Roger Schmidt Says Swapping Striker for Defender at Bess Was ‘The Right Thing’

The Benfica coach said this Friday that replacing striker Di Maria with defender Morato in the League I football match against Boavista was the “right decision”, despite the fact that the “incarnate” suffered a 3-2 defeat.

At the press conference for the second round against Estrela da Amador, Roger Schmidt “returned” to the Bessa stadium and admitted that “Angel [Di María] was unhappy” with the substitution early in the second half, but recalled that he had never seen a player who was satisfied with “substituting at such times” and returned to defend his decision.

“We were winning 1-0, we were in control, they were going to bet on set pieces and long passes. So to have another central defender on the field who plays very well in the air was a good decision, or I am convinced of it,” insisted the German coach at the Benfica campus in Seixal.

Schmidt, on the other hand, did not exonerate goalkeeper Vlachimos of conceding three goals, suggesting “it wasn’t his best day”, but recalled that Boavista “had three chances and scored them all”, for which he defended himself. that responsibility lies with the entire team.

“It wasn’t just him. [Vlachodimos]. In general, our defense in these three situations could be better. Those were missed goals. It was a matter for the whole team, but obviously the goalkeeper is always the last person to prevent goals and he could have done better.”

However, when asked if now would be the right time to launch goalkeeper Anatoly Trubin, as well as striker Artur Cabral, who joined the team last week, the coach answered evasively.

“I always think about it to find the right moment to use them, it’s not too early and not too late. The best integration is to play, but on the other hand, I also want them to have a great start at Benfica. “, he concluded.

David Jurasek will likely miss the game with an ankle ligament injury and will be sidelined for “three or four weeks”, a period that Schmidt described as “good news”.

“We hope he comes back after the rebounding break ready to play again. This is the first good news. After the game, we thought it would be worse because it was a very hard foul, like many others in that game. lucky, only injury,” the coach said.

Benfica hosts Estrela da Amadora on Saturday in the second round match of the Football League 1, due to start at 20:30 at the Estádio da Luz stadium in Lisbon, under the refereeing of Gustavo Correia of the Porto Football Association.

The team led by Roger Schmidt will try to win their first championship since losing 3-2 to Boavista in the first round, days after winning the Super Cup against FC Porto.