Mourinho on Aursnes’ injury and Lukebakio after Gil Vicente v Benfica | OneFootball

made an appearance at the press conference, where he answered questions from journalists present in Barcelos. At the end of the victory against Gil Vicente (2-1), the Benfica coach commented on João Gonçalves' refereeing, but also provided an update on Fredrik Aursnes' injury. Check out everything the Special One said.

Aursnes' injury

"These things, 48 hours and we'll know better. It's known that he's been dragging this problem for several weeks. We've almost always found conditions for him to play, but for him to be substituted right at the beginning of the second half when he hadn't felt anything in the first half makes me think it might be something bigger than it has been so far. The game was good and to be good it needs three good teams and I think there were three good teams on the field. What happens in the first minute of the game should be analyzed in the same way as if it were in the 20th, 30th, 40th, or 60th minute. In the first minute, there's a very clear yellow card. The yellow card to Otamendi didn't sit well with me, but I think the referee had a good game because he let the game flow. Both teams play well, are competitive, have quick transitions, and I think the referee collaborated well with the style of play of both teams. I have a clear feeling, seeing it quickly, the situation that preceded the corner that led to our goal. Seeing it quickly, it seems to me a very clear penalty, much clearer than the one called on António Silva against Casa Pia, for example. But that's a VAR thing, not a referee thing. On the field, the game is at 200 km/h and he let it flow and play. A very important victory for us, against a team that is currently in 5th, that was in 4th and fights for 4th, which values our victory in a tough game".

Prestianni's substitution

"A matter of game analysis, neither 'feeling' nor hunch, it wasn't a magic wand. Gianluca wasn't bad, but he wasn't Gianluca in the true sense of the word. Andreas was creating a lot of difficulties for the full-back on that side and I wanted to put Lukebakio, who feels much more comfortable on the right than on the left, so we opted to take Prestianni out. Then, Schjelderup gets a yellow card and we were in the lead at that moment. Gil was making substitutions to move forward, we, as a team at that moment quite offensive and many people tired, so I put Bah to close the right flank where they are very strong, whether with the full-back or the winger, and at that moment Lukebakio moves to the left, a position where he doesn't feel very comfortable. But the game demanded that balance from us".

Could the creation of greater danger for Benfica come from the wings?

"There is a trend, in some European countries, of man-to-man defense, which two decades ago started to become completely outdated, Benfica and Gil are among the best teams that defend zonally. Gil defends very well and we tried to open up a lot with Dedic, with Gianluca going inside and taking Konan with him and then creating difficulties for the winger, who is an offensive winger, who had to come back with Dedic but was often late. In the first half, we started to create from there strategically, but then we started to unbalance on the left side, where Dahl has two positions to score or assist because on that side we started to go with two-three players. Pavlidis also did an extraordinary job, and that's why I say they are good attackers when they score goals, but then there are also good attackers who don't score goals. I think Pavlidis did a fantastic job looking for the defenders' backs. Teams like Gil, who play well zonally, we also have to make them run backward. What I didn't like about the game was the way we didn't manage the beginning of the second half. Gil reacts, we have the substitution, then there's an accumulation of throw-ins and corners that we have to manage with more maturity, including Trubin's attempt at a quick restart. In a situation like that, it shouldn't be done, because the team was in a difficult moment, the first we had in the game, and we have to manage it differently. I don't want to say with more intelligence, but with less innocence".

Lukebakio

"It's a week of work that we haven't had, but it's a good week of work. Tomorrow we don't train, but we have Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Saturday is Saturday, the day before the game, but we have three good days to work and that will certainly help him improve his condition".

What distinguishes Schjelderup from the first half of the season to now?

"I think he's better today than a few months ago. One thing that is important for the player is for the player to feel that the coach likes him. It's something important at the level of self-esteem and self-confidence. He knows that I really like this Schjelderup and that I didn't like the Schjelderup I came to find. What changed? A lot of things changed. From a defensive point of view, he now has an important notion of how to defend zonally. I think he defends well. Not being an aggressive player, which he isn't, not being a defensive player, which he isn't, but he became a player with good tactical concepts and knows how to interpret them well. Then, on the opposite side, we have wingers and full-backs who go deep. Now, on the left side, another player who has been doing well, when he started playing, Dahl was still a player with limited offensive participation. And having him, the only player we had playing open on the left side, the fluency of the game, I think he feels important. And the fact that he feels that the coach likes him, I think it's important for him and that it improved his self-esteem".

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