Renato Sanches? Panathinaikos boss on the former Benfica man: We had... | OneFootball

Rafa Benítez commented on the physical problems that have plagued Renato Sanches. At the end of the match where Panathinaikos drew 1-1 against Roma, the Spanish coach explained why the former Benfica star started the game on the bench.

"I think the most important thing is to congratulate the whole team. We had additional problems, Touba had a fever, Renato had some issues, but he came on", began Rafael Benítez, speaking about the former number 85 of the Eagles, who hadn't played for three months.

"Young players came in and helped. I’m pleased with that and with our fans. I’m disappointed because, even though we were winning, we conceded a goal near the end," added the Spanish coach, who succeeded Rui Vitória as Panathinaikos manager.

"To do everything we did against such a good team like Roma, with all these problems... The players deserve congratulations," said the Spanish coach, showing great pride in the work his team did on the field against Roma.

"To be fair, I didn’t know exactly where we stood, because we had to focus only on our game and didn’t look at the standings. I wasn’t worried about that, not even after the end. We had already qualified, we’re going to face good teams. It doesn’t matter who it will be, because we can’t influence this draw. Whoever comes will be unlucky, because they’ll be drawn with us," concluded Rafael Benítez.

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