Benfica stalwart on Schjelderup: he's in fine form | OneFootball

Andreas Schjelderup once again made the difference for Benfica. After scoring against Nacional, the Nordic winger was the one who paved the way for the Eagles’ victory in the derby against Sporting (2-1). At the end of the match, José Mourinho had glowing praise for the performance of the number 21.

"The penalty taker would always be Pavlidis, with absolutely no doubt at all. For a penalty with Pavlidis on the bench, we had two players... one of them was Andreas. According to the feeling," José Mourinho began by saying at the press conference when he was asked about the decision regarding the penalty taker.

"He is in a good moment, a moment of great self-confidence. Obviously, I’m counting on him for next season. Coaches always want to count on the best players, the ones who have improved the most," highlighted the Special One, revealing that he is very pleased with the Norwegian’s development.

"In these seven months, the players who have improved the most are the ones who become my priority. We knew this was a game that could be decided in the madness of the final minutes, for either side. They could have won. When Benfica usually come to Alvalade, leaving with a draw is acceptable," added José Mourinho.

"Today it wasn’t like that. We knew the game could be settled in that late chaos. Having these three forwards on the bench... even when Sporting were on top, you could feel that Benfica could score. And that stops the opponent from being truly offensive," José Mourinho concluded at the press conference.

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