Jose Mourinho celebrated his first Champions League victory in six years as his Benfica side defeated Ajax 2-0 at Johan Cruyff Stadium on 25/11. This crucial win secured Benfica's first points in the group stage after four consecutive losses.

Benfica opened the scoring in the 6th minute. From a corner, a header was saved by Ajax goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros, but Samuel Dahl reacted quickly to powerfully strike the rebound into the net. Leandro Barreiro sealed the victory in the final minute of regular time, playing a one-two with Fredrik Aursnes before firing into the top corner after a counter-attack.

Benfica players celebrate a goal in their 2-0 victory over Ajax at Amsterdam ArenA, Netherlands on 25/11. *Photo: Abola*

The 2-0 result was a much-needed boost for the Portuguese club, who had previously lost all four group matches. Three of these defeats came under Mourinho's leadership: 0-1 to Leverkusen, 0-1 to Chelsea, and 0-3 to Newcastle. Their opening match loss, a 2-3 defeat to Qarabag, was under former coach Bruno Lage.

Mourinho's last Champions League appearance, excluding qualifiers, was with Tottenham in the 2019-2020 season. His previous win in the competition was a 4-2 victory over Olympiacos on 26/11/2019, in the penultimate group stage match. Following that, Tottenham suffered losses: 1-3 to Bayern in the final group stage match, and 0-1 and 0-3 to RB Leipzig across two legs in the round of 16.

Reflecting on the match, Mourinho acknowledged moments of "chaos" for Benfica, particularly in the last 10 minutes of the first half, when the team struggled with rhythm and space control. However, he felt confident in the second half. "My feeling is, even if we played for another 150 minutes, Ajax would not score. We were very solid, focused, and the whole team deserves to enjoy this moment", Mourinho told Sport TV, praising his players' effort and unity.

Coach Jose Mourinho gives instructions during the match. *Photo: Abola*

The 62-year-old coach also spoke about the pressure to win at all costs. He explained that Benfica lacks many fast players for counter-attacking, which necessitated tactical adjustments. "We used what we had. The team defended excellently. Barreiro's goal almost sealed the match, but actually, I felt the game was already in Benfica's hands before that", he added.

Benfica will next play Nacional away on 29/11 in round 12 of the Portuguese National Championship. Mourinho's team currently sits in third place with 25 points, six points behind league leaders Porto.

By Hong Duy (Source: Abola)