Carlos Carvalhal buoyed by pre Rangers respite as Braga boss gets Europa League confidence surge

Confident Carlos Carvalhal reckons the international break has come at the perfect time for Braga to recharge their energy levels ahead of their Europa League showdown with Rangers.

They remain fourth spot in their league after a 2-1 win against former Hearts manager Paulo Sergio's side, Portimonense.

And the former Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea City boss is pleased his squad will get a chance to reset before their next two games - against Benfica and Rangers.

He said: "We don't have a huge squad. We have a lot of young players who are not used to playing two games a week for a long time.

"That's how young players get better though. This break will help us to recover our energy and we have a whole week on how to work on certain aspects.

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"We scored two goals here, but should have scored a third and we were put under pressure when they scored.

"In the league, we have not done as well as we would have liked, but we have progressed a lot in the Europa League. We are on the right path."

Sergio, who led Hearts to Scottish Cup glory ten years ago, praised Braga.

He said: "We faced a very good team, Braga are very experienced and well-organised and they are having a wonderful season.

"But we gifted them two goals from two child-like mistakes. And it was not easy to break down Braga after that."