Ivanovic not happy, warns teammates ahead of Benfica v Fenerbahçe | OneFootball

Benfica drew 0-0 (0-0) on their trip to Turkey, against Fenerbahçe, in the first leg of the play-off to access the group stage of the Champions League. Franjo Ivanovic stayed on the bench and was not satisfied with the result. The Croatian forward emphasized that the team needs to make better use of their goal-scoring opportunities.

"It wasn't an easy game. We started well in the first half, I think we played a good game. In the second half, we received a red card and it became difficult. We struggled a bit. Overall, we played a solid game. We still have 90 minutes ahead of us at home next week and we'll see what the team does," he began by saying.

At the end of the match, Franjo Ivanovic was challenged to outline Benfica's strategy for the second leg: "We need to score a goal. We need to take advantage of the opportunities to score and create more danger at their goal. That is the goal for next week and I am sure we will do it."

Bruno Lage highlighted the importance of taking the tie to the Luz and that was exactly what Benfica sought to do throughout the match. With Ivanovic's removal from the starting eleven and the inclusion of Florentino in the central midfield area, the coach of the team adopted a more closed and cautious scheme, although the midfielder was sent off in the second half.

The next match of the tie is scheduled for August 27, Wednesday, at Estádio da Luz. Benfica will host Fenerbahçe with the score at zero and only needs to win the game to secure a spot in the Champions League.

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