FC Bayern booked a berth in the Chanpions League last sixteen with a 5-1 victory over Benfica on Tuesday night. "A 5-1 victory is convincing. It's what we need," said two-goal Arjen Robben. "The team rewarded themselves for the work they put in," a pleased Niko Kovac added.
Reaction to Bayern v Benfica
Niko Kovac: "Everything worked out for us today. We finally extended a lead, we were very focused - except for the first minute after half-time - and defended well. We bypassed the midfield quickly. It was a decent display. The team showed they can do it, and they rewarded themselves for the work they put in."
Hasan Salihamidzic: "We played well today. That's how we want to go on. The match spoke for itself, the team took responsibility, playing for the coach, the team and the club. We can be proud of that."
Arjen Robben: "My goals were important for the team, but it's nice to score goals. We wanted to stand up and turn in a good display, also for the crowd. Big teams do that. They get up again. We did just that. We're in a difficult phase. We put into practice what we'd planned, the pace was good, we were solid and compact and staged lots of attacks. Of course we'd have liked to keep a clean sheet, especially for Manu. But a 5-1 victory is convincing. It's what we need. I was pleased for Niko. He's deserved it. He works his butt off. We work together every day. We have a good relationship."
Rui Vitória (Benfica coach): "We weren't quite on top of our game today, we didn't play well. We failed to put our strategy into practice. We should have been well-organised in defence and aggressive in winning the ball before exploding forward. We failed at that. It was also because of Bayern, they were dominant and stifled our moves. They're one of Europe's biggest teams. We have to analyse the match, but Bayern won deservedly."
Topics of this article