Jose Mourinho wins Champions League for first time in 6 years

(NLDO) – Benfica defeated host Ajax 2-0 in the early morning of November 26, helping coach Jose Mourinho get his first victory in the Champions League after 6 years.

The last time Jose Mourinho led a club in the Champions League (excluding the qualifying round) was Tottenham in the 2019-2020 season. The "Roosters" then beat Olympiacos 4-2 in the penultimate round of the group stage on November 26, 2019. Tottenham lost all of their matches after that, losing 1-3 to Bayern Munich in the final round of the group stage, then losing 0-1 and 0-3 to RB Leipzig in the two matches of the round of 16.

Jose Mourinho waited for victory for 6 years

Benfica’s situation in the Champions League this season is not very bright, even with Jose Mourinho as coach. The Portuguese representative has lost all four first matches, including three under Mourinho (lost 0-1 to Leverkusen, 0-1 to Chelsea and 0-3 to Newcastle). In the opening match when Bruno Lage was in charge, Benfica lost 2-3 to Qarabag.

Benfica will face bottom-placed Ajax in the fifth round of the Champions League, with the Dutch side having lost seven consecutive European games and showing no signs of slowing down as they host a struggling Benfica.

Lightning-fast opening goal

Against a desperate opponent, Jose Mourinho showed his own pragmatism when he accepted that Benfica only had 37% ball possession. However, the quality of the finishing made the difference. In the 6th minute, Benfica scored a dramatic opening goal. From a corner kick, after his header was blocked by goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros, defender Samuel Dahl quickly kicked a powerful cross-corner kick, putting the away team ahead.

Samuel Dahl (26) broke the deadlock for Benfica

Ajax is helpless

Despite having home advantage, Ajax were alarmingly stuck. Benfica’s defence, led by centre-back António Silva, was extremely focused. Ajax’s clearest chance came from captain Davy Klaassen’s volley, but it was too weak.

Benfica sealed a 2-0 victory in the final minute of regulation time. From a counter-attack, Leandro Barreiro played a beautiful one-two with Fredrik Aursnes and then fired a shot into the roof of the net, ending the match with a two-goal difference and earning the first points in the Champions League this season.

Leandro Barreiro sealed a 2-0 win for Benfica

This victory not only helped Benfica relieve the pressure after a series of 4 previous losses (3 matches under Mourinho) but also saved the hope of going further. The 62-year-old coach admitted: "One thing is to play to win, another is to win at all costs. That pressure is very different."

Coach Mourinho said his team was "chaotic" in the last 10 minutes of the first half. However, in the second half, solidity and discipline were established. He commented: "My feeling is, even if we played for another 150 minutes, Ajax would not have scored."

Goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin (Benfica) faces Ajax strikers

With their fifth defeat this season out of eight consecutive defeats in the European Cup, Ajax continues to stagnate at the bottom of the table with 0 points, facing a high risk of being eliminated early. Benfica, on the other hand, has had a huge mental boost to be ready to face all opponents in the upcoming rounds.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/jose-mourinho-lan-dau-thang-o-champions-league-sau-6-nam-196251126065853002.htm