Rangers spark 'emotional chaos' at Benfica as Europa League foes eviscerated in astonishing 'dark crisis' rant

Benfica have been slammed in a blistering rant ahead of their second leg with Rangers on Thursday.

The Eagles have never lost at home in the Europa League and that remained the case when meeting Philippe Clement's side in the round of 16 first leg. But a 2-2 draw - in which the Light Blues had the lead twice - was met with furious whistles from disgruntled home fans.

They headed into the match after brutal losses to rivals Sporting and Porto, with boss Roger Schmidt coming under intense pressure. Experienced Portuguese columnist and sports author Vitor Sepa has gone after Benfica in a scathing rant, and Rangers have exposed a brutal truth.

He wrote in his A Bola column: "A little lucidity, please. Benfica is experiencing emotional chaos. When the team plays, and even when it shows a true desire to do more and better, as happened in the game against Rangers, one can notice the lack of joy in playing ball.

"When that happens everything goes wrong and the solutions for getting out of the crisis , or as Otamendi said in his most popular and frank expression, the way out of “this s***** situation”, they hide behind nonsense and noise.

"It is true that someone has to tell Roger Schmidt very clearly that he will only count towards the solution if he stops, every day, contributing to increasing the size of the problem. It is not with a virtual superiority that distances it from the common fan, much less with the failed attempt to recognize a reality that no one sees, that it is possible to make the idea that a light can already be seen at the end of the dark crisis of the tunnel triumph.

"Let's be clear. For now, what can be seen is that this common fan, who bothers and discomforts Schmidt, does not believe that there is a solution with the German coach continuing. Rui Costa will also have no doubt that this is what the majority of Benfica fans feel, but he is the president and his responsibility is of a much more complex nature and should not allow making decisions that are more emotional than rational.

"It is acceptable and expected that at the current time of the season a club like Benfica does not behave, even in times of deep crisis, like an old neighborhood club, which still tries to resolve everything with whiplash.

"Because Benfica's problem is not just the coach's confusion. It's much more than that, and the club's administration must start by carrying out an important self-criticism and understand how it was possible to spend so much money and have so few results, especially in the haphazard choice of reinforcements who have only shown themselves to be great at reinforcing the substitutes bench."

Schmidt said to A Bola ahead of Sunday's game against Estoril: "This is not about me, what matters is Benfica. What I saw and felt in the stadium was that they appreciated the way the team played and reacted, and it was very important for us.

"It's important to have support every game, especially at our stadium. If they are not satisfied, of course we have to live with criticism, and there is always criticism at Benfica, it is normal. We can only influence the environment, the atmosphere by playing good football. That's my focus, and the other things aren't important. The team reacted very well, and I’m satisfied."