Team changes, Schjelderup and captains: Marco Silva on Benfica-Hearts | OneFootball

He was at the press conference previewing Benfica's game this Thursday against Hearts at the Estádio da Luz, in the first leg of the Europa League third qualifying round, after getting past St. Gallen. Check out everything the Benfica coach said ahead of the European clash.

"Above all, in terms of ambition, we are approaching the game the way it should be approached. Wearing this shirt, we can only go in with a similar attitude, and it is to win. Given our history, that can only be our attitude... Aursnes and Ivanovic are out, as is Banjaqui."

Hearts' characteristics

"We have to respect the opponent because we are playing in European competitions. We cannot dismiss them. We are going to face opponents who generally rely on a more direct style of play, but we want to impose our own game. If we can build a good advantage for the second leg, even better."

The impact of the Estádio da Luz in the first game

"That is a particular factor in a two-legged tie. We will not have home advantage in the decisive game, but we do have it in the first one. We want it to have that impact right from the first game. We will have an approach against a different team, especially defensively, and our ambition is clearly to win the game. We know nothing will be decided, but the objective is to win tomorrow."

Changes to the starting eleven

"As for changes, one is certain because of António (Silva). The others will have to wait until tomorrow. The players who came back from the World Cup now have one more week of training than they had before St. Gallen. We had a full week to work, and we will not have that again until the international break, so it was important for those players."

Benfica's new captains

"Two of the five captains left the squad (Otamendi and António). Three are still with us, and in the coming days you will know my decision regarding the captains' group. I was waiting to have the group more complete. Three remain, and we will add one or two more to the group. Tomorrow, it is easy to do the math, Aursnes is unavailable..."

Schjelderup's role and who owns the goal

"Good questions, but ones I will not answer directly. Benfica made Andreas' renewal offer public, and that is legitimate because of the great end to the season he had, and I am not going to praise him too much. Everyone can see how much we use the flanks in our play, and that shows how fundamental he is. My objective is to get the best possible performance out of him. As for the goalkeeping position, that is not an issue."

Adaptations at center-back?

"I will answer the center-back question; not the second one, because you do not assess the market in mid-August. It is not always easy to keep the players we want, and I am speaking generally. As for the first, I understand the question because in the first game against St. Gallen we only had two fit center-backs, and in the second Tomás was already better prepared. We also have Índio, who is developing and will have his time to grow. We do not want to rush things, and we have to let him develop. Given the options we have, there is no point hiding that we may consider adapting players, as in Manu's case. When we lose an important player like António Silva, it is natural for us to look for a reinforcement, but we want someone who is not just for two games and who is the player we really want."

Knowledge of Hearts

"As I said, having been in the Premier League for so many years, I always followed the Scottish league and I watched the last game, when Hearts came close to becoming champions after so many years. Tomorrow we know we have to start strongly. They have a new coach and many changes, they are a team coming from the Champions League, and we have to respect them."

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