What Carlos Carvalhal had to say after a vital win over Rangers

Following Braga’s 1-0 victory over Rangers, Carlos Carvalhal represented an optimistic and ambitious figure - but one that also remained cautious about Braga’s chances, revealing the tie remains a “50-50” battle.

Speaking after the hard-fought contest, the former Swansea and Sheffield Wednesday manager said: “This victory is worth a small advantage at the moment. We are going to Glasgow to try and win the game. For now we are only at half time.”

“We are not going to play defensively [in the second leg]. We are going there with the desire to win the game. We played well in the first half; we scored, hit the post, had a disallowed goal, and we could have scored a second against a team that I think had no shots on target.”

Carvalhal was also keen to praise his youthful side, stating: “Our team was very intelligent, they knew how to choose the moment to press and fight when the opponent had the ball despite being the youngest team in the competition. They showed great tactical maturity.”

“As I said, we are going to Glasgow on Thursday to try and win the game. I give 50% chance to each team. I was going to say 51-49 because of their fans there, but because of our goal, it’s still 50-50.”

The second leg will take place next Thursday at Ibrox. Braga first need to take on Vizela on Sunday.

Carlos Carvalhal at Besiktas. Photo author: Ilya Khokhlov. License link.