Mourinho backs Bruno Lage before Vitória v Benfica: he was right | OneFootball

José Mourinho agreed with Bruno Lage about Leandro Barreiro’s offensive abilities. In the preview of the Vitória de Guimarães – Benfica match, the coach of the Eagles praised the midfielder and warned about the difficulty of the clash in Minho, despite the poor form of the historic Portuguese club.

“Bruno Lage once, perhaps defending himself from some of your comments, said that Leandro Barreiro is not a defensive midfielder. He was right, he’s a player who, when given freedom, can play as a number 10. When Richard came on, he started playing more offensively,” said José Mourinho, who also commented on the arrival of potential reinforcements.

“The players who need to be woken up to the reality of playing in Guimarães are those who arrived this season. I have knowledge of what my home league is like. Those are the ones who need to be woken up, the others know it’s tough,” warned José Mourinho about Benfica’s next clash.

Throughout its history, Benfica has played away at Vitória de Guimarães 90 times. The Eagles have won 51, drawn 20, and lost 19. In the last match in Minho, on April 19, 2025, the Eagles triumphed 3-0, with goals from Vangelis Pavlidis (21’ and 83’) and Álvaro Carreras (77’).

Vitória de Guimarães – Benfica is scheduled for next Saturday at 8:30 pm at Estádio D. Afonso Henriques. The match is part of the 10th round of the Liga Portugal Betclic and José Mourinho’s team is obliged to win to keep chasing Porto and Sporting, who are in first and second place, respectively.

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