Following Benfica’s 2-0 win over Atlético CP on Friday, manager Jose Mourinho expressed his frustration with the players, stating he considered making nine substitutions at halftime due to their “unacceptable” performance.
Despite overcoming the lower-league side in the fourth round of the Taça de Portugal, Benfica only secured the victory with late goals from Richard Ríos and Vangelis Pavlidis.
“In the first half, Benfica was simply absent from the pitch,” Mourinho commented, known for his candid reflections after matches.
“Worse than not playing was the unacceptable attitude displayed by numerous players—something I wouldn’t even tolerate in training. We typically have such competitive training sessions that I can’t recall any that mirrored the attitude we had today.”
“From the very first minute, we saw laughable turnovers.”
Mourinho added, “The first half was so poor that I informed the players at halftime I intended to make four substitutions—I could only make five to have one option left for the second half—but I would have preferred nine changes.”
“As a coach, wanting to replace nine players signifies something was seriously wrong. I didn’t feel we risked elimination or failing to win, but my standards of professionalism make it difficult for me to accept such performances.”
“In the second half, although we didn’t substitute nine, we did introduce four new players, and their presence completely transformed the team’s attitude. They brought more pressure, intensity, and dynamism.”
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Mourinho, who joined Benfica earlier this year, currently has the team placed third in Liga Portugal, trailing Porto and Sporting. The team has faced defeats in all four of their Champions League group matches under the two-time Champions League-winning coach, but they have progressed to the fifth round of the cup.
“I was convinced the goal would arrive at either the 50th, 60th, 70th, or 80th minute; it was a matter of when. Ultimately, it needed to happen, and it did,” Mourinho remarked.
“In the end, it was a well-deserved and standard victory for us. Congratulations to Atlético; may they return to their former glory.”