with our attacking football. We believe in it. the approach will not be very different from the first game, ”said the German.
A defender of the idea that “possession of the ball is the most important thing in football”, Schmidt also recalled that Midtjylland “will try everything to recover in this game” which is “at half time” and said he did not believe the manager’s word. opponent when he said at the end of the first match that it would take a “miracle” to turn the tide.
The incarnations coach said he was “100% sure that Henrik Jensen ‘saw it differently’ the next morning, that the opposition ‘believes the result will change’ and that he ‘prepared a lot for this game’ .
“They believe in their chance and will try, especially at the beginning, to recover in this game. I know how it is in football. It’s not a miracle, 4:1 is not 8:0 or anything like that. So 4-1 is a good result for the first game, but that’s not all,” he warned.
In this sense, Schmidt admitted that he made some changes to the starting line-up, but referred to this decision after the last training session, where he had to find out, among other things, the physical condition of João Mario in order to “know whether he can play or not”.
“In the first two official games, we used the same elevens because they got used to each other and deserved to play again. But of course there can always be changes and I will have to make a decision at the end of today’s practice. “, he acknowledged.
Before Schmidt, midfielder Florentino also delivered an ambitious speech about a “more mature” player after two loan spells to other clubs in previous seasons, where he led all responses to the goal of “repeat that win” against Midtjylland.
“Here at Benfica we have something to lose in every game because our goal is always to win. We expect a very difficult match, as it was here in the first round. [mão]. As we know, all teams in the Champions League are very competitive. Of course, we had a good performance with the win and we will try to repeat it,” Florentino suggested.
Benfica will travel to Denmark this Monday, where they will take on Midjylland on Tuesday in the second leg of the Champions League third qualifying round starting at 18:45 at Randers Stadium and refereeing Serbian Srdjan Jovanovic.
The team led by Roger Schmidt has the advantage to face the winner of the match between Dynamo Kyiv and Strum Graz in the play-off for promotion to the League of Millions.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
