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Benfica’s much-criticised coach Roger Schmidt ignored a banner made by supporters of his own club and found it not easy to quit as he rested three of his key men ahead of their clash in Scotland against Rangers.
Rangers host the Lisbon giants in the second leg of the Europa League round of 16, with the match delicately balanced after a thrilling 2-2 first leg in Portugal. But even though Benfica returned to winning ways, after defeats to Sporting and Porto and the draw against Ibrox, with a 3-1 victory over Estoril, their fans made it clear that they even warned that they had to leave.
They held up a homemade banner in German that translated to “Thank you and goodbye. “Schmidt was able to rest key players Ange Di Maria, Joao Neves and Rafa and admitted it was win or fail for them on Thursday in Glasgow. “To be honest, I didn’t notice the banner. I probably wouldn’t comment on what I don’t observe. ” In our situation, just a win against Rangers will be enough. We need to do well in all competitions and, in fact, we need to triumph in the quarter-finals.
“When we look at the last few weeks and the last few games, Joao Neves, Rafa and Angel Di Maria were players who left everything on the pitch and showed wonderful intensity. They are decisive players for us, but we have other smart players on the pitch. bench that they have come in and done a smart job of replacing them.
“We want other players to be smart, that’s another reason. I also think it’s vital to show that we have various characteristics and other players who know how to win games. We’ve shown concentration and I’m satisfied. “