José Mourinho has launched a stinging attack on his Benfica players and ordered them to remain at the club's training complex after a damaging cup defeat. The Portuguese giants were beaten 3-1 by Braga in the semi-finals of the Taça da Liga (League Cup) on Wednesday night, prompting a furious reaction from their manager.
Mourinho's post-match fury and training camp order
In a blistering post-match press conference, Mourinho suggested the entire squad would be staying at Benfica's Seixal training ground indefinitely. "The players will sleep in Seixal, and on Thursday there is training, and the day after there will be training," he stated. "When we arrive in Seixal, everyone will go to their rooms."
He then expressed his hope that the players would share his own restless state. "I hope the players sleep as well as I do, which is to say that they don't sleep at all," Mourinho added. "That's what I wish for them. That they don't sleep and instead think a lot, like I'm going to."
Club president Rui Costa later clarified that the overnight stay had been pre-planned as a logistical measure for the game in Leiria, located 90 miles north of Lisbon, and was not a punishment. "It's not a punishment, it's a precaution for the next games," he told Portuguese media.
A dismal performance and a season of struggle
The match itself was a major disappointment for the favourites, who entered the tie after rivals Sporting Lisbon lost in the other semi-final. Braga dominated the first half, with goals from Pau Víctor and Rodrigo Zalazar establishing a commanding lead.
Benfica's Vangelis Pavlidis scored a second-half penalty to offer a glimmer of hope, but Gustaf Lagerbielke restored Braga's two-goal advantage. The misery was compounded when Benfica defender Nicolás Otamendi was sent off in stoppage time.
Mourinho did not hold back in his analysis. "The first half was awful, inexplicable," he said. "I can't find anything positive in the first half outside the first five minutes... It wasn't Braga that won, it was us who lost."
Questions over mentality and focus on Porto clash
The 62-year-old manager, who signed a two-year deal with Benfica last September, also questioned his players' reaction to the defeat and their overall mindset. He described his post-match team talk as a "monologue" due to the squad's palpable sadness.
"I don't want to believe a Benfica player is nervous about a League Cup semi-final, because then he's not a player for Benfica," Mourinho stated, casting doubt on their big-game temperament.
With Benfica now out of the League Cup, attention immediately turns to a crucial Portuguese Cup quarter-final against rivals Porto next Wednesday. Mourinho confirmed preparations would begin immediately, though he gave no indication if the players would leave Seixal before that match at the Estádio do Dragão.
This defeat adds to a challenging season for the Lisbon club, who currently trail Porto by ten points in the Primeira Liga and managed only two wins from six Champions League group stage matches.
