José Mourinho faces major absentee for Nacional v Benfica clash | OneFootball

Richard Ríos is a confirmed absence for Nacional – Benfica. The 25-year-old midfielder received his fifth yellow card in Liga Portugal Betclic during the home match against Casa Pia and will miss the squad led by José Mourinho for the trip to Madeira, in a match where only victory matters for the Eagles.

Despite some criticism, Richard Ríos – who received praise from José Condessa – has been a regular choice at Benfica. Initially under Bruno Lage and now with José Mourinho. The Colombian international cost the club 27 million euros and has not yet convinced everyone, but his performance has been gradually improving.

The big question is who José Mourinho will choose to play alongside Enzo Barrenechea. One possibility is Leandro Barreiro, keeping Fredrik Aursnes on the wing, but the Norwegian can also play centrally, opening space for Andreas Schelderup and Gianluca Prestianni on the flanks, with Sudakov playing behind Pavlidis.

This season, playing for Benfica, Richard Ríos – valued at 22 million euros – has played 23 matches: 11 in Liga Portugal Betclic, nine in the Champions League, one in the Portuguese Cup, one in the League Cup, and another in the Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup. In the 1,858 minutes he has spent on the pitch, the midfielder has scored one goal and provided one assist.

Nacional – Benfica is scheduled for next Saturday, November 29, at 18:00, at Estádio da Madeira. The match is part of the 12th round of Liga Portugal Betclic and will be broadcast on Sport TV 1. José Mourinho’s team is in third place, with 25 points, three behind Sporting (28) and six behind Porto (31).

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