Joel hails 'intelligent' Benfica

Having put in a performance that earned him a Man of the Match Award by Seat and propelled SL Benfica to an 8-4 UEFA Futsal Cup semi-final triumph against Luparense C/5, Joel Queirós said a studious approach helped the hosts see off their Italian counterparts.

The Eagles were nearly always at least one step ahead of their Serie A1 rivals at a raucous Pavilhão Atlántico and with Joel in top form – scoring twice and providing two assists in an 8-4 victory – Sito Rivera's side were always playing catch up. "We played an excellent match; really quite intelligent," the 27-year-old told UEFA.com.

"We studied Luparense very well and we caused them to make mistakes which we profited from. We scored twice in the early stages and then we looked to control that advantage. Then, when we struck twice again in the second half we knew it caused them to suffer," he continued.

Enjoying a healthy second-half lead, André Lima's charges sat back, allowing their opponents to enjoy their best moment of the game. "At that stage, they were slightly unlucky as they hit the woodwork three times," Joel explained. "Not long after that we hit our sixth which killed off the game as a contest. It was a very physical game which was something we had to overcome."

A repeat of Benfica's two-legged 2004 final defeat against Interviú Madrid now awaits the hosts who – according to Joel – can expect a passionate atmosphere when they take to the pitch in the Portuguese capital. "On Sunday, with the arena packed full of Benfica supporters, we must play well and begin the game intensely," he said. "We know Interviú very well and we should try to work hard in defence while looking to profit from any errors they make."

Prior to that encounter, Sito Rivera's Luparense will take on Araz Naxçivan in the third-place match and the Spanish-born coach was making no excuses for his team not having reached the final. "We have to congratulate Benfica who were much better than us," Rivera said. "We made too many mistakes at the back and they were able to take advantage at key moments. We've never committed so many errors to be honest; we must have lost possession more than 50 times and that's a sure way to lose."