Benfica head coach Jose Mourinho was empathetic while speaking about his decision to take off young left-back Samuel Dahl just minutes after his costly error gifted Bayer Leverkusen a goal during their Champions League encounter on Wednesday. Mourinho leapt to the defender's defence, arguing that conceding the goal was the team's mistake and not Dahl's.
Benfica continue to struggle in the Champions League
Benfica's chances of qualifying for the Champions League knockouts took another blow on Wednesday following a 1-0 home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen. It was the fourth successive defeat for the Eagles in Europe's premier club competition, and the third since Mourinho took charge of the team.
Their form in Europe has raised eyebrows, despite maintaining an unbeaten record in domestic competitions thus far. They are third on the Liga Portugal table with 24 points, four behind league leaders and Mourinho's former employers Porto. Wednesday's loss puts Mourinho and Co. in a precarious situation, as they have been beaten by Qarabag, Chelsea, Newcastle and now Leverkusen.
AdvertisementAFPMourinho assures Dahl will start in the next game
While Dahl was substituted just minutes after his error led to Patrik Schick's goal, Mourinho defended the youngster and reassured that he will be a starter in Benfica's upcoming league clash against Casa Pia on Sunday.
"For the game against Casa Pia, I can say right now that Dahl will play," he said. "He had a fantastic game. The first half was delightful to watch. He's a much better player, he looks for depth much more than before. He played a very, very, very good game. I didn't take him off to penalize him for the mistake. It's our mistake, not his. We missed open goals, we wanted to go in with the ball through the net… those were individual errors. The kid played a very, very good game. It breaks my heart for a kid who played an excellent game, then gave an assist for Bayer to win without doing anything to deserve it."
Benfica can still qualify for UCL knockouts, says Mourinho
The result has left Benfica in 35th position on the overall Champions League league phase standings, just one spot above bottom-placed Ajax. However, they are just four points behind 24th-placed Napoli, with Mourinho confident his team can book a place in the top 24 to ensure they reach the play-offs.
"I'm more optimistic than that. Nobody will convince me that we're out," Mourinho asserted at the post-match press conference. "The math is very objective; there are 12 points left to play for, and we need around nine. The math says it's possible, but not only that. This game convinces me that we can win the games we need to. It was a very strong and convincing game. I have a different view from you and perhaps from the fans because I have to see it from all perspectives. The result is the most obvious, and we lost. But I have to see the quality of our attacks, our defence, our build-up play from the back, and the many opportunities we created. Under normal circumstances, we would have scored a goal and won; there wouldn't have been much of a story. The team is growing and playing better and better.
"I've already told you that nobody can convince me that we won't qualify. I can't say right now that we'll qualify because that would be selling snake oil, and I won't do that. But there are 12 points to play for, and the way the team is playing and fighting convinces me. We have two games until the end of the calendar year, and if we win both, we're completely in contention to go through. The Champions League is the highest level of European football.
"Today, we faced a team that didn't create or risk anything and had the referee's leniency. But it's a very high-level team. With three multi-million dollar centre-backs and a lot of quality. Midway through the second half, the opponent brought on Schick, who has impressive physical capabilities. Only against Newcastle did I feel we wouldn't make it; against Chelsea we didn't feel that way, and today it was glaringly obvious. So, we have to be optimistic and do everything we did well today. Which was everything except winning."
AFPWho are Benfica's remaining opponents in the Champions League?
Mourinho's men face an uphill task of saving their continental campaign. They will face Ajax and Serie A champions Napoli before the end of the year, before taking on Juventus and Real Madrid in January.
