Benfica second in the league, Mourinho: as much a favourite as Sporting | OneFootball

he is not getting carried away just because Benfica are in second place in the league. At the press conference, where he previewed the match against Famalicão, the Special One warned that nothing is guaranteed and is not ruling Sporting out of the equation, who recently renewed coach Rui Borges’ contract.

"Benfica are just as much favorites as Sporting were favorites a couple of weeks ago", began the Portuguese coach, downplaying the Eagles’ presence in second place in the competition, since mathematically the standings are still not settled and the Lions may still have a say.

"The team that is ahead and depends on itself is always the team that has the advantage of not having to worry about the opponent", explained José Mourinho during the preview of the match against Famalicão, describing Benfica’s situation as they sit second in the table.

"Benfica have not suffered a single defeat so far, there were weeks and weeks in which we kept adding and adding points, and it was extra draining to see Sporting and Porto winning; they would not slip up and almost slipped up, but they did not, and we had to win again. It was a kind of extra strain that was not positive", added José Mourinho.

"But that focus only on our own result is the advantage you are talking about. But if you look at the three matches Sporting have and Benfica have, one plays the team in 4th place, the one in 5th place, and the one in 7th or 8th place. If we look at it from that angle, our schedule is harder for us than theirs is for them, but if we look at the numbers, we have the advantage because we only depend on ourselves", admitted the Special One.

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