Bernardo Alegra on Benfica’s poor form: lacking confidence | OneFootball

After the one-all draw against Rio Ave in the Liga Portugal Betclic, Benfica is experiencing a delicate moment in the season, having lost four points in the last two National Championship games played at Estádio da Luz. In this Glorioso 1904 Exclusive, the Newspaper Director, Bernardo Alegra, linked the team's poor form to a lack of confidence, without forgetting the Eagles' market and the reinforcements signed by Rui Costa in the summer.

"It seems to me that the team's main problem today is mental. The players lack confidence, are uneasy, and are struggling to cope with the enormous pressure they are under at such an early stage of the season, with a series of games ahead that are much more challenging than the last three from which we took two points. On one hand, if there is someone who can turn the players' mindset around, it is Mourinho. On the other hand, we are in a phase of games every three days where the coach will have very little time to work with the team in his style. At this stage, the essential thing is to start winning games, even if it's by half a goal. With confidence and time, better performances will come," began Bernardo Alegra.

Next, Bernardo Alegra showed caution regarding the investment made during the recent transfer window: "Benfica indeed made a very strong investment in the market. It seems to me still too early to assess whether the investment will have a sporting return (the only one that matters to Benfica fans) especially since the current context does not favor the necessary adaptation and a new and demanding reality."

Regarding the new signings, the Director of Glorioso 1904 praised two players in particular, while also pointing to another signing whose performance has been lower: "From what we've seen so far, Dedic and Lukebakio seem to be the ones who will most easily justify the investment. On the opposite end, we have Ríos who, despite the advantage of not being at the start of the season, seems to have already lost the fans' favor. The coming months will tell us more precisely whether they are indeed reinforcements."

Finally, Bernardo Alegra placed his hopes in Sudakov and Lukebakio regarding the creative options in José Mourinho's squad: "Sudakov and Lukebakio are two artists in a team of accountants. Lage and Benfica's management opted to let go of the creative core of the last two seasons (Di Maria, Kokçu, Carreras) replacing them with more physical and combative players. The focus was left on these two players who have yet to show much, but from the little we've seen, they are a true Oasis in a desert of creativity that is Benfica's eleven. I fear the team may end up relying too much on them, which will make life easier for our opponents, especially those who have already caused us discomfort with very low blocks."

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