Mourinho ruthless after Atlético v Benfica: I’d have made five changes... | OneFootball

José Mourinho revealed that he wanted to have used up all his substitutions at halftime during the Atlético - Benfica match. The Benfica coach saw his team win, 2-0, in a game that was only decided in the second half, and did not hold back from criticizing his players when he spoke to Sporttv’s microphones in the flash interview.

The Benfica coach began by being asked about another game he played at Restelo, more than 40 years ago: “I thought you were going to talk about a good memory. Jorge acted like Jorge, and we turned the result around. Today the situation wasn’t so dramatic.”

“We weren’t losing, nor in a dangerous situation, but it was too little for a first half from Benfica, even though we were playing against the wind here at Restelo. But the attitude was lacking,” José Mourinho later explained, criticizing the attitude of some Benfica players.

The Benfica coach continued: “At halftime I was calm but honest and said there were things I couldn’t accept, I only didn’t change five players at halftime because I didn’t want to be left without substitutions. But the changes changed the game, because of the seriousness with which the players came onto the pitch.”

“There are also players who left the club and never really understood, maybe that will happen to someone. The responsibility is mine. When I criticize players, I am criticizing myself because I’m not getting the best out of them, I am the first one to blame,” concluded José Mourinho, in a message that could leave the door open for some changes in the January transfer market.

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