Luís Mateus criticises Mourinho's comments before Sporting v Benfica | OneFootball

The press conference of José Mourinho, held this Saturday ahead of the derby between Sporting and Benfica, in the 30th round of Liga Portugal Betclic, was marked by several statements, including when he compared his team’s points tally with that of previous years. For Luís Mateus, this reveals a lack of standards.

"When he compared Benfica’s record with last season’s, saying, more or less, that the Eagles were actually in line with their usual level, and it was the others who were above it. But the point of comparison should be the present, not the past, and, with the Eagles facing precisely the same opponents as their rivals, they delivered a far lower performance... And if Mourinho has lowered his standards, we would not be respecting him if we did the same", he began by writing in the newspaper 'A Bola'.

The journalist also highlighted the disarray at the club from Lisbon. "Sporting and Benfica failed, much more so Benfica, which is no surprise given the usual sight-navigation. Rui Borges still seems to have shown that he has room to grow and, for that reason, perhaps deserves another opportunity, although the possible loss of key figures could cause expectations to soar", it can be read.

Luís Mateus believes that José Mourinho will be blamed for the poor results, since Rui Costa appears to be an "unaccountable" figure. "If Mourinho leaves now, Benfica will pay far less than if the season were still ongoing. But, at the same time, if hiring a name of his stature is an electoral asset, firing him is the other side of the coin. If that happens, the spotlight will turn toward the president’s office. With no solution in sight, because working with this leadership is now only for those who have nothing to lose, the common denominator linking Schmidt, Lage and Mourinho stands out: Rui Costa. The unaccountable president", he concluded.

It is worth remembering that Camilo Lourenço, recently, . , expressed.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.