Ask Mina: Jose Mourinho back at Benfica, but can he drag the club out of crisis?

In her weekly Q&A, The National's resident expert addresses topics from around the football world

Jose Mourinho took charge of his first Benfica match in 25 years at the weekend, a 3-0 win over AVS. Reuters

Q: What do you make of Jose Mourinho joining Benfica? Can he take on Francesco Farioli’s mighty Porto this season?

@Falsalehh via Instagram

First, let’s examine Porto. Andre Villas-Boas swept into the presidency a year ago, ending Pinto da Costa’s 42-year reign and promising a modern, ambitious club. Instead, last season unravelled. Two coaches were sacked, Porto finished third and leading club members vented their frustration in an open letter that spelled out management’s failures. They felt the team had lost its identity, its ambition, its unity. Leadership was branded erratic and communication disastrous. Even the finances were questioned, with promises of transparency undermined by delays to a forensic audit. “Our club is disoriented,” it said. “The spirit has been lost.”

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Now, Porto are not only back on track but soaring. Villas-Boas’s choice of Francesco Farioli looks inspired: six games, six wins, one goal conceded, 15 scored.

Rui Costa, the Benfica president, is now in a similar bind. The humiliating Uefa Champions League defeat against Qarabag, a game where Benfica threw away a two-goal lead, pushed the Portuguese club into crisis. Coach Bruno Lage was dismissed, Joao Noronha Lopes is challenging Costa for the club presidency in upcoming elections, framing Costa's reign as a symbol of failed leadership.

Jose Mourinho was hired as Lage's replacement, returning to the club 25 years after a brief, nine-match spell in charge. Benfica need the charisma and defiance Mourinho brings. He certainly seems up for the challenge.

Fariolo blew it at Ajax last season, losing the Eredivisie title due an end-of-season collapse. The duel between him and Mourinho will certainly be interesting.

Q: What’s happening to Aston Villa? They’re falling apart.

@Wasanzaini via Instagram

Something is definitely broken at Aston Villa. Sunderland away was the latest proof – a promoted side down to 10 men for an hour, yet Villa managed just two shots on target. Matty Cash’s long-range strike spared them the embarrassment of going five Premier League games without scoring, but the numbers make for troubled reading.

This is a team that, only last spring, dragged Paris Saint-Germain to the brink in the Uefa Champions League. Unai Emery’s side once thrived on intensity, organisation and belief. Now they look lifeless. Five games into the season, they have produced the lowest expected goals in the league while conceding the second-highest xG at the other end. Poor going forward, poor when defending.

Missing out on the Champions League qualification this season on goal difference last May drained the club financially and emotionally. Profit and Sustainability Rules clipped their wings in the transfer market. Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio departed when their loan deals ended. In came Harvey Elliott and Evann Guessand, but are they enough?

Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery accused his players of being 'lazy' in their most recent match against Sunderland. AFP

During his time at Barcelona, Pep Guardiola said teams must always renew, introduce new ideas so that they never fall into stagnation – and that was after winning the treble! Nine of Villa's starting XI at Sunderland pre-date Emery’s arrival in 2022. The club are not renewing. It might explain why Monchi has left his role as president of football operations.

The team look short of ideas, of the dynamism that defined Emery’s first 18 months in charge. The Spaniard described his players as “lazy,” and it showed in every duel lost and every attack that fizzled out. The players look tired and feeling the pressure. It may take a while before they can turn their fortunes around.

Q: Do you think Graham Potter should be on his way out of West Ham and who will replace him?

@Karimidilby via Instagram

It’s hard to defend Graham Potter’s record at West Ham: six wins from 25 games since replacing Julen Lopetegui in January makes for grim reading. The Hammers are 19th in the 20-team Premier League, with four defeats in five matches. The fans turned on him during the most recent loss to Crystal Palace and the mood around the London Stadium feels toxic. But it would be unfair to suggest the problems are his alone.

Potter inherited a squad that was ageing and unbalanced, with little investment to fix obvious weaknesses. Recruitment in the summer did not address key areas. How does a club sell Mohammed Kudus and not replace him adequately?

West Ham United fans protest against the owners of the club before the Premier League match against Crystal Palace. PA

While all this presents Potter with some alibis, it doesn’t disguise the fact that West Ham look completely disorganised. The centre-back partnership of Max Kilman and Konstantinos Mavropanos has not convinced, defenders have been beaten far too easily in the air – seven of the 13 goals conceded have come from corners. In midfield, Tomas Soucek and James Ward-Prowse are regularly overrun, leaving the defence exposed. Confidence appears at an all-time low.

Supporters are protesting not just against Potter but against the chairman David Sullivan and vice-chairman Karren Brady, with thousands calling for them to step down. Much of the current trouble can be traced back to their decisions.

The October international break looks like the natural point for change if West Ham do decide to sack Potter and proceed to hire their third manager of 2025. Nuno Espirito Santo has been approached but could prove too expensive. Slaven Bilic, who knows the club well and remains popular, is a strong alternative and would happily return. Gary O’Neil, another ex-Hammer with Premier League experience, is also in the frame.

Q: I’m starting to understand your admiration for Max Allegri. Milan look strong, Can they challenge for the title?

@Amuhtaseb via Instagram

This is the part where I say: “I told you so.” Allegri has gone back to his roots, building this team on defensive solidity. Four games in, AC Milan have conceded the lowest xG across Europe’s top five leagues, barely allowing opponents a sniff. Milan conceded 43 goals last season and 49 goals the season before, exceptionally high numbers for a league in which the best defence often wins. Fikayo Tomori and Strahinja Pavlovic look secure, Adrien Rabiot covers ground, and Luka Modric introduces rhythm and calmness on the ball.

It was a statement win against Udinese. Milan dismantled a side that had beaten Inter at San Siro. With Modric pulling strings and Christian Pulisic driving from the front, Allegri’s Milan looked dominant and agile, a team finally playing to the level expected.

AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri has made the team more defensively rigid. AFP

There’s also the calendar advantage. Like Napoli last season, Milan don’t have European football to complicate their schedule. It’s just Serie A and the Coppa Italia, which gives them fresher legs and clearer weeks to prepare. Pundits are already drawing parallels to Napoli’s 2024/25 season; Antonio Conte didn’t have European competition to contend with and, like Milan, also lost his first match of the season.

Can they challenge for the Serie A title? They look well-organised and coherent but it’s still far too early in the season to judge. Against Inter, Napoli and Juventus we’ll see whether this compact, balanced Milan can hold up against the league’s most talented attacks.