Mourinho is still very special

Mourinho is gradually rebuilding his empire at Benfica.

In the early morning of October 6, Benfica held Porto to a 0-0 draw at the famous Dragao stadium in round 8 of the Portuguese National Championship. Before the match, Porto had won 9 consecutive matches and only needed one more victory to make history.

However, Jose Mourinho's Benfica forced Porto to share points for the first time in the national championship this season. In addition, Benfica also became the first team to keep a clean sheet against Porto in all competitions in the 2025/26 season.

Porto coach Francesco Farioli expressed his respect for Benfica and Mourinho after the match: "I have great respect for the way Benfica played. The way Mourinho inspired his players to show fighting spirit, sacrifice and humility, while maintaining tightness and maximum concentration in defense in this match, was truly amazing."

The draw at Porto is considered very important for Benfica, in the context of the club not having a convincing start to the season. Mourinho admitted after the match: "We want to narrow the gap with Porto to 1 point, but if we do everything to win, it is very risky. We cannot let the gap widen to 7 points."

"The players themselves on the pitch felt that the match was in their control, and this was a match they could not afford to lose," he added.

Mourinho had an emotional return to coaching Benfica.

"The remaining opponent, Sporting CP, only has 1 point this round (1-1 draw with Braga - PV), which means that last weekend Benfica did not fall behind Porto or Sporting in points. Benfica wants to win and win the championship. And sometimes, to win the championship, you have to not lose," Mourinho responded to criticism of Benfica's negative defense on Porto's field.

Before Porto, Mourinho's "double-decker bus" specialty was applied at Benfica. Many people criticized Mourinho for being pragmatic, but the "Special One" believed that points in this match were necessary, especially when Benfica had just suffered an unfortunate defeat against Chelsea, and Porto was in very good form.

On the Portuguese National Championship table, Benfica is currently ranked 3rd with 18 points after 8 rounds, 4 points behind the leading team Porto and only 1 point behind the second-ranked team Sporting CP. Benfica under Mourinho's new reign promises to bring many positive changes in the future.

Source: https://znews.vn/mourinho-van-rat-dac-biet-post1591269.html