Some may argue that five draws have ruined Benfica’s chances of competing for the Primeira Liga, but Jose Mourinho has some other excuses.

The European treble winner replaced Bruno Lage earlier this season with the team dropping points just once, but they’ve gone on to do it five more times to create a seven point gap to leaders Porto who have a game in hand.

However, according to Mourinho, third is acceptable behind Porto and Sporting for a number of reasons.

“If FC Porto had drawn two games it would be normal, but what they are doing is abnormal,” he began.

Then turning to refereeing calls, he continued: “If Sporting hadn’t had the luck of occasionally making a mistake in awarding a corner that would have resulted in a draw, they would also be closer to us.

“Benfica, under normal circumstances, would also have beaten Braga – today I’ll set aside the dark humour – and would have won against Casa Pia – I think the referee will be the same for Sporting-Gil Vicente.

“Self-assessment? I think it’s positive, we lost points against Casa Pia and Braga in the way we did, and we drew with Sporting, which is normal, so we’re doing well.”