Rotation, Europa League and Classico: Marco Silva after Milan - Benfica | OneFootball

Benfica got off to the best possible start in the Europa League and secured a 2-0 win over Milan at San Siro. Even with a heavily rotated side, Marco Silva got the better of Ruben Amorim and earned three important points for the Eagles in their European opener. The Benfica coach spoke about the match at the press conference.

Squad rotation

"It didn’t end up being the perfect night because perfection is very hard to achieve in football and in life, but it was a very good night. I knew I was taking a lot of risks by changing nine players because, regardless of the competition, that many changes bring risks, but in terms of motivation, in a game of this magnitude they are a little smaller. The players’ motivation in these games is at its peak and there is much more tactical work to do. The players were brilliant, they were extraordinary, in a slightly different setup and with only two days of work between games, even if it wasn’t a perfect night. The early goal helped us and gave us calm. Winning against Milan is not easy. Benfica are a huge club, just as Milan are, but Benfica had never managed to beat them in official matches and we spoke about that with the players before coming to the stadium".

Are Benfica contenders to win the Europa League?

"I’m not going to go down that road. I said in my presentation that if Benfica were in the Europa League league phase, given the size of the club, they needed to show up with great ambition. And we have that ambition. But there are other huge clubs here as well. We played six matches to get here and it makes no sense to be afraid of facing an opponent like the one we faced today. It won’t always be like this, I’m warning you now, but we will always play to win, go as far as possible and reach the final game".

Doubts over the next starting XIs

"I’ve had some doubts. I haven’t shown that in the starting XI, but I have had some, and that’s a good sign. We’ve repeated the lineup a lot, but the players have given me some doubts and I believe that in one or two months I’ll have even more because the players will be at a different physical level. Which is good for me. In the way I see football, a club with ambitions in four competitions cannot have only 14 or 15 players. Sometimes players don’t understand that so well, but we also have to give them the confidence that we believe in them. And tonight they were given that confidence. It’s not easy to make changes like this, but they responded very well".

Tomás Araújo starting and Lenglet on the bench

"It’s very simple: Lenglet has played many more games than Tomás, he started the season right at the beginning, and he has practically only rested for one match. Tomás’s age is also different from Lenglet’s, and all those factors carried weight in our decision. But here we also built much more with a back four than a back three. This type of game is much more suited to Kaminski, for example, than those in which opponents sit in a very low block. The tactical work he did clearly shows the characteristics he has. And we have to manage everything".

No room for euphoria

"We started the Europa League league phase very well, with a historic win that leaves us pleased to have achieved it, but that’s all. It’s three points, but there is no euphoria at all. I know the group I have, they need confidence, but they are humble enough to understand that we had a good start, with a very good win, but we don’t even have time to celebrate anything. Especially because on Sunday we have another very important game to close this first cycle of the season, which has been very demanding, but with an excellent response from the players. I said after the game against Gil Vicente that we would have many battles ahead of us and we will continue to have them, even after winning this game".

What did Ruben Amorim say at the end of the match?

"Ruben and I have a very good relationship. He knows that whenever it’s not against me, I’ll be rooting for him. And naturally he will do the same. There is a great deal of respect between us. What we said stays between us, but it was nothing extraordinary".

The impact of coaching Benfica

"Benfica are a giant historic club. For me, that’s nothing new. It’s the first time I’ve coached Benfica, but as a Portuguese man I know what it means to hold this position at a club like Benfica. Personally, nothing has changed in terms of the impact it has on me. I may look younger, but I have the experience and maturity to know what it means to be the coach of this Club".

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