José Mourinho reveals virus ruled Benfica star out of Porto clash | OneFootball

José Mourinho revealed that Franjo Ivanovic was not an option because he was affected by the virus that hit the Benfica team in recent days. The Benfica coach spoke to Sporttv microphones in the usual flash interview, after the draw with Porto, and also commented on the reception he received at the Dragão stadium.

"William is a different player from Pepê, he also catches Dahl already with 70 minutes on his legs, then at the end I protect with Tomás, who is right-footed and defends the interior zone better. Lukebakio was dead... I could have taken some risks, but I didn't feel comfortable, I thought they could have some transitions in an open game," the Benfica coach began to explain.

He continued with more explanations about his players: "I put Leandro in to compact, to control and help Dedic. The only player who appeared sick today was Ivanovic, I could have considered him for Pavlidis' position, but I didn't want to risk after the complicated week we had."

"The team is growing, obviously this week we had two games of extremely high difficulty, which are won with great organization, as we had, but by scoring goals. Porto had the legs, engines to attack the space, we defended well. We don't have those kinds of characteristics. But if we score a goal, we win," José Mourinho explained next.

He concluded with a brief comment about his reception at the Dragão stadium. The Benfica coach has a historical past with Porto, a team with which he won the Champions League, and returned to the blue and white stronghold for the first time as the Benfica coach: "Of course, perfect, no problem".

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