Sweet win, Trubin upset and Sudakov: Marco Silva on Casa Pia v Benfica | OneFootball

After the big win over Casa Pia (7-0) in Rio Maior, where Benfica secured their first Liga Portugal Betclic victory of the season in the second round, coach Marco Silva analyzed the match in a press conference. See everything the Benfica coach had to say.

A satisfying win

"A fully deserved and satisfying win because of the way we played. A very difficult pitch to play football on, and that is the first point. If we want to protect the teams, it would be good if we could give the players good pitches to play fast football on. That is the first point. A very important win, a good one, a response to the very poor result in the first round. Good moments, good goals, and it was the response we wanted. Congratulations to the players, and I also want to highlight the fans. Playing away but practically at home, as usual. A big difference from the first game to this one had to do with the fans, the full stadium, the unique support for us, and that pushes us forward. In terms of efficiency, I believe there were still a few goals left to score, but there were good goals, good finishing moments in a game that was fully under control. What leaves me most satisfied is that we did not concede any goals and did not allow any chances. The game was always under control, and keeping a clean sheet has a completely different feeling."

No easing off

"There is no reason for us to stop. Obviously, there will be moments when we win 1-0 and we will be just as happy as with this 7-0. Football is not always like this. Even before we played Académico Viseu, I told the players it would not always be like it was in the Europa League. Much more important than scoring a lot is not conceding, because over time that will make us win many more games. Then, if we score and are direct and efficient, that is another matter. But when we are winning, we do not like to slow down. If we prepare the team that way, it makes no sense to change anything. The players are mature enough to manage things. In the final minutes there was some management, we are playing every three days and we rotated five [players]. The idea was to rotate even more... We did not want to give up anything the game was giving us."

Response to a bad result

"No warning at all, we are not here to warn anyone. We have to be competent in our games and 'kill off' our games. That is what it is about. All our opponents are very strong and we respect them all, we have to be humble enough to understand that we got 3 points and won one game, nothing more. I understand that in football you go from disappointment to euphoria very quickly, but I am not going down that road. We won, 3 points, we responded the way we wanted to after a bad result, and it is as simple as that. We did not concede and that is important. Reactions? Maybe I will have to stay calm so people do not create more stories. In that Lukebakio play, there was no need to be offside, it is important to stay focused from start to finish. It is impossible to be upset when we are winning in such an emphatic way..."

Marco Silva does not send messages to his players

"Nothing of the sort. The last part of the question has nothing to do with the other thing. When we talk about ourselves, and when we try to strengthen the team, it has nothing to do with qualifying or not qualifying [for the Europa League]. The second leg is next Thursday in eight days' time, almost at the end of the transfer window. It makes no sense. As for the players, I do not send messages. At one moment or another I may speak to you honestly and openly - with some care, from what I have already understood, so as to play the game that is also played here - and I am sure the players do not pay attention to my press conferences, forget it. I would like them to listen, but I do not believe they do..."

Anatoliy Trubin

"Another story... Normally I have my back turned and do not see that, but I also do not have a history of seeing Trubin celebrating goals in goal. I am not going to compare. What would surprise me is if Trubin were not upset and sad. For me that is completely normal. What matters to me is that he shows up tomorrow, works, and works well, as he has done over the last 10/15 days. Upset, sad... If he is not playing, that is exactly how I want him. And there is only one way to show it, which is by working. And he has been doing that very well. But if I were in his place, I would not look very happy either. Did I speak to him? I am not going to tell you about the conversations I have with the players. Trubin already knows me and knows how things work."

A call for trust from the fans

"Our fans have to believe in us, that is fundamental. If we cannot make those who love the club believe, then there is no point in us being here. And all we control are our results, our performances, our attitude... Results always speak loudest, but so do the attitude and desire to win... The result is what matters most to them, but we have many obligations as professionals, such as the club we represent and our attitude on the pitch. The players know that. We have only earned 3 points. I am very satisfied that we did not concede and that the players enjoyed the way we play. Nothing more than that. If we are thinking we have done something extraordinary, nothing could be further from the truth. We will prepare for the next game, which will also be difficult, and we have the obligation to be true to ourselves."

Georgiy Sudakov

"Sudakov has been trying hard. At my presentation we spoke about the profile of some players, and the way I want Benfica to play makes it very important for us to have a third midfielder with very specific characteristics. I will not hide it, especially because I said it back then, that in our squad he is a very specific player for what I want. I understand that he still has not produced a standout performance, but he needs a goal, an assist... We have been giving him confidence. I believe, and I have told him, that he has to believe more than I do. He is giving everything, you can tell he is playing with too much tension. He works hard with and without the ball, the positions we have been giving him allow him to receive the ball in good areas, and then he has to bring his creativity. Rafa can also play there, but he is different, as is Prestianni. An assessment of Sudakov: he has been trying, we are giving him the tools and the path, and that is my objective."

Prestianni's versatility

"So far, we have taken advantage of it. He had an excellent pre-season. Humble, quiet, he had a two-match suspension and understood the moment. Very often, playing in the second half of pre-season games, he did plenty of extra work... And as soon as he was available, he played. I felt he had four or five very good weeks. On the left, on the right... The decision to start him on the left was what we felt was best. Against Hearts at home we wanted to have a player on the left staying very wide and we did not want that to be Rafa, because he is not a touchline player. You know what he did in that game and against Académico de Viseu too. If we play the way we have been playing, he can absolutely play on the left. Possibly, among our wingers, he is the most versatile player in terms of flanks. More centrally he will need more work to maintain certain positions, to understand pressing moments... But I am very pleased with him. It is impossible to say where he will play most often, especially because the competition is strong..."

Opponents will study Benfica

"We have been improving since the start of the season. I am not going to talk about anything from before I arrived. Of course the recent results against Casa Pia were not the best, and I also tried to motivate the players that way. I can say that we have been improving. After Hearts away, I said that the first away game had not gone well. We needed to show a different image. We cannot only be Benfica with 60,000 fans at the Luz, we have to be Benfica away as well. But clearly some players are still not in the best condition. The home games gave us confidence, apart from the bitter taste of the draw with Académico Viseu. But we had a huge attacking output, a fluid attacking game. Opponents will start blocking us in other ways and we have to find other paths. But the game is much more than that. We have to be competent in every moment and that is my objective: to show the players the way. But then we also have to defend, react after losing the ball... And that is what is really important. If it were only about going forward, maybe some of us would go out there and play too."

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