Benfica manager José Mourinho has issued a warning to his squad ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League playoff against Real Madrid, describing the Spanish giants as a “wounded” side arriving in Lisbon with bruised pride.
The first leg at the Estadio da Luz sees Benfica face a Real Madrid team still smarting from last month’s dramatic 4-2 defeat against the Portuguese club in the league stage of the competition.
That stunning loss denied Real automatic qualification for the last 16. Benfica had led 3-2, but goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin ventured forward for a free kick and scored a 98th-minute header, sending Mourinho’s team through to the playoffs on goal difference.
Now, the two sides meet again, and Mourinho anticipates a fierce response.
“If beating Real once is difficult, imagine beating them twice or three times, which is probably what we will have to do. A big team that loses and is wounded is dangerous,” Mourinho told a press conference on Monday.
“I know that feeling very well because it is something I have always known as I have been fortunate enough to only coach big teams throughout my career. Real Madrid’s motivation is not to eliminate Benfica but to win the Champions League. For our part, it is to win and to know very well what we did to win the last game.”
