JOSE MOURINHO: "DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!" FOCUS IS NAPOLI, NOT MCTOMINAY REUNION
Jose Mourinho is ignoring former players like Scott McTominay, insisting his only concern is Benfica's must-win Champions League match against Italian champions Napoli.
Jose Mourinho says his only concern is the game itself. He won't be thinking about seeing his old player, Scott McTominay, when Benfica plays Napoli.
Mourinho's return to Benfica hasn't been all smooth sailing since he took over from Bruno Lage last September.
His team is currently third in the league, eight points behind Porto and three behind Sporting, after their draw last Friday.
In the Champions League, Benfica is in a tough spot, sitting near the bottom of their group after only winning one of their first five games.
Mourinho wants to see a change tonight, but they'll have to play their best to beat Napoli, the current Italian league champions.
Napoli will be missing Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku due to injuries at Benfica’s stadium. Mourinho used to manage both when he was at Chelsea, and decided to let them leave.
McTominay, who Mourinho gave his debut at Manchester United, is ready to play for Napoli. He'll definitely want to keep up his good form against his former manager.
When asked if he was looking forward to seeing McTominay and Leonardo Spinazzola, whom he coached at Roma, Mourinho told reporters, Those nice things happen before and after the game. Nothing more.
During the match, I'm not focused on that.
We need to win against a very good team, and it's going to be tough.
We'll do everything we can to get the result we want.
Mourinho dismissed the idea that Napoli might struggle without De Bruyne and Lukaku.
Injuries? "Don't make me laugh," he said.
It's my missing players that worry me, but I don't want to complain. Not having De Bruyne but having McTominay is the same.
They had to change their setup, and now they might be even better.
Napoli's coach, Antonio Conte, is happy with how his team has responded to their injury problems, with Frank Anguissa, Billy Gilmour, Alex Meret, and Stanislav Lobotka also out.
"Right now, the players are showing they're very responsible," Conte said.
Even if there's a small issue, we'll get through it together.
It's hard to replace players in midfield, but the guys have been willing to do whatever it takes, and the same players from the last game are here.
Conte still sees Mourinho as a winner and is excited to compete against him.
It's always great to play against Jose Mourinho's teams, Conte added.
He's a coach who wins, and everyone knows who he is.
It will be good to see him.
CORNERED: HOW ALEX GRIMALDO ENDED NEWCASTLE'S AWAY-DAY UCL HOPES AT BAYARENA
Lewis Miley's historic goal looked set to secure a huge UCL win, but Alex Grimaldo's late strike exposed Newcastle's severe issue with conceding goals late in games.
Alex Grimaldo scored late, stopping Newcastle from completing a Champions League comeback win against Bayer Leverkusen, ending the game in a 2-2 draw at the BayArena.
Newcastle thought they had pulled off an amazing turnaround when Lewis Miley wrote his name in the history books, becoming the club's youngest-ever Champions League scorer at 19 with a second-half goal. Anthony Gordon, who had earlier scored Newcastle's tying goal, set up Miley perfectly. The goal raised hopes that Newcastle's struggles away from home were over, but Leverkusen didn't agree.
After losing to Marseille after leading, Gordon lamented Newcastle's tendency to concede goals late in games.
"It's happened way too often," Gordon told TNT Sports after the match. I really don't know why they are scoring late goals. Maybe it's because we're tired with so many games coming up. I think it comes down to mentality.
Newcastle's struggles with late goals continue. They've lost the most points (11) from winning positions in the Premier League this season. Only three teams have lost more points from winning positions in the Champions League than Newcastle this season (5). Of Premier League clubs, only Burnley (8) have let in more goals in the final five minutes of games than Newcastle (7).
After beating Manchester City in their last game, the Bundesliga team had their sights set on another English team when Robert Andrich's header, deflected into his own net by Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes, gave them the lead in the 13th minute.
Leverkusen almost got a second goal when Malick Thiaw fouled Patrick Schick just outside the box. VAR checked if the foul deserved a red card for denying a clear goal-scoring chance, but the original yellow card decision stood.
Newcastle got lucky at one end, and then, in the second half, they couldn't believe their fortune when Mark Flekken's hesitation led to him bringing down Nick Woltemade in the box. Gordon took the penalty, sending the keeper the wrong way to score his fifth Champions League goal of the season.
Newcastle then had their best period, with Gordon hitting the post while seeking a second goal. Miley, who came off the bench, then scored what Newcastle needed to improve their chance of finishing in the top eight. But Grimaldo ruined the party, firing past Aaron Ramsdale to tie the score in the 88th minute.
Howe's team has two more Champions League games in January to try and move into the top eight, starting with Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven at St. James' Park on Jan 21. They will then finish their league games with a tough trip to current champions PSG on Jan 28.
ANALYTICAL: TWO BODO/GLIMT COMEBACKS EXPOSE BORUSSIA DORTMUND'S DEFENSIVE FLAWS
Borussia Dortmund missed a vital chance for UCL knockout stage qualification after an unheralded Bodo/Glimt side came back twice to secure a frustrating 2-2 draw.
Borussia Dortmund's chances of immediately getting to the Champions League knockouts took a hit when Bodo/Glimt came back twice to tie the game.
This tie puts Dortmund at 11 points, a point away from the top eight. The Norwegian team is in 32nd place, still searching for their first win after six games.
Julian Brandt's goal, assisted by Fabio Silva, seemed like it would lead to an easy win for Niko Kovac's team, especially after their big win against Villarreal at home.
But Haitam Aleesami, the experienced defender, scored with a header from a great corner kick, tying the game for the visitors.
In the second half, Jens Petter Hauge, who used to play for AC Milan, scored from close range, tying the game again after Brandt had put Dortmund back in the lead.
Dortmund controlled most of the game, taking 22 shots compared to Bodo/Glimt's seven. Still, Kjetil Knutsen's team earned the praise of their traveling fans when the game ended.
Before the game started, Dortmund icons Dede and Marco Reus were honored on the field. Reus, now with LA Galaxy in MLS, was named a club ambassador. He played over 400 games for Dortmund and was the team's captain for five seasons.
Dortmund's next game is against Tottenham on Tuesday, January 20. Bodo/Glimt will play Manchester City on the same night.