Benfica boss Lage expects more fireworks against Barcelona
LISBON, March 4 (Reuters) - Barcelona and Benfica produced one of the most electrifying games of the season with a nine-goal thriller in the first phase of the Champions League and the Portuguese side's manager Bruno Lage told fans to brace for more excitement on Wednesday.
He said Benfica, who lost 5-4 after a stoppage time Raphinha strike, will stay true to their identity of attacking football when they host Barca again in the first leg of their last-16 clash and expects the Spanish giants to do the same.
"I can't predict how many goals will be scored in the game, but I can predict a great game of football because they're two teams with an eye for attack," Lage told a press conference on Tuesday.
"I think it's going to be a tough match and we will go out for the win. Sure, tomorrow's result will be important, but the result of the second leg will be more decisive.
"We're going up against a great team who score a lot of goals but we're also looking at the positive things we've done against this opponent: the number of chances we've had, the number of times we've been in front of the goalkeeper... we believe we can get through this tie."
Benfica supporters want a different outcome to that late-January rip-roaring encounter at Lisbon's Estadio da Luz in which Barcelona fought back from two goals down to win.
Struggling with injuries to key players, Lage confirmed that attacking midfielder Angel Di Maria and midfielder Florentino miss Wednesday's game as they recover but sounded optimistic that winger Renato Sanches should be ready.
"The most important thing is for the team to function as a team, as a whole, regardless of who plays," Lage said.
"We will try to find the spaces our rivals offer us because they often do. We have to know how to take advantage of the spaces that Barcelona will give us, that should be the key."
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