Porto stalwart unimpressed with Mourinho after Benfica draw: “He came not to lose” | OneFootball

Francesco Farioli believes that José Mourinho played not to lose at the Dragon Stadium. Despite the Italian coach's constant praise for the Benfica coach, he did not refrain from criticizing the posture of the Benfica team during the classic match with Porto, which ended in a nil-nil draw.

"Personally, I am very happy. The game was tactical and it was very clear that one team came here not to lose and we tried everything to win. These are games where you can be punished if you expose yourself too much. The level of maturity in the team's game was fantastic. I know how to be critical, but today we played like a great team. I am very happy", he began.

When asked about José Mourinho's approach, the Italian praised the coach: "A mark of the quality of a great coach, who is capable of convincing top players to sacrifice themselves. I think we played our game, we had good moments in the first half, others in the second half. And allowing only one shot against a team of Benfica's level Benfica is something to highlight".

"We tried to put players in to give offensive capacity, but with balance. As I said, if you cross a certain line you will be punished, because of the quality of their players, their speed, their physicality. It's a Champions team!", he admitted.

To conclude, Farioli regretted the draw: "I think it's a good result. We deserved more, but in this type of games you can lose. A set piece, football is strange, the ball can go in on a deflection... We can be happy, but we tried everything to win. I am very satisfied. For different reasons. Looking at where we were and where we are now, a lot has been done in this group in the last 3 months".

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