Refereeing, Porto's aggression, Benfica's tactics: Marco Silva | OneFootball

After the frustrating defeat against Porto (3-1) at the Estádio do Dragão, which saw the gap to the leaders of the Liga Portugal Betclic widen, Benfica coach Marco Silva analysed the match in a press conference. See everything the manager said.

The difference in the clássico

“We made an excellent start in the first 20 to 25 minutes, in line with our plan and our identity. In the end, we lost the game through our own fault. We were the ones who lost it, beyond the things that happened on the pitch, and we have to take responsibility for that. We dropped three important points. Unfortunately for us, there is now a break and all the narratives around this will emerge. We have to come back stronger. I want to thank our fans for their unconditional support from yesterday and today right through to the end of the game. Unfortunately, we didn’t give them what they deserved, but we are here to keep growing".

Lenglet’s red card

“As for the sending-off, I’m not going to make any comment. If the club has to say something about the match, then it should say it. I don’t know if I’ll be able to carry on like this until the end of the season. I come from a different culture. Here, unfortunately, referees can be influenced before matches, after matches and during the week, in every possible way, and sometimes it works. I’m not going down that road. That’s not for me to answer. He spoke about strange things, so you can get into that conversation with him. As for the sending-off, what I want is for my players to be more mature and to be capable of keeping their emotional balance, whether there are provocations or not".

Benfica’s immaturity?

“I was speaking in general terms, I don’t want to go through every moment with you. We conceded the first goal from a situation that was completely avoidable on our part, something that it is my job to work on with my players. But you mentioned the second goal, and I understand why. We started well, even with ten men. I told the players that it was crucial not to concede in the second half, regardless of the fact we were behind, because I knew we were going to score. When I say we have to grow, it is in this respect: being mature, understanding where we want to go and the paths to get there. We conceded very quickly after scoring, when we should have neutralised Porto’s reaction".

Porto’s aggression

“I’m not the one who has to manage the opponent’s aggression. There are four referees out there, plus two more on VAR, to deal with that. It’s not for me to judge whether it goes beyond the limits or not".

Tactical ideas for the match

“Our intention in the first half was clear: we started in our usual 4-4-2 and used clearly defined pressing triggers to disrupt Porto’s first phase of build-up. We pressed well, were aggressive and won the ball back many times in high areas, cancelling out their inside game until midway through the first half. With ten players, it became harder to sustain that high press. The team dropped deeper and lost some cohesion in midfield when tracking the opponent’s runs in behind. We tried to correct it midway through the second half, but conceding two goals right after our equaliser affected the team. We lacked better decision-making on the ball to manage the tempo of the game, and more cohesion in defending with the back four against Porto’s attacking presence".

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