José Mourinho lays down the law to players ahead of Benfica v Gil Vicente | OneFootball

José Mourinho was not at all pleased with the goal conceded by Benfica against Rio Ave. With the Eagles ahead on the scoreboard, the Vila do Conde side scored through an offensive transition in the final minutes, something the Benfica coach does not want to see repeated.

At the end of the match, José Mourinho addressed Rio Ave’s goal at Estádio da Luz: “From a Benfica coach’s perspective, you cannot concede that goal in the 90th minute, after 45 minutes of such quality, in such a tremendous match. You can concede a goal at that moment, but in a different way—not when the ball carrier, Enzo or Ríos, if I’m not mistaken, has six players ahead of the ball. Having only three is naïve. It’s naïve, it shows a lack of overall experience and little understanding of the game.”

As such, in the training sessions preparing for Benfica vs. Gil Vicente, this was one of the main points José Mourinho addressed with the players. The squad understood the coach’s message not as a scolding, but as a warning about an aspect that needs to be corrected.

In this regard, one of the names at the center of the storm is Richard Ríos. Despite José Mourinho’s defense of the player in the pre-match press conference, the heavy investment in the Colombian international is generating some impatience among the fans, who expect more from the former Palmeiras player.

After the 1-1 draw between Benfica and Rio Ave, the team led by José Mourinho will be back on the pitch next Friday at 8:15 p.m. at Estádio da Luz, hosting César Peixoto’s Gil Vicente. The match is part of the seventh round of the Liga Portugal Betclic and the Eagles are focused solely on victory.

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