Coaches agree Roberto was the difference
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
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Míchel and Jorge Jesus united in praising Olympiacos FC goalkeeper Roberto, who kept former side SL Benfica at bay as he helped earn three points and a dinner date.
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Míchel, Olympiacos coach
This was footballing justice. We were unlucky in Portugal a fortnight ago; tonight we were fortunate. It was a great night for us. Our keeper was great. He has real passion and I'm very happy for him, but all our players were great. I'm happy that we scored from a set piece too. We're in a good position now and in good shape. We have seven points and we must go on.
It's true we were not that good, we didn't have much possession. We're not used to defending like we did tonight. Our intention was to keep possession but we failed to do so. I'm delighted, though, because we have seven points – we've deserved it over the four matches. If anyone doubts how well we can play, I remind them of the match against PSG, where we lost but played very well. We need one more win to go through.
Tonight Roberto was more than a saint. You can say he avenged his spell at Benfica since he didn't enjoy the best of times there. Tonight he proved his worth and redeemed himself. I will invite him to my house this week for dinner.
Jorge Jesus, Benfica coach
I don't think this result is decisive. They have an advantage over us but there are more matches to play. Considering how we played, even a draw would have been a bad result for us. We produced a great display and I think Roberto's performance was the key. He denied us six goals and he showed the quality I always saw in him.
It is rare to get a game where a goalkeeper has this kind of influence. Olympiacos had next to no shots but still got a goal. Olympiacos won just two corners against us over two games. Tonight wasn't a fair result. We could have scored lots of goals. Roberto was decisive for Olympiacos. A former Benfica goalkeeper, Roberto is proof that Benfica produce great players.
I'm not pleased because we didn't win but we again demonstrated our quality in Europe. I was going to bring Lima on alongside Óscar Cardozo to find a way through their defence but then Cardozo picked up an injury – I'm not sure how serious it is.
