Mourinho on prepping Benfica for the derby: Sporting's flaws are... | OneFootball

José Mourinho explained that it was difficult for Benfica to take advantage of Sporting's weaknesses. The Benfica coach saw his team draw with Sporting at Estádio da Luz, in a match for the 13th round of Liga Portugal Betclic, and at the end of the game, he spoke to BTV microphones in the usual flash interview.

"Honestly, talking about Sporting's weaknesses is difficult, but we tried to explore some situations we interpreted as possible and they showed us a lot of respect," José Mourinho began, also explaining that the lions protected themselves against Benfica's strengths.

The Benfica coach then highlighted the right flank of Sporting, made up of Ivan Fresneda and Geny Catamo, who went head-to-head with Sudakov, one of Benfica's standout players, who ended up scoring the goal that earned the draw for the Eagles.

"Fresneda always tracked Sudakov's movements and Geny at times played as a fifth defender. At certain moments, it looked like the Sporting from years ago, playing with a back five," José Mourinho added, recalling the tactic used by Ruben Amorim when he managed the lions.

It is worth remembering that Benfica hosted and drew with Sporting, one-all, in the Lisbon derby for the 13th round of Liga Portugal Betclic. The lions started on top, with a goal from Pedro Gonçalves, but the Eagles responded through Sudakov, and dominated practically the entire second half of the match.

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