Tralhao proud despite Bernabéu exit: 'Mourinho and I were perfectly in sync'

Benfica go home from the Bernabéu with their heads held high — but they’re going home all the same, knocked out 3-1 on aggregate by a Real Madrid side who had Thibaut Courtois to thank as much as anyone.

The man in the middle (of a strange situation)

With José Mourinho serving a touchline ban, assistant Joao Tralhao stepped up to take the press conference duties after the 2-1 defeat on the night. And fair play to the man — he handled it with proper class.

He was keen to stress that the unusual setup hadn’t caused any confusion in the dugout. The communication with Mourinho, he said, was “perfectly synchronised” — whatever that looked like in practice (earpiece? WhatsApp? Carrier pigeon?), it clearly worked well enough.

Trailhao was also at pains to point out he wasn’t there representing himself. The leader, he made clear, is Mourinho. The staff just back him up.

What actually happened on the pitch

A few key takeaways from Tralhao’s assessment:

Courtois was immense. Tralhao called him “a giant” — and he wasn’t wrong. The Belgian was arguably the difference between a tight aggregate scoreline and an embarrassing one.
Vinicius was the match-winner. His goal effectively ended the tie, and Tralhao singled him out above everyone else in the Madrid squad.
Mbappé’s absence? Not as decisive as you’d think. Tralhao reckoned Real Madrid’s squad depth meant they barely missed him.
Richard Ríos impressed. The Colombian midfielder got a glowing review — Tralhao said the balance from his performance was “very positive” and that having an extra body in central areas gave Benfica a real foothold at times.

Honest about the gaps

One of the more refreshing bits of the presser was Tralhao acknowledging that facing a side of Madrid’s level exposes your weaknesses in a way that league football simply doesn’t. He wasn’t making excuses — just being straight about where Benfica need to improve.

But he was also proud of his players. The personality and character they showed across both legs clearly meant a lot to him, and the Benfica fans who made the trip to the Spanish capital got a proper mention too.

The Prestianni question

There was also a brief mention of Prestianni — apparently the player had been in contention but a UEFA ruling took the decision out of Benfica’s hands entirely. Tralhao diplomatically declined to have a pop at the governing body, though you got the sense he wasn’t exactly chuffed about it.

Bottom line

Benfica gave Real Madrid a proper game across the two legs, and Tralhao’s post-match words reflected a squad that’s building something under Mourinho. They’re out, yeah — but they didn’t half make Madrid work for it.