2-0 win, Mourinho: In the last 15 minutes, I felt that Ajax would not be able to score for another 150 minutes.

November 26th: In the fifth round of the UEFA Champions League, Benfica defeated Ajax 2-0 in an away game and achieved its first win in the new season in the Champions League. After the game, Benfica coach Mourinho discussed related topics.

About the team's performance throughout the game

We were a bit chaotic in the last 10 minutes of the first half. We lost our advantage on the field and lost the ball quickly after regaining it. In the second half we really had no threat and struggled to score, but they only had one chance, and after that the game was completely under our control. The last 15 minutes gave me the feeling that they would not score even if they played for another 150 minutes. The consistency and effort shown by the players and the joy of the team after the game showed the beauty of football.

Regarding the team’s recent poor performance

I said yesterday that wanting to win and having to win are two different things. They are different pressures. We are not a team with a lot of fast offensive players, so we don’t cause huge problems for our opponents in transition. We had to play in a different way and the players did a really good job, which deserves credit. They fight with the weapons they have and know how to defend and maintain stability. Barreiro's goal ended the game, but even without that goal the feeling on the bench was that the game was under control.

On replacing Sudakov with Tomas Araujo in the second half

Any coach would love to have a winger on the bench who can block space and launch quick counterattacks. But at that moment, the opponent has two forwards, one of whom is 2 meters tall and the other is 1.9 meters tall. There may be a lot of crosses and set pieces. If I can protect Antonio Silva and Otamendi, avoid 2-on-1 situations, and use Thomas to create an advantage... our goal is to win.