Benfica coach Roger Schmidt reminded this Wednesday that mistakes cannot be made in the qualifying matches in order to qualify for the Europa League, and added that “there is no point in thinking about the next rounds.”
At a press conference to face Toulouse in the round of 16 play-off, the manager played down the congestion of games in February, always focusing on the “next game”, and set Thursday’s goal to “win to have a good starting point for second game” in France.
“In the playoffs of this tournament, of course, we cannot make mistakes because we cannot correct them like in the group stage. Therefore, we must be ready. We are playing at home and we need a good result,” the German noted.
Asked whether Benfica’s goal at this stage of the season is to win the Europa League, Schmidt said that “regardless of the competition” his team “always tries to win every” match.
“We always give it our all and of course if we win and are in the final we can win the title, but there is no point in thinking about the next qualifications,” he commented.
The Reds host Toulouse on Thursday, a team that has done better in the Europa League than the French League this season, and the Reds coach acknowledged the “additional motivation” of their opponents for the competition, but recalled that “in Championship he also showed quality against very good opponents.”
“But especially in the group stage of the Europa League they were very consistent, they only lost one game. This shows that they have extra motivation for international competitions and that is what we will have to count on tomorrow.” [quinta-feira]”, he warned.
The coach also praised the qualities of his next opponent and midfielder João Neves, who remains in 14th place in the French First League.
“We know Toulouse have quality and we will try to nullify them and exploit their weaknesses. Although they are not performing very well in the French League, they are a competent opponent. These are different competitions, we never know what can happen.” and we will do our best,” the 19-year-old assured.
Benfica host Toulouse on Thursday in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 qualifying play-off, which kicks off at 20:00 at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon and will be decided by Lithuanian Donatas Rumsas.
The Roger Schmidt-coached side were relegated to the Europa League after finishing third in Champions League Group D behind Real Sociedad and Inter Milan, while Toulouse were second in Group E of the second European competition, straight away losing to Liverpool.
In their domestic leagues, Benfica leads the Portuguese First League with 52 points, the same as Sporting but one game more than the Lions, while Toulouse is 14th in the French league, one a point above the waterline and with only four points more than last.