Ivan Baptista and Benfica's delayed celebrations: that's a distraction | OneFootball

Ivan Baptista said he was pleased with the performance of the women’s football team - which announced a new signing for 2026/27 - against Torreense (2-0). In the aftermath of the match, the Benfica coach analysed the game against the Oeste side and spoke about the possibility of the Eagles securing the title as early as the next round, against Braga.

What is your analysis of the game? "It was a difficult game, just like the last four matches we’ve had against Torreense this season. All five games were difficult. I believe we were the better side for most of the match. We also had to withstand Torreense’s pressure, especially for about 20 minutes in the second half. I think the key was mainly our ability to keep things simple. And then we killed off the game at an important moment," he began by saying, in remarks to Canal 11.

Diana Silva was named player of the match after scoring twice. How important is she to you and to the team? "Diana did well today. To be completely honest, I felt all the players involved did well. There were still more players ready to come on and contribute. The truth is that, for me, as the coach and leader of this group, it’s very difficult to single anyone out. I recognise the quality Diana brought to the game. But honestly, I think they all performed at a very high level in terms of their commitment to the match and the energy we needed from start to finish today," he added.

Benfica still hold an eight-point lead over Sporting, with nine points still up for grabs. Do you feel you already have one hand on the sixth straight title? "No, I’ve said this many times and it’s not just something I say publicly, it’s also our internal message. We had a goal, which was to have a better second half of the season than the first. The rest will be a consequence of that work. We are chasing the nine points still available. Whatever comes from that will be the consequence of the internal goals we set ourselves, which is to be better game by game. That means winning every point until the end of the championship. We don’t look at who’s behind us. That’s a distraction and it slows down our development process," reiterated the Benfica coach.

Is the goal to secure the title in the next round, or would it be special to win the sixth straight title against Sporting? "If we win the next game, that issue is settled. It doesn’t even cross our minds to delay winning the title. What is on our minds is continuing this process, which means winning every game. We go to Braga in quite a few days’ time because now there will be an international break. The aim is to try to beat a good team on a ground that is always difficult," concluded Ivan Baptista.

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