Gerrard says ‘what gets the juices flowing’ before Rangers clash v Benfica
Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has explained that the prospect of playing against Benfica’s ‘superstars’ has got ‘the juices flowing’ before Thursdays Europe League game.
The Gers travel to Benfica with both sides winning their opening two group games and Gerrard has been speaking about the prospect of taking on the Portuguese giants.
In his pre-match press conference, the Gers boss also said that Benfica’s unbeaten home record is ‘there to be broken’.
Gerrard said, “I think records are there to be broken. I think that goes to show the size of the task tomorrow. Benfica are littered with fantastic players. International players. Brazilians, Germans, Portuguese, Belgian internationals.
“They are littered with superstars who are worth a hell of a lot of money. But that just gets the juices flowing even more and it makes you want to get a positive result even more”.
The Gers boss made similar comments before his side took on Galatasaray in the final qualifying game before the group stage and Rangers managed a hard-fought win against the Turkish outfit, Gers fans will be hoping for a similar outcome on Thursday.
Benfica’s unbeaten start to the season was ended at the weekend as Primeira Liga relegation candidates Boavista defeated the Portuguese giants 3-0, knocking them off the top of the table after they had won their opening five league games.
Rangers will take confidence from this result and they will hope that they can compile more misery on Jorge Jesus’ team as they look to take a huge step towards qualifying for the knockout rounds of the Europa League.
Benfica could present the trickiest game that Gerrard’s side have faced so far this season and they will need to be at their best to overcome a strong side that as Gerrard says, has plenty of ‘superstars’.
In other Rangers news, Kevin Thomson has compared Gerrard to a Gers legend.