THE Benfica wants to show “identity” and “fight for points until the end” of the meeting with Arsenal, in the third round of the league phase of the women’s Champions League, coach Ivan Baptista said today.
After, in 2025/26, failing to qualify for the play-off, scoring just two points in six games, the five-time national champion now has three in two games, given the triumph over Juventus (2-1) and the defeat against Bayern Munich (3-0), however, the “line of reasoning” is “thinking game by game”.
“More than thinking about specific objectives – I said this at the beginning of this league phase –, it is thinking game by game. It was through this line of reasoning that we currently have three points. It was through this line of reasoning that we discussed a game against a candidate for the Champions League title, such as Bayern (Munich), until the final minutes of the game”, began by saying the ‘red’ coach, quoted by the club’s media.
And it is with “that same spirit” that Benfica will face the English side, according to Ivan Baptista, who spoke of the need for the team to assume itself as “protagonist”, show “identity” and fight “for the points until the end of the match”.
The 35-year-old coach also added that the ‘eagles’ must present “a very strong squad” to have “a say” against the 2024/25 European champions.
“Above all, I think that if the team tomorrow (Wednesday) wants to have a say, it has to have a very strong collective. If we are very focused on that, on being a very strong collective, a collective that will work towards just one objective, then I think yes, we will have a say”, he defended.
Benfica, which occupies 10th place, with three points, visits Arsenal, fifth, with four, on Wednesday, in a match on the third round of the league stage of the Women’s Champions League, scheduled to start at 8pm, at Meadow Park, in Borehamwood, and refereed by Ivana Projkovska, from North Macedonia.
After facing off against the English side, the ‘eagles’ will face Austria Vienna (November 11, home), Roma (November 19, home) and Koge (December 16, away).
The top four teams in the league phase qualify directly for the quarter-finals, while the teams that finish between fifth and 12th place compete in the play-off to access that phase of the competition.
