We took a step forward but nothing has been decided, says Benfica coach Jorge Jesus – Report
Benfica coach, Jorge Jesus, claims that although his side were able to win against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Switzerland-c3016 but the manager reiterates
that they have to play the Bebbi one more time and so their future is still unsecure.
Portuguese giants, Benfica, on Swiss League side, FC Basel, at St. Jakob-Park yesterday.
The visitors were lined up as favourites for the tie and they lived up to their billing, as they were able to boss around their opponents for ninety minutes.
With the likes of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Pablo-Aimar-c28938 and Nicolas Gaitan in their ranks, the Eagles controlled the tempo of the game from the start and never looked back.
The corner in the 1st minute was a sign of things to come, as shortly afterwards, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Xherdan-Shaqiri-c37074 tried his luck from a free-kick for the hosts.
A goal was on the cards and it duly arrived on 20 minutes, after Benfica managed to breakdown the stern Basel defence. Gaitan picked the ball up in his own half and began the passing move that would eventually lead to the goal.
The midfielder then exchanged a one-two with Aimar and played the ball to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Bruno-c8098 Cesar to steer home. The Brazilian made no mistake in breaking the deadlock and capped off a wonderful team effort with calmly taken strike.
After scoring, the away side continued to pile on the pressure but weren’t rewarded for their hard-work until the second period.
Following the breather, coach http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Oscar-c28720 Cardozo in to fray and the mercurial Paraguayan made no hesitation in making an quick impression on the game.
On 80 minutes, the forward found the back of the net after unleashing a low shot from a free-kick.
Although the FC Basel goalkeeper was at fault for this one, the wall can be criticized for failing to do their http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Job-c18684 and allowing Cardozo to score.
Controversy was also not far away as Jorge Jesus and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Emerson-c12442 were both sent-off in the closing stages of the match, but nonetheless the Lisbon outfit were able to secure three points on the night.
After the victory, the Benfica coach revealed that although his team were able to win, they were still not taking anything for granted as their future had not been decided yet.
"We took a step forward, but nothing has been decided. We still have to play with Basel again,” he said.
The tactician also reflected back on the match and said that his players were better in the first half, where they performed admirably.
"We started very strong, we controlled the game very well in the first 45 minutes, both with the ball and without it. We also did well on the counter-attack,” Jorge Jesus was quoted as saying.
Benfica now face Beira-Mar in the Primeira Liga on the 18th of October.
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