Benfica boss Jesus Jorge has admitted that tomorrow’s clash with Spartak Moscow is a ‘must-win’ for his side.
Spartak won the corresponding fixture 2-1 on home territory leaving the Lisbon side with just one point from three matches.
Celtic are locked in a three way battle for second spot in Group G but Jorge admits that anything other than a home win will end Benfica’s qualification hopes.
“This is a decisive game,” the Benfica boss admitted. “We know that, after losing at home to Barcelona we need to get two wins but first we have to think about beating Spartak.
“We may still be dependent on others but there are nine points to be played for. Just now we have the same opportunity as Celtic and Spartak to reach the second place because everyone knows that the first is Barcelona.
“We can only think of a victory over Spartak, that is our only thought. We face a team that was winning 2-1 in the Camp Nou but on our own pitch we know that we can get the win we need.”
Spartak bounced bac from their 3-2 defeat by Celtic to beat Benfica and have struck a rich run of form domestically.
Despite beating Benfica at home Spartak boss Unai Emery believes that Celtic are favourites to go through with Barcelona.
“Celtic is currently the favorite for second place,” Emery claimed. “We need to take something from Benfica to move into a stronger position.
“We expect Benfica to be very strong, they know what’s at stake and still have a chance of going through.”
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the draw would suit us just fine ,then at least 3 points from our last 2 games should see us in the last 16
Best possibile results:
Draw between benfica and spartak, regardless of the barca games result – spartak on 4, benfica on 2
Barca beat spartak in lisbon, celtic take at least a point from lisbon – spartak on 4, benfi