Bruno Lage’s key Benfica man shows praiseworthy attitude | OneFootball

The moments following the final whistle of the Benfica - Santa Clara match were of great disappointment for Bruno Lage's squad, as they had conceded a draw in the final minutes, due to a mistake by Nicolás Otamendi. After admitting it in the flash interview, the captain did it again on the pitch, apologizing to all his teammates.

The newspaper Record writes, in its Sunday edition, September 14, that the number 30 of the reds made a point of setting an example and taking responsibility for the mistake that ended up 'gifting' the equalizing goal to Santa Clara. However, the main concern of the locker room was to comfort the Argentine, visibly upset by what had happened.

After having spoken with BTV, where he did not hide his frustration for what had happened, Nicolás Otamendi, at no point, was accused of having cost points to Benfica. According to the same source, despite the general disappointment of the locker room, no one started looking for culprits for the draw.

The sports daily goes further and assures that, despite the disappointment of the draw, the atmosphere was peaceful, with Bruno Lage's group reminding that the game is behind them and that, now, the most important thing is to prepare in the best way for Tuesday's match, August 16, against Qarabag, in the Champions League.

In the 2025/26 season, only with the Benfica shirt, Nicolás Otamendi - currently valued at 1 million euros – has played nine matches, accumulating a total of 810 minutes: four in the Champions League, four in the Liga Portugal Betclic and one in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.

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