Tiago Pinto admits he prayed not to draw Benfica in Europa League | OneFootball

Tiago Pinto, Bournemouth’s sporting director, reacted to the Europa League draw, a competition the English club is taking part in for the first time. The former Benfica official did not hide that he would rather avoid a reunion with the Eagles, one of the teams also competing in the tournament.

"I didn’t want to play against Benfica. For obvious reasons, it wouldn’t be ideal for my family to be against me [laughs]. Torreense could be interesting, they are living the dream and so are we, we are similar clubs in that respect. Maybe in the knockout stage," he said in an interview with Canal 11.

Bournemouth will face Milan at home, Real Sociedad away, Plzen at home, Sparta Prague away, Sturm Graz at home, Celta Vigo away, Hapoel Beersheva at home, and Lillestrom away. Benfica, meanwhile, will have AZ Alkmaar, Celtic, Lech Poznan and OFI Crete at the Luz, while away from home they will face Milan, Viktoria Plzen, Omonia and NEC.

Regarding António Silva’s arrival at Bournemouth, he highlighted the defender’s quick adaptation, having started in the very first match, and assured that the Portugal international is happy with the move.

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