After Chelsea v Benfica, José Mourinho spoke about Akturkoglu: “Kerem...” | OneFootball

José Mourinho asked journalists to forget about Kerem Akturkoglu, the Turkish winger who left Benfica in the summer market. The coach was questioned about the player after the Chelsea - Benfica match but preferred to highlight Lukebakio, who was a starter in that game.

The coach was asked about the team's personality and began by explaining: "The difference between two and three days of rest is crucial. When you enter a cycle of three or four consecutive games with two-day intervals, it never allows for complete recoveries. And playing under fatigue, imagine how the game ends. I think this gave the players a certain freshness."

"It's imperative to increase confidence levels. Ríos himself, who even had the misfortune of being involved in the goal, I'm starting to understand him better. When he drops too deep, he doesn't have much quality in tight spaces. He needs space to play. He's a player who gets forward, recovers the ball a lot. He's even been a bit criticized because of the transfer fee. But he also did well," explained José Mourinho afterwards.

The Benfica coach was also asked about Akturkoglu, who left the Eagles to join José Mourinho's former club this summer: "Kerem is no longer here. Benfica did a good job bringing in Lukebakio, he's a good player. He didn't have a preseason, suffered a significant injury, and only played a few minutes. He's coming back."

"Today he had a tough game against a very fast and aggressive defender like Cucurella. It was a challenging opponent. But Lukebakio is a good player. Forget about Aktürkoglu," concluded the Benfica coach, preferring to focus on the options he currently has in his squad.

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