Mourinho: I've been calling a Porto stalwart before Benfica clash | OneFootball

The coach of Benfica, José Mourinho, previewed the classic match against Porto, offering praise to the opponent and emphasizing the difficulty of the encounter (in addition to having a starting player injured). The coach confessed that he occasionally speaks with Francesco Farioli on the phone.

“We have a tough game, against a team that is naturally difficult,” he said, further explaining that the opponent’s playing style is easily identifiable, although that does not make the challenge any simpler. “They are an easy team to analyze, and that’s actually a compliment—they play in a perceptible way. It’s very hard to play against them.”

José Mourinho added that, in some cases, more unpredictable teams can actually be easier to face on the pitch: “There are other teams that are more complicated to decipher because they change their playing principles from game to game. It’s easier to play against those teams.”

During the press conference, he was also asked about Francesco Farioli’s words, who praised Benfica and expressed admiration for the Portuguese coach. The Benfica manager revealed that he had already responded to the Italian’s message: “I’ve already thanked him, we didn’t talk on the phone but I sent a message.”

The Benfica skipper also explained that their relationship goes back several years: “We’ve known each other for quite a few years, we’ve exchanged a few courtesy calls. Who is our rival in the title race? I say it’s Porto because we play them tomorrow and they’re in first place, but I consider Porto and Sporting to be our rivals in the fight for the title.”

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