Mourinho updates on Aursnes and Tomás Araújo for Sporting v Benfica | OneFootball

Fredrik Aursnes and Tomás Araújo are fit for the clash with Sporting, according to José Mourinho. The coach confirmed the availability of both players at a press conference held this Saturday, ahead of the Matchday 30 Liga showdown.

"Aursnes is. He trained all week, and as you saw, he played 15 minutes against Nacional, which was the culmination of a week in which he had already done some work. He worked without any kind of limitation and is ready to play. He gives us a lot, balance, he is a very intelligent player, he knows how to play in different positions. He will play," he began by saying about the Norwegian midfielder.

Asked about president Rui Costa’s statements, Mourinho agreed that a derby will always be a derby, regardless of the circumstances. "A derby is a derby, there is no need for extra motivation, regardless of standings, objectives... if it were in the summer at the Algarve tournament, it would still be a derby," he said.

In conclusion, the 63-year-old coach is not worried about motivation for this match. "I know the difficulties, but I also know the pleasure of playing games of this magnitude. The objective is to win, to respect the essence of what a derby is, these are among the games that cause the least concern in motivational terms, in terms of focus", he concluded.

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