In the Portuguese League Cup semi-final, Benfica lost 1-3 to Braga, failing to reach the final. After the match, Mourinho expressed his dissatisfaction with the players' collective silence after the loss at the press conference, sarcastically saying, "I hope they sleep as soundly as I do tonight, meaning they can't sleep at all."
Good evening. Please allow me to ask about the match against Porto. Are you…
Sorry, we're having a pre-match press conference at the Estádio do Dragão unless we don't hold one next week. If you'd like, if you'd like to hold a press conference for the match against Estádio do Dragão now, I'd be very happy, then we won't have one on Tuesday.
So, in that case, I'll continue: this also relates to our chances of advancing in the Portuguese Cup. Will you also be adjusting your preparations for that match? Is today's defeat a lesson to be remembered, or should it be forgotten as soon as possible? What attitude will you have towards the team?
You see, we were originally hoping to reach the final—because we always maintain optimism during preparations. We're not going home tonight; the whole team will stay overnight at Seychelles. We have training tomorrow and the day after.
It's just that there's no match on Saturday, no final. Since there's no final on Saturday, our next match is against Porto. So from now on, when we get to Seychelles, everyone go back to your rooms. I hope the players sleep as "soundly" as I do—that is, don't sleep. That's my wish for them. Forget it, don't be like me, unable to sleep, but do be like me, think more. Then tomorrow we'll start talking, something that doesn't happen in the locker room. In the locker room, it's just monologues, and monologues don't work for me. I like talking to the players, discussing the differences between the first and second halves, and preparing as well as possible for the Porto game.
Obviously, there's no Otamendi, probably no Antonio Silva, and definitely no Barrenetxea. Facing all the difficulties we'll face, we must remember that we can win.