After FC Porto, the Champions League again puts the Portuguese side on the road to Club Brugge, this time Benfica, in the round of 16.
“Above all, I wanted to avoid Manchester City,” said Simon Mignolet in his first reaction to the draw. “After that, Benfica is a good opponent. We have a feeling that we have a chance despite being a team that has not lost this season. We knew that any opponent would be difficult, but we enter this draw with a positive mentality”, he adds.
But the veteran Belgian goalkeeper attributes the advantage to Benfica: “We play at home first, and if we can not concede goals at home, the first leg will be either complete or nothing. Benfica is the favorite, I think we have a chance of 20, 25 per cent, But this data in and of itself is not important. Let’s analyze, to prepare ourselves for the idea of getting through this tie.”
“After Porto, we will face a better team than Portugal because Benfica is in first place. It’s a great team, with a very good coach. I think Benfica is a little bit higher than FC Porto. It will be a very difficult match against a team from a league similar to ours and that will be important as well. We are excited to face Benfica, it will be the first time that the two teams meet each other”, he concludes.
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