LISBON (Reuters) – Benfica coach Bruno Lage told his players to put the disappointment of Wednesday’s surprise home defeat by Feyenoord in the Champions League behind them quickly and focus on improvement ahead of their upcoming matches.
“There’s no need to look back,” he said after the 3-1 loss ended the unbeaten start to his latest stint as coach of the Portuguese side.
Lage took over from German Roger Schmidt in September and had guided Benfica to six straight victories in all competitions, including wins over Red Star Belgrade and Atletico Madrid in their first two matches of the Champions League.
“It is in these moments (of adversity) that players and teams have to present the best version of themselves, and the most important thing is how we will respond in our next game,” said Lage looking ahead to Sunday’s league game against Rio Ave.
The former Wolverhampton Wanderers manager said his side had started positively on Wednesday and was surprised when they went behind after 12 minutes.
“The way we conceded the first goal was strange. It was a goal kick from us, but we lost the ball and suddenly they easily entered our penalty area,” he added.
Feyenoord added another to go 2-0 up at half-time but Benfica pulled a goal back in the 66th minute and then piled on the pressure.
“The crowd gave us a lot of energy, but then we had another loss of concentration and allowed them to make it 3-1 which ended the contest.
“The positive thing we take away is the attitude the team had in the second half,” Lage added.
Benfica travel to Bayern Munich on Nov. 6 in their next Champions League match.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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