José Mourinho hopes to match Gonçalo Feio's feat at Chelsea - Benfica | OneFootball

Benfica has already traveled to London, on the eve of the clash against Chelsea, counting for the 2nd round of the Champions League. With both teams seeking their first win in the prestigious competition, José Mourinho is looking to repeat the feat of Gonçalo Feio, the last Portuguese coach to beat the Londoners at Stamford Bridge, who once again recalled the victory with Legia Warsaw, his former club.

"We traveled to England—a day before the game, as usual—disheartened, because we were aware that, facing an opponent of that stature and after the 0-3 in the first leg in Poland, it was impossible to fight for the tie," the coach revealed in an interview with the newspaper Record.

Next, Gonçalo Feio reveals the secret behind the 2-1 victory at Chelsea's ground in April this year, in the quarter-finals of the Conference League: "We adapted our way of pressing the opponent, with a higher block, which gave us more transitions and allowed us to progress more with the ball through the central corridor. In fact, our first goal, although it was from a penalty, resulted from a quick move through the central corridor."

Regarding the Chelsea team that Benfica will face, Gonçalo Feio considers it similar to the one he faced while in charge of Legia: "Coach Maresca has given them a very clear identity. It's evident that some players like João Pedro or Estêvão have come in and proven important, but in terms of playing identity, Chelsea remains very similar. The defensive approach is very much the same. Some players have left, but there are also important players who arrived in the summer."

Gonçalo Feio also offered a list of what he considers essential points if Benfica wants to leave Stamford Bridge with all three points: "Not letting Chelsea settle is very important. Disrupting them as they build out from the back will be fundamental, because when they can't settle in the opposition's half, they don't feel very comfortable in the game. They go very much man-to-man and leave their marking spaces and gaps behind. It's a team that relies heavily on the physical ability of its players and doesn't worry much about coverage or zonal marking."

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