AVS 0-3 Benfica, Primeira Liga: Mourinho Hails High ‘Ambition Levels’ After Winning Start To Second Spell

Jose Mourinho saluted Benfica's "ambition levels" after beginning his second spell in charge with victory over AVS.

Mourinho was named Bruno Lage's successor at the Primeira Liga giants on Thursday, returning to the club where he began his coaching career 25 years ago.

The two-time Champions League winner guided his new side to a 3-0 triumph at Estadio Clube Desportivo das Aves, where Heorhii Sudakov broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time.

Vangelis Pavlidis struck from the penalty spot after the break, while Franjo Ivanovic was also on target to put the game beyond the league's bottom side.

"There wasn't much work [to do], but the most important thing was trying to free them from the negative moment because, sometimes, people don't understand these things well," Mourinho said.

"The players suffer. Obviously, the coach who leaves is the one who suffers the most, but the players suffer the moment, the difficulty, they like to win.

"I told them that they had to, like players at a big club, enjoy the pressure, the responsibility. I didn't fully get that message across, but in the second half, I managed to instil in them high levels of confidence and ambition to win the game.

"At 3-0, the game is over. They're coming off a run, a Champions League match, and it's natural that they would have slowed down, but their ambition levels were high.

"I'm happy for them and for Benfica, fundamentally. I'm the coach, even with only two days, it was important for me to try to start well, but more important was for Benfica to win and for the players to breathe differently."

Benfica maintained their unbeaten start to the league season to occupy second place, five points behind leaders Porto with a game in hand.

Saturday marked exactly a quarter of a century since Mourinho replaced Jupp Heynckes to begin his first stint as Benfica boss, but it did not detract his focus from securing the win.

"I'm not superstitious. I know it's been 25 years since I first became a head coach," he added. "Obviously, it has some significance, but I have the ability to block out those kinds of emotions.

"The most important thing is that, after a draw at home where we dropped our first points of the season, today was crucial to win."

Mourinho's first home game in charge of Benfica comes on Tuesday as they host Rio Ave. He will return to former clubs Chelsea and Porto on September 30 and October 5, respectively.