He hasn't forgotten how to coach – Mourinho schools Conte with a tactical masterclass

At the halfway point of the competition, Benfica—along with Ajax—was the biggest disappointment of the Champions League, written off without a single point… Then they beat that same Ajax in Amsterdam and came back to life. Jose Mourinho survived one “do or die” match. Last night, a second one. Next round, a third awaits him against Juventus in Turin. A life-or-death battle. And if he survives that too, then comes the big final against Real at the Luz. Something that once looked like an impossible mission is now already halfway done.

Mourinho’s Benfica did a truly massive job tonight against Napoli – 2:0.

Although a chess-like battle was expected between two rigid tacticians, it turned out Mourinho is far from being old scrap metal. In his pre-match comments, he said he respects Conte’s way of working, that Napoli are a great team, but that he needs the least time to prepare for Italian opponents, because he knows them best… And he was more than ready for Conte’s Napoli, who had won all five games since changing formation and the starting lineup after the November international break.

Tonight, they walked right into a trap. Benfica were dominant, Conte’s team read like an open book. Napoli went 80 minutes without a real chance; Benfica could have easily won by a wider margin… They immediately had a huge chance after just 11 minutes. Ivanovic went one-on-one with Milinkovic-Savic, who denied him with one hand. Soon after, the goalkeeper made a mistake, passing the ball straight to Aursnes, but the Norwegian shot wide—even though Ivanovic was completely free.

Fortunately for him, that miss wasn’t remembered for long. In the very next minute, Benfica took the lead. Dahl sent in a cross, Scott McTominay reacted far too softly in an aerial duel with Ivanovic, and the ball bounced to Richard Rios, who poked it into the net with the tip of his boot from five meters, past Milinkovic-Savic. Benfica had the match under control and never let it go…

Only after half an hour did Napoli create their first chance, when Di Lorenzo tried with a header—and aside from slightly higher possession, that was all the Neapolitans produced in the first 45 minutes. Benfica were dominant and were sent to the break with ovations.

Conte tried a double substitution at halftime, but nothing changed. In fact, Benfica opened the second half in ideal fashion. After a Napoli corner and a lightning-fast counterattack, Bareiro fooled Napoli's goalkeeper with a masterful back-heel finish following Rios’ cross.

That was the moment Mourinho locked the game down, and Conte had neither a way nor an idea to respond. Benfica dropped back and waited for counters, controlling everything in front of their goal. Pavlidis had two great chances late on, but Milinkovic-Savic made good saves to prevent a heavier defeat for Napoli…

Benfica now face an away trip to Juventus, who last night needed more than an hour to justify their role as favorites against modest Pafos. At halftime, Luciano Spalletti and his players were booed, but in the second half they managed to squeeze out a win (2:0) that keeps them in a good position to advance. They just need to beat Benfica in the next round—or Monaco away in the final one.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Matchday 6

Tuesday

Kairat Almaty - Olympiacos 0-1 (0-0)

/Martins 73/

Bayern Munich - Sporting Lisbon 3-1 (0-0)

/Gnabry 65, Karl 69, Tah 77 - Kimmich 54 (og)/

Atalanta - Chelsea 2-1 (0-1)

/Scamacca 55, De Ketelaere 83 - Pedro 25/

Barcelona - Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 (0-1)

/Knauff 21, Kounde 50, 53/

Inter Milan - Liverpool 0-1 (0-0)

/Szoboszlai 88 pen/

Monaco - Galatasaray 1-0 (0-0)

/Balogun 68/

PSV Eindhoven - Atletico Madrid 2-3 (1-1)

/Til 10, Pepi 85 - Alvarez 37, Hancko 52, Sorloth 56/

St. Gilloise - Olympique Marseille 2-3 (1-2)

/Khalaili 5, 71 - Paixao 15, Greenwood 41, 58/

Tottenham - Slavia Prague 3-0 (1-0)

/Zima 26 og, Kudus 50 pen, Simons 79 pen/

Wednesday

Qarabag - Ajax 2-4 (1-1)

/Duran 10, Silva 47 - Dolberg 39, Gloukh 79, 90, Gaaei 82/

Villarreal - Copenhagen 2-3 (0-1)

/Comesana 47, Oluwaseyi 56 - Elyounoussi 2, Achouri 48, Cornelius 90/

Athletic Bilbao - PSG 0-0

Benfica - Napoli 2-0 (1-0)

/Rios 20, Barreiro 49/

Club Brugge - Arsena 0-3 (0-1)

/Madueke 25, 47, Martinelli 56/

Borussia Dortmund - Bodo/Glimt 2-2 (1-1)

/Brandt 18, 51 - Aleesami 42, Hauge 75/

Juventus - Pafos 2-0 (0-0)

/McKennie 67, David 72/

Bayer Leverkusen - Newcastle 2-2 (1-0)

/Guimaraes 13 (og), Grimaldo 88 - Gordon 51 pen, Miley 74/

Real Madrid - Manchester City 1-2 (1-2)

/Rodrygo 28 - O'Reilly 35, Haaland 43 pen/