Mourinho on derby loss and Ríos: Benfica v Alverca preview | OneFootball

launched the match against Alverca at Estádio da Luz. On the afternoon of this Saturday, February 7, the coach of Benfica answered journalists' questions about the duel against the Ribatejanos and still had time to give his opinion on the result he wants to see in the Clássico. Check out everything the Special One said.

What kind of Alverca do you expect in this game? "I expect Alverca to be like all the teams that come to Estádio da Luz. Playing not to lose, well organized, making things difficult for a team that wants to win. It’s a team that has the tranquility of points and plays with quality. After the last result, only a win matters and it’s the only result that can get us excited about Monday’s clássico. Without a win here, the clássico doesn’t matter to us. As for the state of the pitch, I think if there’s a field where you can play, it’s Estádio da Luz."

Title race. And Lukebakio, will he play? "Lukebakio won’t play tomorrow, but maybe he’ll come in on Friday and next week it’s a yes. He’s doing well. Now it’s a matter of training and gaining confidence. If you want to laugh, you can, but the other day when we scored the third against Amadora, my colleagues celebrated and I didn’t. I’m pragmatic. When I was fighting for championships, I used to say that only when it’s mathematically settled do I relax, and as long as it’s mathematically possible, I believe."

About Rafa: "Here, everyone is motivated to train. It has always been my intention to create motivating training sessions and he is also motivated like everyone else. He’s already played two games and as time goes by he’ll get more minutes in his legs and tomorrow he’ll play."

Clássico: "My job is to win tomorrow. Our focus, and also the fans’, has to be to beat Alverca. All of us, motivated, pushing the stadium, it’s essential to win. If you ask me what I’d prefer in the clássico, without looking at club names, it would be better if the first-placed team lost."

Ivanovic’s situation: "My mission as Benfica’s coach is to win games. And since I arrived, no one has ever told me to pay attention to the devaluation of our assets. The focus is to win games. Then, as a manager of men, of course I also think about the players’ ambitions, especially since there’s a World Cup. Iva hasn’t played much, but he hasn’t missed a single call-up. Against Napoli, as I thought it made sense, I left Pavlidis out and put him in to play. Then in the league, against teams with a low block, it makes sense to use other players like Anísio, who plays well in tight spaces."

Physical condition of Dedic and the situation of the younger players: "Dedic is not well. We can’t say he’s injured, but he needs to be managed very carefully. He’s a player who has no alternative for some games, like against Real Madrid, but we managed him with Tondela. As for the kids, someone always needs to put them in there and give them that first step. We analyze in detail individually: fatigue, playing time... José Neto has already played for the first team, for the B team, in the Youth League. These kids need to be managed. Just this week we did a study on these kids because they need to be managed very carefully. About contracts, a few weeks ago Benfica was criticized for not offering them professional contracts, but Benfica didn’t do it because it can’t, because they’re not 18 yet. The important thing is that Benfica has control over the situation and the kids want to stay here."

Do you miss Ríos? "I miss everyone. It’s one thing to have Prestianni and Schjelderup, another to have those, Lukebakio, Bruma, just to give the example of the wingers. I always prefer to have everyone. About Ríos, he’s a unique player, but we’ve played very well with the players we’ve used. I’m happy... I’m just not happy with the draw at Tondela. When is Ríos coming back? I wouldn’t be surprised if Ríos is back for the second game against Real Madrid. For the first leg it seems premature to me."

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