Mourinho Orders Benfica Lockdown At Training Ground

Jose Mourinho imposed an immediate disciplinary response on his Benfica squad after their shock Taca de Liga semi-final exit to Braga, ordering the players to remain overnight at the club’s Seixal training complex following a damaging 3-1 defeat.

The Lisbon side saw their hopes of lifting the League Cup extinguished on Wednesday night as Braga capitalised on defensive lapses and late indiscipline to secure a place in the final. Benfica ended the contest with 10 men after Nicolas Otamendi was sent off in stoppage time, compounding an already chastening evening.

Visibly angry after the final whistle, Mourinho confirmed his players would not be returning home and hinted the stay at the training ground could extend for several days as the squad reflects on the loss.

“The players will sleep in Seixal, and on Thursday there is training, and the day after there’s training,” Mourinho said.

“Since there’s no final on Saturday, our next game is against Porto next Wednesday."

“When we arrive in Seixal, everyone will go to their rooms. I hope the players sleep as well as I do, which is to say that they don’t sleep at all."

“That’s what I wish for them. That they don’t sleep and instead think a lot, like I’m going to think.”

Mourinho returned to Benfica last September following his departure from Fenerbahce and has endured an uneven spell since rejoining his boyhood club. He has won 14 of his 23 matches in charge, but Benfica sit 10 points off the pace in the Primeira Liga and face a battle to progress in the Champions League.

Reflecting on his post-match address to the squad, Mourinho revealed there was little room for discussion in the immediate aftermath of the defeat.

“On Thursday we can start talking, which isn’t what happened in the locker room,” he said.

“In the locker room it was a monologue, and monologues don’t work for me; I like to have a dialogue with the players."

“We’ll talk about the differences between the first and second halves and prepare in the best way possible for the game against Porto.”

Next week’s Taca de Portugal quarter-final away to Porto now looms large and could represent Benfica’s last realistic opportunity to secure silverware this season. The defeat to Braga also brought an end to an 11-match unbeaten run, increasing the pressure on Mourinho and his players as they head into a decisive phase of the campaign.

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