27 September 2006, by Marco Pereira

Benfica 0-1 Manchester United – match reaction

Benfica coach, Fernando Santos:

“We played the first 45 minutes with great quality, we dominated all aspects of the game. At the break I told my players that they had to maintain the same attitude, discipline and continue to press.”

“Manchester managed to score on the counter-attack which forced us to chase the game against a big club. The players, at that point, played with their hearts instead of their heads.”

“The result is terribly unjust for Benfica because we played an excellent game. For 60 minutes the team showed that they know how to play and have the capacity to do brilliant things. It was the best I have seen from them this season.”

Benfica captain, Simao Sabrosa:

“Our first half was fantastic! We pressed really hard, we managed to recover a lot of balls. We forced their defence to hit the ball long to their forwards, which was what we intended.”

“In the second half we did not maintain the same level of play and were caught off-guard on the counter-attack. They played waiting for us to make a mistake. We played a good game, but were unlucky.”

“There are four games left and everything is wide open. We have the quality to get to the next phase.”

Cristiano Ronaldo:

“It was a completely different game from last season. We did not play well in the first half, we did not play our football. In the second half the team was much more calm and understood that we had to play in order to beat Benfica. Benfica played really well, but Manchester played better and ended with a just result.”

“I was expecting the whistles, but despite not liking it I’m used to it. When the opposition fans whistle, I play better.”

Manchester United coach, Sir Alex Ferguson:

“It was a difficult game, as we expected. In the first half we felt some difficulties, our game was not at its best and we did not manage to control the ball. In the second half, I thought we controlled the game.”

“It was also important for the players to show their ability to rise above the hostile atmosphere they played in.”


Benfica 0-1 Mancheser United - Match Report