Wfter three victories after as many rounds (over AC Milan, 0-2, Celtic, 4-1, and Omonia, 1-4) and the respective leadership of the league stage of the Europa League (with the same nine points as Bayer Leverkusen, Bournemouth, Ferencváros and Olympiacos), Benfica is now looking for more, against Lech Poznan.
However, the Polish team promises to face defeat, in the match scheduled for 8pm (Mainland Portugal time) on Thursday, at Estádio da Luz. The guarantee was given, this Wednesday, to the newspaper O Jogo, by Joel Pereira, a player trained at FC Porto who has been part of the squad since 2021.
“We have only seen a few details. By Thursday, we will have to know the plan exactly. Of course we have to adapt to Benfica, the environment and quality are different, but, if we change, it will go wrong. We are an offensive team, which likes to have the ball and attack, but with the necessary distances from the Polish League and from Benfica”, he stated.
“We have weapons to cause a surprise, 99% of Benfica fans don’t know the Polish reality and the players we have. I hope they get to know some of them”, he added, before saying he has no doubt that the opposing coach, Marco Silva, is aware that anything can happen.
“I also believe that Benfica will make changes, if they had the courage to do so against AC Milan, in Italy, they will also have that courage against us. I told our coach that they will change 50% of the players, and it’s not because they change that they will become weaker, on the contrary. It could be bad for us, because those who come in want to show their service”, he reflected.
“Of course, winning against Benfica, and in Luz, at the moment they are, is not for every team, in Portugal and in Europe. We know that the odds are small, but football is beautiful because of that, because of the surprises that sometimes happen”, he added.
“Of course, favoritism is on Benfica’s side”
Despite his ambitious speech, the 30-year-old right-back said he had his feet firmly on the ground: “Of course, favoritism is on Benfica’s side, they’re a better team and they play at home. If it were at our house, I’d say it would be more balanced. We’re going to win, obviously, because we need the points.”
“They are at a higher level than us, especially this year. You can see that it is a team with more confidence, well worked by Marco Silva, with individual players standing out, (Gianluca) Prestianni is bursting in whatever position he plays in, (Fredrik) Aursnes is the brain, (João) Palhinha is the balance, (Vangelis) Pavlidis is a fantastic striker…”, he listed.
“The confidence is different from recent years, and of course victories help (…). Offensively, they are of a high level. But the objective is to find the weaknesses they have, like all teams. Attacking with so many players, they will have to leave space somewhere, and that is what we will have to know how to take advantage of, at the right moments”, he concluded.
