Sérgio Conceição believes the tie would have been the fair result in the classic against Benfica (1-0). The coach admits the team should have done more at Estádio da Luz, but assured the score won’t affect the confidence of the squad in the fight for the main objective: winning the second championship in a row.

Tie would have been the fair result
“It was an extremely competitive match, as expected. The teams, as they knew each other well, countered each other’s weapons. In the first-half, we had a balanced match and, in some situations, we could have made a different decision, as we should have dared more. In the second-half, Benfica went in strong, they were a little on top. In the final part of the match, after the red card, we got to the opposing goal with some danger. After their player was sent-off, which is part of the game, we created several situations to tie. I believe that would have been the fair result.”

Competitive team until the end
“We are the national champions, in full merit, after an extraordinary championship. We will fight to win the championship again. We don’t like to lose. Like I said before the match, this has a brief impact, as we are used to winning. We couldn’t win tonight, but it’s a long championship and we will be a very competitive team until the end. We know we could have done more tonight to get the three points.”

Second defeat in the championship
“I obviously don’t like it, but maybe this was our last defeat in the championship. I know my group well. Right now, we are disappointed that we didn’t get the result we wanted, but we will fight until the end. My players are serious in the work they do every day, and I am fully confident for the future. A final word to the referee: a difficult match, a difficult setting, my congratulations to him. It wasn’t because of the referee that we lost.”