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Jose Mourinho accused Porto assistant Lucho Gonzalez of repeatedly calling him a traitor during a heated O Classico that ended 2-2, after Benfica recovered from two goals down and the Benfica coach received a red card in the closing stages at Estadio da Luz.

The flashpoint came moments after Leandro Barreiro struck an 88th-minute equaliser, completing Benfica’s late comeback and preserving an unbeaten league run that now spans 39 matches, while Porto left frustrated after letting a strong position slip in the first half.

Porto had appeared in full control before the interval, with Victor Froholdt and Oskar Pietuszewski both on target, sending the visitors into half-time leading 2-0 and leaving Benfica facing what looked like a first league defeat since their last loss 39 games ago.

The drama increased after Barreiro’s late goal, when Mourinho was dismissed for allegedly kicking a ball towards the Porto bench, prompting a confrontation with Gonzalez and raising tensions between both technical areas as the referee showed red to the Benfica coach.

Match details from O Classico are shown below, including the scorers and key moments that framed the argument between Mourinho and Gonzalez, which overshadowed Benfica’s recovery on the pitch.

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Mourinho said the incident began with the sending off and claimed Gonzalez, who works on Porto’s staff, continued the verbal attack inside the tunnel, where both staff members headed after also being ordered from the touchline by the referee.

Regarding the sending off, the Porto bench person who was also sent off called me a traitor 50 times in the tunnel,Mourinho said.I’d like him to explain: traitor to what? I was at Porto, I gave my soul to Porto. I went toChelsea, Inter,Real Madrid, and Fenerbahce. I turned things around. I gave my all to the world, my soul, my life every day. That’s what professionalism is all about. Insults from fans are one thing. And that’s football. These are the same fans who, years ago, I couldn’t walk in the city with, who knelt at my feet. Now they insult me. No problem. But a fellow professional calling me a traitor? A traitor to what? To give everything to Benfica? If I leave Benfica tomorrow and go elsewhere, I’ll do the same. A traitor to what? I didn’t like it. I was wrongly sent off. The fourth official did a terrible job throughout the game and continued to do so when I told the referee that.

The 63-year-old coach highlighted that Gonzalez, who previously played for Porto, Marseille and Argentina, aimed the same accusation at Mourinho again and again, which Mourinho interpreted as a direct criticism of professional standards rather than simple touchline anger.

It wasn’t just once, it was 20 or 30 times,the 63-year-old continued. When he went to Marseille, was he a traitor? A traitor to what? He could have insulted me in a way that I would have accepted better, but I think it was an attack on my professionalism, which is something I value so much. Wherever we are, we go all out. I was a little disappointed in the sense that he’s a professional like me, he’s played for different teams. I didn’t understand the traitor thing.

Mourinho drew a clear line between abuse from the stands and criticism from another coach, stressing that changing clubs across Europe, including spells at Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid and Fenerbahce, does not, in Mourinho’s view, conflict with loyalty shown to each employer.

The Benfica coach maintained that the fourth official mishandled several incidents throughout the match and during the sending-off sequence, while the on-field comeback and the charged atmosphere ensured O Classico between Benfica and Porto finished with as much focus on the touchline feud as the 2-2 scoreline.

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