Mourinho on Benfica v Real Madrid: from note to sending off | OneFootball

José Mourinho didn't hold back in the press conference after the defeat against Real Madrid. In the aftermath of the first leg of the Champions League playoff, the Benfica coach commented on the controversy between Vinicius Jr. and Gianluca Prestianni and also targeted the match referee, François Letexier.

"It's a first half that had two parts, one up to the goal. Until the goal, it was a good game, with a Benfica that started very well and very strong. From the 25-30 minute mark, Real Madrid progressively started to change the game and ended the first half stronger. In the second half, we came in trying to do the same, Vinicius scored a world-class goal, and then there was no more game."

Mbappé's words, saying that Prestianni called Vinicius 'mono' five times, and that someone like that doesn't deserve to play football.

"I already spoke in the flash interview and wanted to be more balanced than Álvaro Arbeloa and Mbappé. I spoke with Vini and he told me one thing, I spoke with Prestianni and he said another thing. I could be 'red' and say I only believe what Prestianni told me, and I could be balanced and say that in the world of football I always try to be more balanced. I don't want to say that Vinicius is a liar and that Prestianni is a wonderful kid. I don't want to say that. Álvaro chose to take a different stance and I don't want to do that. I told Vinicius, you score a world-class goal, why celebrate like that? Why not celebrate like Eusébio, Di Stéfano, Pelé... celebrate with the joy of having scored a goal. Fifty-something minutes of a great game. I'm very proud of how we played against a team like Real Madrid, which showed its quality, has great players, and can play with great quality. But, unfortunately, then the game ended."

Vinicius and the expulsion.

"About Vinicius, my only version is that he scored a fantastic goal and is a player from another world. I won't say anything more about Vinicius. About the expulsion? I told the referee the truth and he knows I told the truth. I have 1,300 games as a coach, over 200 in European competitions, and I know he knew that Hiujsen, Tchouámeni, and Carreras couldn't see yellow. He wasn't happy just playing this game and wanted to play the next one. He expelled me, but he knows I told the truth."

Interruption of the match:

"I spoke with Álvaro before understanding there was a problem, the only thing I told him is that he scored a world-class goal. Later on, I realized there was a big problem because Vinicius didn't want to play and I talked to him to try to get the game restarted and us playing again. Nothing more."

The fact of not being on the bench in the next game, at the Bernabéu.

"The fact that I'm not on the bench I think doesn't have a big impact because the coach on the bench doesn't play much, plays more in the preparation of the game. The fact of not being able to communicate with the team, not being able to communicate with the assistants, and not being able to go to the locker room... I have to trust the players, the assistants. Obviously, it's limiting. We are playing against a fantastic team, we are at a disadvantage. But it is what it is."

How difficult is it to play the qualification away from home?

"It's true. I prefer to play the second game away from home. We are going to play against a strong opponent, in a stadium that plays. What I told the players is that if we fought for qualification in the regular phase with a goal in the last second and believed it would be possible, now we are only at halftime of the tie and we are losing 1-0."

Does Vinicius have a problem?

"I don't know. You should know better than me. I look at the fantastic goal he scored and that decided the game. I prefer to stick with that. And that's it."

Was it crucial to control Güler's positioning for Real Madrid not to dominate the game?

"But it was us who took control and Courtois made a fantastic save to Aursnes' shot. Benfica started strong, very strong, and that was the intention we had. We knew the level of the players we were playing against. As I said earlier, during this time, Álvaro worked the team very well and the team organized itself in a completely different way. We adapted and played the game eye to eye. At the end of the first half, they were superior and pushed us back and we knew we had to hold on in those moments. Then, the guy scores that fantastic goal and there was no more game."

You said a miracle wouldn't be necessary before the game, is it now?

"I don't think so. I think it's necessary to play very well during the game, have the luck you need to have in games of this level, you need some Real Madrid player not to be on their day, because they have players of a quality that, alone, can solve the game at any moment. But a miracle, no, it's not necessary."

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