Jose Mourinho has called out Antonio Conte for an ‘excuse’ after Benfica’s impressive Champions League win over Napoli on Wednesday.
It was a battle between two former Premier League managers on the Estadio da Luz with Mourinho’s Benfica side winning the match 2-0.
Richard Rios gave Benfica the lead and Leandro Barreiro scored after the break as Italian club Napoli were beaten by their Portuguese opponents.
Speaking after the sport, Conte claimed Napoli had less time to rest than Benfica, lacked sharpness and were coping with an injury crisis.
Responding to those comments, Mourinho said: ‘Saying Benfica were brisker physically looks like an excuse.
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‘We interpreted the sport well, I made a decision to play Ivanovic relatively than Pavlidis upfront and that modified the way in which we attack.
‘Pavlidis is someone who makes the sort of movements with the midfield that makes it easy for a team like Napoli to press him.
‘Ivanovic gives more instability to a team that defends with three.
‘The players showed character and intelligence, a Benfica mentality, which suggests when you find yourself having the largest difficulty, you step up.
‘We knew that with out a win here, we were out, but now that we have now six points, we’re within the running.’
Benfica are twenty fifth within the league phase of the Champions League following their win over Napoli while Conte’s side are two places above them in twenty third with six games played on this season’s competition.
A complete of 36 teams are within the league phase – and clubs must finish in the highest 24 after eight matches to advance to the knockouts.
Conte claims Benfica had more time to rest
Chatting with Sky Sport Italia after Napoli’s defeat to Benfica, Conte said: ‘The reality is that we weren’t sharp from the very start.
‘Benfica, who had played on Friday in comparison with us on Sunday after a protracted run of tough games.
‘In those games, we used up numerous physical and mental energy. I had talked about energy going into this match, because I knew that in the long term we’d pay a price.
‘We struggled today, they were above all in the beginning more aggressive. We desired to be aggressive, but made a mistake with the press, allowed a dangerous attack, and it scared us.
‘So we were too stretched out in the primary half, weren’t aggressive enough within the press, above all behind their midfielders. Having said all that, it’s comprehensible. We knew the difficulties of this match, and once they begin to pile up with six in a row every three days, you’ll inevitably pay a price.’
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