Benfica Coach Roger Schmidt trusts they can overturn the 2-0 first leg deficit with Inter at San Siro and reach the Champions League semi-final. ‘It’s difficult, but not impossible.’
It kicks off at San Siro on Wednesday at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT).
As the away goals rule no longer applies, any win by a two-goal margin would see Benfica force the Nerazzurri to extra time.
The goals from Nicolò Barella and Romelu Lukaku seem to have put Inter with one foot in the next round, but Schmidt remains confident they can cause an upset.
“We need to score, which we’ve proved that we can do in important Champions League matches,” said the coach in his press conference.
“We had our chances last week too, but didn’t make the most of them. We need motivation, sharp minds and leave all emotions off the pitch. It is time to prove we belong here, otherwise we’ll be out of the Champions League.
“An early goal could change the whole tie, just as the one we almost got at the last second of the first leg. I’ve seen my team play at their best and there were big margins of improvement from the performance I saw last week.”
Before the defeat to Inter, Benfica had been unbeaten in the Champions League so far this season, managing six wins and two draws.
The only stalemates, 1-1 home and away, were against Paris Saint-Germain, as they beat Juventus 2-1 in Turin and 4-3 in Lisbon.
They also crushed Club Brugge 7-1 on aggregate in the Round of 16, so all this makes Schmidt hope that was just an aberration.
“I believe in my team and anything is possible in football, even if we are not starting from 50-50 odds. It’s not easy, but it is not impossible either.”
The Portuguese side also lost momentum domestically, as they remain top of the table despite back-to-back defeats against FC Porto and minnows Chaves.
“It is very strange to have lost three games in a row in all competition and totally unexpected, especially as we had lost only one before this run of results.
“The players did fantastic things all season and that means something. Even if Inter won 2-0, the statistics show it was a fairly balanced match and we had our chances too. It’s impossible to be too downbeat after a season like this.”