Farioli: "Derby? I still feel the same, we deserved to win" | OneFootball

In the preview of Francesco Farioli ahead of the match with Nacional, the FC Porto coach once again referred to what happened in the Clássico against Sporting. Farioli refused to react to the statements made by Rui Borges just minutes earlier, assuring that the “noise” does not enter the Porto dressing room and calling for a fairer recognition of the Dragons’ season.

Rui Borges’ reactions to the incidents in the Clássico

“I didn’t hear the press conference and I don’t know what he was referring to. I’m not here to comment on my colleague’s words. I don’t have much to say.”

Shielding the dressing room from the noise and focusing on Nacional

“I think I’m the only one who reads all the newspapers, because it’s my job to be here many times a week to talk to you. The players, sometimes, see a few tweets, some pick up the newspaper now and then, but in the end, all the noise, all this pollution and controversy that people try to create doesn’t affect the group’s dynamic in the slightest. The group is highly motivated. We’re coming from a Clássico where we didn’t get the result we wanted, but we put on a great performance. There are many ways to analyze the game, everyone watches the matches through their own lens and perspective. Something I like to do when reviewing the game is to look at a panel my analyst usually prepares, and that’s where the game approach is. There was only one video of our build-up phase. And we had 25 moments of high pressing. I think we deserved to win and, after reviewing it with a cool head, I still think the same. Against a great team, and I’ve said this for many weeks, they are doing a fantastic job in the league and the Champions League. But if you watch the 90 minutes, it was very clear how the team played and, above all, the desire to get the result. When we defended deeper, it was because we were facing a top team, and I think we defended very well, because we hardly conceded anything, apart from the penalty. It’s very easy to keep the team in the right mindset. The performance we put in against Sporting was very positive, but without the result we wanted.”

“But the reality is that, because of your work, the focus is on the past, while our future is Nacional, a team that, when they came to play at Dragão, put us in difficulty. By way of comparison, Nacional is one of the teams with the most clips of our first build-up phase, because they came to press aggressively, they pressed Diogo Costa, our center-backs, they had a different strategy in the first phase of the game, another in the second, and another in their own midfield. It’s a team capable of managing the moments of the game and we have to give the right response to the scenarios we’re going to face.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.