Bayern Munich’s players insist they are happy to take just a 1-0 lead to Benfica for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final, claiming denying their opponents an away goal could prove crucial
Manuel Neuer
Munich: Bayern Munich's players insist they are happy to take just a 1-0 lead to Benfica for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final, claiming denying their opponents an away goal could prove crucial.
Manuel Neuer
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The Germans were unable to add to Arturo Vidal's second-minute goal at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday as the Portuguese side kept their hopes of making the last four alive.
The likes of Thomas Muller, Franck Ribery, Robert Lewandowski and Douglas Costa got little joy against the visiting defence, meaning there is work to do in a week's time.
Reds hot: Bayern Munich's Arturo Vidal (left) celebrates with teammate David Alaba after scoring against Benfica in the Champions League quarter-final first-leg encounter in Munich on Wednesday. Pic/AFP
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said on Bayern's official website: "Benfica kept it very tight, they have an extremely good back four.
"We had a few chances at the end. Unfortunately, we failed to make it two, but we can still be satisfied with the result because we've kept a clean sheet and that was the most important thing.
'Content with 1-0 win'
"Sometimes you have to be content with a 1-0 win. It'll be tight in Lisbon, but we want to make the semi-finals. That's our big target."
Full-back David Alaba added: "We wanted to concentrate on defending. Benfica launch long balls up to their strikers, but we dealt with it well and put in some good work defensively. The balance was okay.
"Lisbon stretched the game out so there was a lot of space between the lines. That's not so easy to deal with. We've kept a clean sheet and that was our target. Our aim was to win. It would definitely have been a lot more comfortable if we'd have scored a second or third goal."
Muller said: "Benfica are a good team. We created a few one-on-one situations in the first half, but they adapted to us better in the second half. "Our approach was good even though we didn't create that many clear-cut chances. We'd obviously have liked to score another goal.
"It's a good result at home. We didn't want to take too many risks. We'll need to produce another focused performance next week."
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