Mourinho on Gianluca Prestianni, but Benfica images contradict him | OneFootball

At the press conference following Benfica’s draw against Casa Pia, José Mourinho explained Gianluca Prestianni’s absence from the starting eleven. The coach pointed to the player’s health as the main reason for the decision, saying the Argentine had not trained with the group after returning from international duty.

Mourinho explained that Prestianni returned from Argentina ill, with a fever, and would not even have gone to the training center. The coach added that the player was kept out to avoid possible contagion in the dressing room, stressing that only on the day before the match did he show he was available to be considered.

Because of this situation, he explained that he chose to bring him on only in the second half, initially keeping the setup that had been working. The remarks were made clearly and directly, underlining the care taken with the player’s physical condition.

However, images released by Benfica itself raised doubts about that version of events. On Thursday, the Club’s official website published photos from that day’s training session, in which the Argentine winger appears alongside his teammates. In the images, Prestianni is seen training as normal, involved in the group exercises and showing no obvious signs of limitation.

So far this season for Benfica, Gianluca Prestianni — valued at €12 million — has made a total of 35 appearances: 23 in Liga Portugal Betclic, five in the Champions League, two in the Portuguese Cup, two in the League Cup and one in the Super Cup. In the 1,726 minutes he has been on the pitch, the winger has recorded three goals and two assists.

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