Rafa magic, Prestianni on fire, Benfica in Europe: Marco Silva | OneFootball

Marco Silva analyzed, in a press conference, Benfica’s 3-1 win over Aarhus in the second leg of the play-off that secured a place in the UEFA Europa League league phase. Here is everything the Benfica coach said after the victory in Denmark.

Analysis of the win

It’s an important result for us. A good performance in some moments of the game, but above all serious and professional. We came here with a good advantage, not as comfortable as the one we had, for example, when we went to Scotland to play Hearts, but still a good one. We had told the players it was important to start strongly and be strong in the first duels. We knew they would try to take the game in that direction, with lots of one-on-one battles. It was important for us to have a positive start and try to take control. Especially in the opening moments, even if it wasn’t possible to impose our game straight away — and we knew they would try to prevent that. In the end, we won deservedly, with good moments, good goals, and more chances to score even more. We ended up conceding from a fortunate ball. I clearly have to talk about bad luck here, because we practically gave the opponent nothing. We lost the ball in an area where we shouldn’t have lost it, but then it was a shot that took a deflection and the ball ended up looping over Samuel. It was lucky.

Gianluca Prestianni

As for Prestianni… he wasn’t the only one who had an outstanding individual performance. Thankfully, there were other players too. It’s clear that Bah is improving physically, and we’re seeing his individual quality and physical ability again. He’s a physical player, and it’s important for him to be at a good level to produce displays like tonight’s. Enzo is another good example: an excellent game, again in a slightly different position at times without the ball, and he managed to put in a very good performance within what we asked of him, both without the ball and with it. His growth also deserves to be highlighted. And without going any further, just so the focus isn’t only on Prestianni — I understand it, two more goals, and a second goal full of inspiration from a player who is enjoying a very good start to the season and is full of confidence. But besides being confident, he’s working well. He scored the first goal in a hostile environment for him, one he actually enjoys quite a bit, and he managed to stay emotionally balanced. He has to understand that, with his quality, opposition players are going to be aggressive, and he managed to keep that emotional balance, which is important at this stage. It’s good to feel that a 20-year-old has this ability and shows this ability to play the game simply and do what he does well, which is enjoy the game and use his individual qualities in service of the team.

Qualification

That was our objective. We started pre-season very early with some players absent and others who were not yet at the club. There’s no hiding the fact that we were favorites to reach the league phase, but one thing is being favorites and another is proving it afterward. Looking at our first game in Switzerland and looking at where we are now and how we’re playing now, there’s a difference. For us, that’s the most important thing. Not everything is fine, far from it. I told you yesterday that we are still a long way from where we need to be, but it’s important to understand that there is progress. It’s very important for us to see that an identity is being created. You just have to look at the first game against St. Gallen and look at us now: it’s completely different, and for us as a team that is very important. There was always the possibility of a banana skin to slip on, but the truth is we kept growing, we kept proving our quality and our superiority over our opponents. It makes me happy to see good games, good performances, and good goals.

Going into the Europa League to win it?

As for what Prestianni said, Benfica is a Champions League club, as you all know. You only have to look at the track record, you only have to look at the club’s history. The fact is that we are not there, and we have to approach the competition we are in in a positive and ambitious way. That is the most important thing. There’s no point talking about why we are or aren’t there, because this is the reality. It’s a reality that even created difficulties for us in terms of pre-season preparation because, despite not being where Benfica is used to being, we still had to play these six games to reach a league phase, which is not normal. So all these obstacles or stages we overcame to get there, we had to do them and show our superiority. I told you from the day of my presentation that we could talk about whether or not we were a team that, because of our stature, could compete in the Europa League until the very end, but first we had to get there. The first step was reaching the group stage, and now we have. Naturally, looking at the teams that are there, we are not the only big European side. It seems to me that this year’s Europa League is a bit stronger than last season’s. But naturally, because of our history and stature as a club, together with other clubs from major European leagues, we have to take responsibility in the competition and, game by game, try to go as far as possible. For us, going as far as possible means reaching the final game.

Midfield could give him headaches

Until the end of the transfer window, I can guarantee absolutely nothing. You know everything is very volatile, that anything can happen, and it’s impossible for me to guarantee something over which I don’t have total control. That’s the first thing. We were focused on the game. I understand that yesterday we presented a player, but the focus was entirely on our game and our duty. That is what I can fully control. Obviously, I am in contact with the Benfica structure and we are in daily contact so that everything we can do within our possibilities gets done. In a year when we don’t have Champions League football, that has a major impact on the club and on the finances too. The reality is that whatever we can do to be stronger, we will try to do. As for midfield and the headaches, they are the good kind, the kind any coach likes to have: competition for places. Players fighting to keep their place and others behind them trying to win it. We achieved something that was an objective. We are going to play every three days, with four-day gaps, with travel — because the Europa League often involves long trips. We have to have the ability to rotate players, not rotate for the sake of it, but because the level is similar and the team’s level is high in some positions, which allows us to do that. We have to be able to put out different starting elevens and maintain the quality. That, for me, is the most important thing. I understand that there is a lot of talk about Prestianni being very good on the left and Andreas too, but that’s part of it. Good teams and high-level teams have two players for every position. That’s what I’m used to, and it’s what Benfica needs to have as well, because competition for places makes players reach very high levels during the week.

Rafa Silva

It has been easy. Rafa has his own personality, and you all know him better than I do, even though I’ve known him for many years and faced him before. One thing is facing him, another is working with him. Rafa is happy, like the rest of the team. We were only sad for two days in these eight weeks: after the first Europa League game and after a game unfortunately played behind closed doors at the Estádio da Luz against Académico de Viseu. Other than that, I’ve felt Rafa working well, and I think that has been shown in the games. The way I once again saw Rafa making our defensive transition, winning the ball back, and covering when we lost a full-back or a midfielder, being the first player to react, makes me very happy. He knows it is almost an obligation for us to have every player able to do that. I think that when the attacking players set that example, we only get stronger as a team. You mentioned Rafa, but you can see it in every player: it has to be part of our team’s identity. Seeing him score, happy, enjoying himself on the pitch in a serious way, and pressing, is the most important thing. He has been working very well. And as an attacking player, it’s important to have numbers, to score goals, and he has been scoring and assisting.

Rafa Silva’s position

Because of the shortages we had during pre-season out wide — Lukebakio wasn’t with us, Andreas wasn’t there, Prestianni was suspended for the first games — we started using Rafa and preparing him for the first games out wide. He is a player who starts from the outside, but always ends up coming into inside spaces. He’s not always there because he also has to defend the flank, but he has started from there and then drifted into areas in the inside channels where he is strong. He has understood very well, tactically, what we want, and he is playing well. There is no need to change his position.

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