VIDEO SHOWS: BENFICA TRAINING AHEAD OF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP PHASE MATCH AT HOME TO BAYER LEVERKUSEN MATCH / COMMENTS FROM COACH JOSE MOURINHO AND DEFENDER SAMUEL DAHL RESENDING WITH COMPLETE STORY SHOWS: SEIXAL, PORTUGAL (NOVEMBER 4, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all) 1. VARIOUS OF BENFICA COACH, JOSE MOURINHO, AHEAD OF TRAINING SESSION 2. VARIOUS OF BENFICA PLAYERS WALKING OUT FOR TRAINING 3. PLAYERS GREETING MOURINHO AND COACHING STAFF 4. (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BENFICA COACH, JOSE MOURINHO, SAYING: “The situation is very obvious. When the game ends tomorrow there will still be 12 points up for grabs. Even if we have 0 points tomorrow, we can still get 12, and with 12, we qualify. Now, if we look at four games and zero points, we have to be very, very optimistic to say, ‘in four games I got zero points, but now I'll get 12 and I'll qualify’. Therefore, tomorrow's game is obviously important. If we win tomorrow, we'll be right in the thick of the fight, right among the teams battling for qualification.” 5. DEFENDER, NICOLAS OTAMENDI, AMONGST TEAMMATES WARMING UP 6. PLAYERS WARMING UP 7. FORWARD, VANGELIS PAVLIDIS, WARMING UP 8. MOURINHO 9. (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BENFICA COACH, JOSE MOURINHO, SAYING: “It's a tough team. They had a complicated start to the season, then changed coach, and that coach also needed some time to get things right. They've now found themselves. That last result against Bayern (Munich – a 3-0 away loss in the Bundesliga) is a bit out of context.” 10. DEFENDER, SAMUEL DAHL, WARMING UP 11. VARIOUS OF PLAYERS WARMING UP 12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BENFICA DEFENDER, SAMUEL DAHL, SAYING: “We expect a really good team. We know it will be a very hard game, a very tough game, an important game, foremost, that we have to win, and everybody is looking foward to it and we will play a really good game, hopefully, and get the three points.” 13. MOURINHO GIVING INSTRUCTIONS TO PLAYERS 14. GOALKEEPER, ANATOLIY TRUBIN 15. MOURINHO BLOWING WHISTLE AND KICKING BALL TO START PRACTICE GAME 16. VARIOUS OF PRACTICE GAME UNDERWAY STORY: Benfica continued training preparations on the eve (November 4) of their Champions League match at home to Bayer Leverkusen, with coach Jose Mourinho seeing the match as a crucial opportunity to get their group phase campaign back on track. Benfica are pointless after three matches following away losses to Chelsea and Newcastle United and having started with a shock 3-2 home defeat against Qarabag, which led to the sacking of former coach Bruno Lage. Mourinho added that even a loss on Wednesday would not end their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs, before conceding that it would be optimistic to think that they could begin with four losses before turning that form around with four wins. (Production: Miguel Pereira, Nina Lopez) (The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)
