In this season's Champions League, they pushed Barca to finish second in the group and advance to the round of 16 without being optimistic. The league went through 15 rounds and they won 12 games.
However, behind the prosperity, there is a serious locker room contradiction, the general is not in harmony, and the players even force the palace through the way of strike.
Late at night on December 28, Beijing time, Portuguese Super League giant Benfica confirmed that the team's head coach Jorge Jesus was dismissed!
Many people who watched the Champions League Benfica regrettably drew 0-0 with Barca, and they will have a deep impression of Jesus.
In the stoppage time of that match, Benfica had the opportunity to kill the game and advance early, but the attacking player missed the goal almost empty, and Jesus knelt down and sighed.
In the final round of life and death, Benfica defeated Kiev, and Barca lost to Bayern, so Benfica also surpassed Barca and advanced to the round of 16.
Back in the league, the pattern of the Portuguese past few seasons was the same: the top three. Last season, Benfica finished third, with Portuguese Sport winning the Portuguese Premier League, a full nine points ahead of Benfica.
Such a situation is obviously intolerable for a giant team that has won the Portuguese league 37 times and won the Champions League twice.
With 15 rounds this season, Porto and Sport of Portugal both won 13 and drew 2, with 41 points from 15 rounds to finish first and second, while Benfica finished third with 37 points from 12 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses.
The last match was on December 24, when Benfica lost 3-0 to Porto to end a four-game winning streak. The team's other defeat this season was the loss to Portuguese Sport.
In fact, on paper, Benfica's strength is not bad, in the past two seasons, the team has brought in Vertonghen, Lucas Verismo, Yaremchuk, Everton, Pedrinho, Darwin Nunez, Otamendi, spending 130 million euros.
What happened to Benfica? Portuguese media revealed that Jesus' coaching style has caused public anger, which is also the main reason why the team lost 3-0 to Porto.
The contradiction between Jesus and the players has reached the point where it is intolerable. After losing to Porto, one of the captains, Pizzy, criticized the players in the locker room for not thinking ahead.
Jesus believes that Pizi is suspected of "overstepping the line", and he is extremely jealous, so he punishes Pizi for training alone. Jesus's approach caused public outrage, and the Benfica players came together to force the management to fire Jesus through a strike.
Benfica Chairman Rui Costa tried to reconcile the two sides, but to no avail. In the end, with a mountain of no two tigers (one and one group), the club decided to fire Jesus.
In the next Champions League quarter-finals, Benfica's opponent is Ajax, and I wonder if the team can continue to advance to the next round without being optimistic?