Jose Mourinho calls out 9 stars – ‘I don’t like players who betray me’ | Football | Sport

Jose Mourinho would have been happy to make nine substitutions at half-time with his Benfica side performing so dismally before ultimately claiming victory. The Portuguese club overcame lower-league Atletico CP in the Taca de Portugal, but the Special One declared he was being “betrayed” by certain performances, maintaining his tactical approach is entirely sound, but his players failed to carry out his directives.

Mourinho made a quadruple substitution as his players emerged for the second period, but was emphatic that he could have replaced almost the entire starting XI. The former Chelsea manager has been back on home soil for just a few months but has not hesitated to criticise his squad.

Benfica finally broke the deadlock in the 73rd minute when Ricard Rios found the net. Vangelis Pavlidis added a second four minutes afterwards as they progressed through their fourth round tie, but Mourinho unleashed his frustration following the final whistle.

He said: “At half-time, I made 4 substitutions, but I should’ve made nine. Those nine players weren’t on the pitch. Only two should have stayed. Is the system working? The system works. The players in it aren’t working. I don’t like players who betray me.

“At half-time, I identified in the locker room the players I would gladly keep on. There were two who wanted to play. Games are to be taken seriously. The other nine weren’t.”

Mourinho acknowledged he was compelled to alter Benfica’s tactical setup when introducing fresh legs, but made clear that certain squad members shouldn’t wonder why they’re not getting game time following their substandard performance.

He added: “I didn’t want to single out something that should be done internally, but to remove some of the players I wanted to remove, I was forced to change the system.

“The problem wasn’t the system, it was the players. There were players who weren’t there from the first minute. I already told them not to come knocking on my door because they don’t play.”

Benfica remain undefeated in domestic competition this campaign, although an accumulation of draws has left them trailing league leaders Porto by six points, with the frontrunners having secured victory in 10 of their 11 fixtures.

Mourinho has triumphed in seven of his 13 matches since returning to the Estadio da Luz, his three defeats have all occurred in European competition.