António Silva, Pavlidis and signings: Marco Silva after Benfica-St Gallen | OneFootball

Marco Silva spoke at the press conference after the 5-0 win over St. Gallen, which secured Benfica’s qualification for the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa League - where they will face Hearts. Speaking about the importance of the win, he highlighted Pavlidis’ excellent form, opened up about António Silva’s departure and possible arrivals to the squad. Check out everything the Benfica coach said.

On the team’s connection with Pavlidis

"Vangelis [Pavlidis] himself understood very well when to hold the ball up or make the forward link-up so that it could then reach other players arriving from deeper positions, or with our wing-backs staying wide, and that worked much better today as well. The opponent’s man-to-man marking demanded a strategy of drawing them out so that another player could then connect the play. As a strategy, we used Pavlidis well, and in that respect he clearly performed at a very high level. Obviously, he scored the goals he scored, and for a striker that is always very important, but he was crucial in what we wanted for the game, in the connection we needed to make through him in order to then unlock things. Attacking the space behind a rival that the Eagles expected would press high across the whole pitch, leaving 30 to 40 metres in behind, was equally crucial. It was important for that first link-up to work well, and in many moments it did. There were some link-up plays we had prepared, and it is important to then see them happen in the game".

Defensive and attacking set pieces

"We work on every aspect that is important to the game. We were caught out at one moment in the first leg, when there was already some fatigue, and in those moments we have to demand more from ourselves. As a team, it is something we will absolutely do: not let our guard down, not become complacent, which was certainly not the case in the first leg. We lost focus, we were not aggressive in that moment, and we conceded a goal."

The team’s evolution

"There were several factors. The first was playing at home, and that is a very important factor for us. With one more week of work – this was the fifth – naturally some players are improving physically. Then, we corrected some things that did not work in the last match. We did not let the game turn so much into individual duels, regardless of the fact that the opponent encouraged that. We improved in some areas, understood the moments and the way to beat that press and reach the finishing zones better. In reality, we improved in many aspects compared to last week’s game. But also, very honestly, that is what we had to do".

António Silva’s future

"As for António [Silva], to be clear, I have been telling you what my feeling was from the very first day I arrived at Benfica and started working with António. It was a decision that was on his mind and, between Benfica’s board and his representatives, the conversations that needed to happen did happen. Not long after I arrived at Benfica, the decision that, possibly, the player would not stay with us, regardless of whether club A, B or C might be interested, was more or less defined. My job is to get the maximum performance I can from the players while they are Benfica players. A lot was said over the last week. Regardless of whether the decision was António’s or not, whether to renew or not, I was never told there was an agreement with any club, I was never told António was not in a condition to play. And from the moment António – and I guarantee you this – was professional from the first day I started working at Sport Lisboa e Benfica, regardless of what might have been happening regarding his future, at Benfica or away from Benfica, he did not go down the path that many players sometimes do. He never asked me for absolutely anything regarding his obligations as a professional. He did not have many options, honestly, but what I can guarantee you is that, if he played all these matches, regardless of whether his future was open or not, whether there could be a transfer or whether his representatives were negotiating with Benfica and other clubs, he was always present in every training session and in every game he played, whether in pre-season or in the 2 official matches. He never refused anything. That is exactly why he played, and he played today as well. And, as you know, today Benfica will possibly inform you very soon... I can say that, possibly, it was António’s last match, because after that there are other issues we do not control, which are bureaucratic matters between clubs. But yes, possibly it was António’s last match".

Transfer market: signing a new centre-back

"As for when he will arrive, you have already realised that I give you news a bit slowly, so you will have to wait a little longer on that. I am not really one to give big updates, much less on the market, departures or possible arrivals. I understand the question. A centre-back is going to leave. Naturally, the structure of Sport Lisboa e Benfica is doing everything possible to bring in a centre-back as quickly as possible. As is normal, over the last 15 to 20 days we have basically had António [Silva] and Lenglet, with some young players around the team, but for those two positions, players ready for decisive matches like the ones we are playing right now, we only had those two. Tomás [Araújo] has now arrived, played 45 minutes against Belenenses last week, and now he is going to help change that situation a little. Naturally, with tomorrow’s training [Friday], we will continue preparing him. We are competing, but at the same time some players are still in pre-season. Naturally, tomorrow [Friday] Tomás will have a slightly different training session from the others so that we can get him some game minutes. So, the sooner he arrives [the centre-back], the more positive it will be for us. Not only because of the number of players we have for the position, but because it is not just a matter of arriving and being ready. And that was clear to see. If it were just a matter of arriving and being ready, maybe some players who were on the bench today would have started the game. And they already know Benfica, they already know what Benfica is all about, but many of them have had only 4 training sessions and the difficulty was clear. They came on for 15 or 20 minutes, made 3 sprints forward, and then on the way back I practically had to shout at them to run. So, it is not as easy as it seems. It is not just a matter of arriving and being ready. In that respect, whoever comes in has to know Benfica’s reality, Benfica’s size. If they do not know it... I believe most of them know very well the reality they will find. Then we have to adapt them to our idea, to what their teammates are like, and that takes time. So, naturally, the board is doing everything possible to make sure the player arrives as quickly as possible".

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.