José Mourinho on Ajax v Benfica changes: The aim was to win | OneFootball

One of the moments that drew the most attention was the substitution of Georgiy Sudakov for Tomás Araújo. A substitution that caused some surprise, however, José Mourinho made a point of explaining the idea behind his decision, which ended up being important for Benfica's victory, during the visit to Ajax.

In statements to Sport TV, at the Johan Cruyff Arena, José Mourinho began by highlighting the lack of players to fill Sudakov's position and, at the same time, fulfill defensive tasks, hence his decision to use the Eagles' number 44.

"If I had wingers on the bench who could close spaces and at the same time kill on the counterattack, that's what any coach likes to have", stated the Special One, in response to the question posed by the journalist during the flash interview.

"But at that moment they were playing with two attackers - one 2 meters tall and the other 1.90 meters - and there could be many crosses and set pieces", added José Mourinho, once again justifying his decision to bring on Tomás Araújo in place of Sudakov.

To conclude, José Mourinho emphasized that the focus was always on achieving victory, no matter the cost: "If I can protect António [Silva] and Otamendi from a 2x1 and create superiority with Tomás... the goal was to win".

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