After the 0:5 over Chavez in the Portuguese league and the 3:4 over Juventus in the Champions League, Benfica Lisbon will arrive in Israel this Wednesday with a stated goal: to keep first place at home.
The one who will try to stand against her will be Barak Becher's Maccabi Haifa, who will host the Portuguese for a meeting in the group stage of the champions.
The Greens will have to get at least a point (provided that PSG beat Juventus in the corresponding meeting) in order to take the third place, which will guarantee the champion a place in the playoff meeting of the Europa League.
The one who is aware of the ambitions of the Israeli champion is Benfica coach Roger Schmidt, who met Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Conference League last season as the coach of PSV Eindhoven, and knows that the crowd at Semi Ofer will not make life easy for his team either.
Benfica celebrates against Juve, photo: Reuters
"I know how difficult it is to win every game," explained Schmidt, "that's why we must arrive as prepared as possible for the meeting in Israel. Especially when it comes to Haifa's home stadium. We must appear committed and focused. Any result will be possible on the field in Haifa."
Roger Schmidt.
Paying respect to the opponent, photo: Alan Shiver
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