Magic duo and key star: all Marco Silva said after Benfica win | OneFootball

After the big win over Moreirense (4-0) in Moreira de Cónegos, where he secured yet another Liga Portugal Betclic victory with Benfica, now having played the same number of matches as all the other teams and sitting just two points behind Porto, coach Marco Silva analysed the match in a press conference.

Schjelderup and Prestianni

“It was a fair win. We were very sharp in the first half and, even without managing to score, we kept our intensity and identity very much present. I’m happy with the way the team reacted, pressed, and with the quality of football we produced. We were very dangerous on the left. At first, there were some doubts down the right flank, but then Banjaqui also grew into the game. The connections later on with Barreiro, with Prestianni and with Rafa also improved. In the first half, we lacked a little in exploiting the inside game more, we lacked using Pavlidis a bit more at certain moments, because the solution for us was there to use from the start. We were a bit short on that, but we have other ways of getting there. I’m pleased. It was only a matter of time before Schjelderup was out there on the pitch, a matter of him gaining more fitness and more confidence. The signs he gave me in the last game when he came on in Madeira were very strong and nothing surprised me. I was only waiting for that kind of performance from him, and today I deliberately left him on for a few extra minutes because he needs to gain more fitness to be able to play the way we want, both with the ball and without it. It was a great performance, together with Prestianni as well. Naturally, the substitutions were to manage things, both Pavlidis’ and Prestianni’s, and at the same time to bring on players who need minutes on the pitch. After the second and third goals, the team naturally dropped the intensity a little, because we’ve been playing a lot of games every three days.”

Nervousness?

“No, I actually liked the first half much more than the second. You call me nervous... I’m living the game and trying to help my players. I don’t see that as nervousness, I’m involved in the match. If I can help, if I can give feedback... If I look at both halves, overall it was very good. I’m very pleased with the first half. In the last two away games, we had scored early, which gave us... not calm, because my team can never be calm at any point, but it gave us confidence to go for the second goal earlier. We’re not always going to score early. Using this game as an example, we created chances right from the start, but we didn’t take them. It’s important that the team keeps playing the same way, with our identity clearly present, and keeps looking for other ways to create scoring chances. But I didn’t feel worked up. It’s the way I live the game, simply that. Trying, perhaps, at some moments, not to calm down, but not to be so exuberant. It’s not the first time I’ve been asked that, so maybe it’s more my fault.”

Sixth straight win

“The most important thing was the win and the three points, in a game we had in hand, and it was our choice to play it at this time. We didn’t have many other options either, but it was our choice not to play Moreirense in between the two play-off matches. That possibility existed and we chose to do it this way, knowing that we would have to push a little more at this stage, but also at a time when we already have more players in physical condition, more options to rotate, more players to manage things if we feel it’s necessary, and a squad that is a bit more familiar with the way we want to play. But it was crucial for us, after the good performances and good results, in the game we had in hand, to win again. Yes, I’m very pleased that we didn’t concede, it was a very solid display. Apart from a free-kick, a long ball in behind us... Moreirense had that dangerous moment there, and I can hardly remember anything else. It’s a sign that we played a good attacking game, but we were solid defensively — we allowed the opponent virtually nothing. And it’s important, even when winning 2-0, 3-0, 4-0, not to lose focus, not to have a moment of inattention, losing one or two passes in the last ten minutes that the players know I’m not happy with. It’s about keeping the focus until the end. But I’m very pleased. I told them: congratulations, but it’s only three points. My intention is for them to rest, because on Sunday we have another battle ahead of us.”

Daniel Banjaqui

“Banjaqui is in our squad because we believe in him. That’s the reality. Last year, there were three right-backs including him. We sold a full-back who had a great season, who was the starter, and we decided to keep Bah and Banjaqui and have three left-backs. Two of the five full-backs are two 18-year-olds in whom we, Benfica, believe and, step by step, we have to keep giving them confidence. At first, he was a little nervous, with some passes and even without pressure you could see that he felt there were some doubts there, some indecision in his decision-making, but then he grew into it. The team also helped him with that and that makes me happy. The support from the crowd on that more attacking right side, in one or two moments when he misplaced a pass, was also important for a young player. And this is what makes me happy: this connection between the players on the pitch and also between the fans and the team, because together we’ll be stronger.”

Prestianni’s growth

“I have no doubt whatsoever about what Prestianni is and what he will be in the future. The very first moment I had him available to play, you saw the performance he put in, playing on the left. He has played much more on the left, but in other games he has already played on the right, and in others in the same position he started in today. He is a player who can play all three positions behind the striker, and very well. He can play as an inside player on the right, but he is stronger on the left, with the movements he makes from that space into the middle. Very pleased. The intensity with which he plays is the intensity with which he trains, and that then shows during the game. He is a player with great confidence, because he also works hard. I’ll say it again: the great moment he is enjoying has a lot to do with pre-season and with the way he prepared himself knowing that he wasn’t going to play the first two matches, and how from day one he wanted to show his quality. Quietly, understanding that he wasn’t going to play those two games, but always working hard. It’s an excellent foundation, still very young, only 20 years old, but full of talent, full of quality. It’s up to us to keep guiding him in the best way we can, to give him paths so that he plays the way he has been playing and enjoys his football. He’s also a player who likes to come and work hard, as he knows must be a hallmark of our team. Very pleased for him. It was 60 minutes, but it could have been more; he felt something in the warm-up, so we took some precautions. He had already done most of the job, and it was the moment to manage him a little because he has been playing all the time. But I’m very pleased with him and with other players as well, I don’t like to single people out.”

Efficiency

“We kept creating. I don’t know exactly how many clear chances we had in the first half and the second, but we started creating chances very early. We had two good opportunities in the first half, even from set-piece situations. In the first half we clearly deserved to be leading the game already by a clear margin. It was clearly a first half of a very high level, with the opponent defending very deep; we forced the opponent to defend very deep, often with a back five and a line of four almost on top of their own box. Even so, we were still able to create scoring chances, which is a very good sign and makes me very pleased. The movement was very good down our left flank. On our right flank too, although there were some doubts and uncertainty in the first 15 or 20 minutes, but then we grew into it. There wasn’t much space inside, so it was the moment to stretch Moreirense’s defensive line as much as we could with certain movements. They were playing with the centre-back practically marking Prestianni from behind and we wanted to pull him out of there. It was important for him to drop into a deeper area to turn, or at least to pull one more player out of that line of five. That’s what we did. We prepared well, the players understood it well, and then managed to express our football and our organisation, both with and without the ball. That makes me very pleased. The movement was good, and I don’t want to talk only about the left side, because it’s also important to talk about the other flank, because we want the opponent to worry about both flanks and the central channel. Today it wasn’t so easy to get through the middle, Moreirense had a lot of bodies inside, but at some moments we managed to draw them in and then go wide, and that is one of the ways we have of getting there.”

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