Javi Garcia Confident Benfica Will Eliminate Braga To Reach Europa League Final

Benfica midfielder Javi Garcia was quite pleased with his side’s 2-1 Europa League semifinal win over Braga on Thursday evening and is confident that the Lisbon giants can progress to the final.

Despite Braga having picked up the prized away goal, the Spaniard is happy enough that his side will head for the return leg with a lead.

“They have the advantage of an away goal, so the game there is going to be difficult. But the victory is the most important thing, because we could have easily drawn. It’s always important to win since this was our home game,” said Javi Garcia to uefa.com.

“After Braga scored, we came back and showed that we believe we can reach the final. We’re a lot more mature than last year. We know how to cope with pressure.”

The Spanish midfielder admitted that Benfica has struggled away against Braga in its last few encounters, but added that next week’s game will be completely different.

“We haven’t won away against Braga the last few times, but this is going to be completely different. In a European competition, having won at home, we know how to play in the away game.”

The second-leg takes place on May 5 at 21:05 CET.