José Mourinho on Benfica's centre-back battle: No one is winning yet | OneFootball

José Mourinho revealed that none of the three central defenders has an advantage over the others, and that he counts on all of them for the Eagles' season. The Benfica coach saw his team triumph in Guimarães, 3-0, and at the end of the match, he spoke to Sporttv microphones in the usual flash interview moment.

He was asked whether Tomás Araújo was winning the race against António Silva, an idea he quickly dismissed: "He's not winning anything, we have three great players [central defenders]. The captain is what he is, the Portuguese are fantastic, from the national team"

"And then there are quality youngsters. I'm not worried at all about that position. But the three are three great players", the Benfica coach added, reminding that the options for the defensive axis do not end with Otamendi, Tomás Araújo, and António Silva.

Regarding Vitória SC - Benfica, the Benfica coach was asked if he left the game again with the feeling that the team lacked more presence for a longer time: "It's not easy. I'm not using many players, I'm using those who play consecutively, including two days ago, who were on the field".

"Physical freshness to play the way I like is necessary, as well as a certain player profile, a DNA. But freshness is also needed. And freshness in a team that always plays with the same players, to pedal in the same way for 90 minutes... But those 15 minutes were devastating", concluded José Mourinho, in a flash interview after Benfica's 3-0 victory over Vitória SC.

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