Benfica almost sealed the second consecutive ticket to the Champions League quarterfinals, the fans dream of more. For now, one achievement remains: the club had never had seven straight games without defeat in a season.
It was enough for everything. Roger Schmidt was still focused on the technical area with that face that is not a friend but is not exactly the one who is angry, but the players who were on the substitute bench were already interacting in a relaxed way, those who had entered continued with the rope until the final looking for more goals and the president Rui Costa, in the area of the box, was already very visible following the chants of the numerous red fans present in the Jan Breydelstadion. Benfica’s victory in Belgium against Bruges left the reds with a foot and a half in their second presence in the Champions League quarterfinals, but some are already beginning to think about the future in view of the team’s performance in the main European competition . The technician does not agree with this. Neither did Aurnes.
The walk of Super Mario and company through the canals of the Venice of the North (the chronicle of Club Bruges-Benfica)
The Norwegian midfielder started again, played the full 90 minutes and was once again considered the UEFA MVP of the match, with a detail that did not go unnoticed: while taking photos with the award, Aursnes never stopped pointing to the Benfica symbol, club to which he only arrived in summer from Feyenoord but with which he has created increasing empathy.
⭐ Our ??????????????????????????? ????????? ???????????? ?????????????????????? #BRUSLB #UCL pic.twitter.com/nOm6AXaxWC
— SL Benfica (@SLBenfica) February 15, 2023
“It was a very good result for us, a good first leg but we have one more game to go and we have to give it our all. What did the coach say at halftime? Club Brugge did very well in the first half, especially in the beginning. We have to be aggressive. I feel that we reacted well, perhaps after the first 25 minutes and also in the second part, “said the Scandinavian in the quick interview area of Eleven, before lowering the bar again to realism contrary to any more ambitious dream. “Can fans dream? We’re going to have one more game, we’re going game by game and we’ll see. Do you create the group? It goes game by game, we are going to give our best and then we will see what we have achieved”, the midfielder highlighted about the tie and the next phases.
????HISTORICAL!!! Benfica is undefeated for 7 consecutive games in an edition of the Champions League for the first time.
The eagles have 5 wins and 2 draws, 18 goals scored and 7 conceded. pic.twitter.com/4boS7RUjta
— Playmaker (@playmaker_PT) February 15, 2023
Roger Schmidt was also on the same page, praising the team’s performance but remaining cautious regarding the tie. “When you play the first leg of a tie away from home and win, it’s a very good first step. We are in the range, it is only 50%. We show that we believe in ourselves. At the beginning we had some difficulties, Club Brugge pressed a lot, there were moments in the box and we had to defend in the red zone but even there we showed quality. At the end of the first part, we controlled the game and we went ahead, we managed to create chances. We still could have scored in the first half. In the second we arrived well, we scored a penalty. It was very important to score the second goal, ”he said in the quick interview zone of Eleven after the game.
The eagles are unbeaten away from home in the ⭐️Champions since November 2021 (E 5-2 Bayern), they have not lost in 7 consecutive games.#Champions League #BRUSLB pic.twitter.com/s9EA8g5pyz
— Playmaker (@playmaker_PT) February 15, 2023
Subsequently, and given the possibility that Benfica would reach a European final again, the German was much more cautious. “It is a very long road. Step by step, we have to recover and focus on the next game. For now, the Champions League is on hold. In two weeks we will play in our stadium. We need another great performance in Luz. Then there is the Championship. Of course we want to be European champions, but we cannot win 14 games in a row. Therefore, we have to go step by step”, commented the German, putting the European focus only on the move to the Champions League quarterfinals.
????It has been 17 years since ????Benfica has not had 3 consecutive victories in the ⭐️Champions League.
The series ended in the quarterfinals of the millionaire competition against Barcelona in 2005/06.#Champions League #BRUSLB pic.twitter.com/FdqLDxdEQ5
— Playmaker (@playmaker_PT) February 15, 2023
The road may still be long, but the achievements of the reds in the Champions League continue, in this case at various levels: it was the first time that a Portuguese team had won the first leg of the round of 16 at home, it was the seventh consecutive game away from home in the Champions League without defeat and, in a historical record, It was the first time that they had gone seven straight games without losing in the millionaire league, adding five wins and two draws (with PSG). Parallel to these data, this was also the first time in the last 17 years that the reds had three consecutive victories in the competition.
????It is the first time in history that a Portuguese team wins in the first leg away from home in a match to be eliminated in the ⭐️Champions League by 0-2:
Club Brugge 0-2 Benfica#Champions League #BRUSLB pic.twitter.com/jpoyIs7OjW— Playmaker (@playmaker_PT) February 15, 2023
Source: Observadora
