Benfica lost 1-3 to Braga in the Taça da Liga semi-finals and missed out on the final, with Nicolás Otamendi receiving a second yellow card and being sent off late in the game.
After the match, Benfica manager José Mourinho repeatedly criticized the team, players and referee’s performance in media interviews and the post-match press conference. Excerpts are as follows:
On the Team’s Performance
Mourinho said: “What exactly went wrong? I apologize to Braga and their manager Carlos Vicente, but I cannot say Braga deserved to win; I must also say Benfica deserved to lose.
“We played an absolutely terrible first half, except for one scoring chance in the opening five minutes. From the moment the referee awarded that obvious penalty outside the box, the team fell into an unexplainable negativity and nervousness, with abysmal ball possession quality, incredible mistakes and consecutive counterattacks conceded.
“Salazar made good use of the depth on our right flank, and the second goal conceded was totally unacceptable—it’s not Otamendi’s fault. He already had a yellow card and couldn’t make that tackle. We made far too many technical errors in the first half and were poor in every aspect. This is unacceptable in a semi-final of any competition, not even in a friendly against Amora, our neighbor near Seixal, during pre-season...”
On His Post-Match Speech in the Dressing Room
Mourinho said: “There are things that can be said behind closed doors, but cannot or should not be shared publicly. Normally, I don’t go into the dressing room to speak after a game. Today I did, but I used a critical yet calm tone—no slamming doors or anything like that.
“I delivered a speech, but it was more of a monologue. Because I felt the players weren’t ready to open up and speak their minds yet, which is something they have to do. However, some individual performances were unacceptable. A few players were in extremely, extremely poor form, and that led to the team’s utterly dreadful display in the first half.”
On the Refereeing Decisions
Mourinho said: “I wonder if the referee treats every captain he officiates like this. I have serious doubts about it. It seemed as if he was almost deliberately looking to send Otamendi off with a red card. Perhaps for him, sending off a World Cup winner would add a feather to his cap.”
On the Team
Mourinho said: “Regarding the game at the Estádio do Dragão (against Porto), we were supposed to have a pre-match press conference, unless we postpone it to next week. If you wish, we can hold the press conference now. I’d be happy to, so we don’t have to do it on Tuesday.
“We thought we’d be playing in the final today, so the players won’t go home and will head straight to Seixal (Benfica’s training ground). The players will stay overnight in Seixal, with training scheduled for tomorrow and the day after. It’s just that there’s no game on Saturday. Without the Saturday final, our next match is against Porto next Wednesday.
“Once we get to Seixal, everyone will go to their own rooms. I hope the players sleep as well as I do—which means, not sleeping at all. That’s my wish for them. I hope they toss and turn just like me, unable to fall asleep, and think hard about this result.
“Starting tomorrow, we will have a proper talk—not the kind in the dressing room where only I speak and my monologue falls on deaf ears. I like to have a dialogue with the players. We will discuss the huge gap between our first-half and second-half performances, then prepare in the best possible way for the game against Porto. Even without Otamendi, without António Silva and other players, we will give it our all to fight for the win.”
