This weekend, the LFP pulled out all the stops to protect the three French teams still involved in the European Cup. PSG, Olympique de Marseille and Lille were in fact excused from the match, just to have a full week of rest to attack their quarter-final second legs of C1, C3 and C4 as best as possible. Abroad, the opponents of our representatives have not been idle, but that has not stopped some from finding a way to avoid approaching this week’s matches with their tongues out. This is the case for Benfica. The SLB hosted Moreirense yesterday as part of the 29th day of Liga Betclic.
The rest after this ad
A match for which the Aguias coach, Roger Schmidt, made no less than 8 changes compared to the eleven lined up during the quarter-final first leg against OM (2-1). A rather logical bet given the upcoming deadline, but risky for a coach who saw his team leave under the whistles of his stadium despite the victory against OM. A scene that surprised the German, as well as several stars of the team like Ángel Di María. But no matter, Schmidt has decided. Samuel Soares replaced Turbin in goal, Carreras, Morato and Araujo were lined up in defense, in place of Otamendi, Antonio Silva and Aursnes. In the middle, João Mario took the place of Florentino Luis, while the much criticized Kokçu, Tiago Gouveia and Arthur Cabral took the place of Di Maria, Rafa Silva and Tengstedt. A desire to preserve the usual holders which paid off for Roger Schmidt.
Read OM: the beautiful gesture of Pablo Longoria and Jul in memory of a deceased supporter
The decisive replacements
Benfica won 3-0 against Moreinrense, the Lisbon club came back four points behind Sporting CP (which has a game in hand) and its replacements proved that they were hungry in this season’s money time. This is particularly the case for Tiago Gouveia and Orkun Kokçu, both of whom performed well yesterday. The first city put the gas on its left wing. “I’m always there to help the team, whether it’s playing 5, 10 minutes or even if I don’t play. Sometimes it’s complicated, everyone wants to play, but I’m always there to answer when it’s my turn. I continue to play whenever possible. Whenever I have minutes and opportunities, I always try to give my best and help the team. This doesn’t always go well, but today it went well again. I am happy with that, but even more so with the victory”he told BenficaTV.
The rest after this ad
The second, Kokçu, was a scorer and created many chances with mid-range shots. A breath of fresh air for the Turk, often taken aback by the public at the Estadio da Luz in recent weeks, while the €25 million invested for his visit last summer is still struggling to be profitable. “I am very happy with Kokçu. It hasn’t been easy for him these last few weeks. I spoke with him, he came back with a different mentality. This is football, we have to have options. At the moment we have João Neves and Florentino in the middle and Rafa as a second striker, it’s not easy to be a starter. But he has the potential, he’s training for it.”, welcomed Schmidt after the match. Enough to join the starting lineup which will be lined up at the Orange Vélodrome? The future will tell us, but one thing is certain: Benfica arrives in France refreshed.
Pub. 04/15/2024 4:00 p.m. Updated 04/15/2024 4:08 p.m.