http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/SL-Benfica-c40542 – Europa League news
Fred Rutten, the PSV Eindhoven’s manager, has demanded a dominant performance from his troops in their upcoming Europa League clash against the SL Benfica. The first leg of the quarter-final is set to take place on Thursday, 7 April at Estadio da Luz.
Rutten insists that the home side’s defence is weak and his troops should look to take full advantage of it.
Rutten said, “Although Benfica are fully focused on the Europa League, we are still in the league and this, so our approach is to take one match at a time. Our goal is to win. We respect Benfica a lot, but we also know they respect us a lot.”
“Benfica are http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/The-Strongest-c40725 team we have faced until now. At home, they attack a lot and sometimes they forget the defence, which is why they concede so many. Individually the Benfica have strong players that can win matches. Like all teams they have their
weaknesses and we'll try to exploit them,” he concluded.
The Boeren have to re-gain their composure after their 0-2 defeat from the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Twente-c39233 Enschede last week at De Grolsch Veste. The loss dropped them to second place in the league table, two points behind the Tukkers. However, the Boeren would be thinking about
their triumph over the Eagles in the final of the European Champions Club final in 1987/88.
On the other hand, the Eagles are coming into this match on the back of a 1-2 loss from the Portuguese Liga leaders, the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Porto-c39186, in front of their home crowd. The Eagles morale would be rock-bottom when they restart their European campaign in the quarter-final
against the Eredivisie outfit. However, the Eagles are confident to claim victory in the first leg of the quarter-final in front of their home crowd.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jorge-c19120 Jesus, the Benfica’s manager, is optimistic for his side’s chances of progressing through to the semi-final of the competition, as his troops have performed superbly so far in the competition. The Eagles have lost just one of their last 12 European
encounters. The tactician admitted that the loss in the league would not hurt his troops in Europe, as they have already lost the race for the league title.
Rutten has to do without the services of his prolific attacking mid-fielder, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ola-Toivonen-c28363, who has not recovered from his hamstring strain. The Swedish international has performed brilliantly throughout the season and formed good partnership with Marcus
Berg on the field. It will be a great blow for the Eredivisie outfit.
The home side are the favourites to win this encounter. However, the Boeren have snatched some unbelievable victories earlier this season that makes this duel very interesting. If the Boeren managed to exploit the home side’s weak defence early in the game,
it will certainly make life difficult for the Eagles.
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