This week, Benfica will play Philippe Clement’s Rangers in the Europa League round of 16, and the Portuguese media is casting doubt on their chances of making it to the quarterfinals.
The Eagles are still in the running for both the league and cup titles, so they are far from having a terrible season. However, their humiliating 5-0 loss to Porto over the weekend has severely damaged the team’s confidence.
Gaspar Ramos, the former director of Benfica, has a little “prophecy” on the matchup with Rangers. In an interview with Bola Branca of Radio Renascença, he asserts that the Eagles will struggle to muster fan support for a comeback if the Scottish team scores first.
This was a humiliating game. They had to issue an apology to the entire football community as well as the Benfica supporters for such a depressing game.Unfortunately, it can generate a tense environment in the stands and clearly doesn’t assist the outcome if we concede first (against Rangers).
On Thursday, Benfica and Rangers will play the first leg of their round-of-16 match at Estádio da Luz. A week later, the final match will take place at Ibrox.
It appears that the Scottish team may take advantage of the uncertainty at Benfica and the favorable atmosphere in Lisbon, despite the fact that they were never considered the clear favorites for the match.
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