Farioli hails another win: “FC Porto’s DNA was on show” | OneFootball

FC Porto defeated Benfica at Estádio do Dragão 1-0 and secured a place in the semi-finals of the Portuguese Cup.

After the match, Francesco Farioli assessed his players' performance and stated that, despite the chances created by Benfica, the victory was deserved.

“It was a special week for many reasons. And I’ve already told the players that. The days we spent in the Algarve were fantastic, with great energy, and I think today we showed that on the pitch. It was a very tough match and we knew it would be, there was a lot of quality. Winning a game like today’s is special, the celebration, celebrating with the fans. Now we have to put our minds in an ice bath, calm down, and on Sunday we have a very important match,” he began, speaking to Sport TV.

In what way was this match different from the league one? “It’s what I mentioned yesterday, it was what we expected. A match with many other matches within it. I think we played well, we controlled the game, and I think we even deserved to score another goal. In the second half we needed to suffer a bit and we defended well. Benfica had a good chance to get back into the game, but against a team of this level it’s normal to concede some opportunities. I think it was a very positive performance from all the players and the DNA of this club was on the pitch. Great atmosphere. Very grateful to the fans.”

FC Porto has been strong on set pieces and today scores again like that… “They are an important part of the game. Before the goal, we had already managed two or three consecutive set pieces. And I think Benfica also had some good chances from set pieces. In the second half the game changed slightly and when we needed to suffer, we did. As a team. And we had some difficulties. But we played a good game and this is a great result.”

Was it difficult to convince Kiwior to play as left-back? “Thiago [Silva] arrived in very good physical condition, he played many matches in Brazil. He came into the team very well, was good on the ball, and defensively had a fantastic game. He helped with leadership, with his calmness. We’re happy for him and he will be needed, especially since it looks like Jan [Bednarek] might have problems for the next match.”

Mourinho said the better team lost. Do you agree? “No. In this case, I don’t agree. Normally I agree with Mourinho, but in this case we deserved this result. We were close to conceding a goal, but in the first half we had two or three good chances. Of course Benfica pressed, they are a good team, but I’d say overall it was a deserved victory. If they had scored, the goal would have been disallowed anyway.”

How important was it for you to reach the semi-finals after renewing your contract? “They are two separate things. The contract renewal is something that came from the work done so far. We look to a future together, with the desire to work as a team. And without a doubt, today’s victory leaves an excellent feeling. A full stadium…”

Will you keep betting on Thiago Silva? “He played a very good game. He has a lot of experience, quality, leadership ability. We knew he would give us a quality boost, that he would be an asset to the team. We are very satisfied with his performance and we are already looking ahead to the next match in Guimarães, against a team that has just won a trophy.”

Is this victory important for what’s to come in the league? “They are two different things. Here we are talking about the Cup, the league is something else. We have to take what we did well today. In the end, FC Porto’s DNA was present in this match, especially in the first half. All the fans will remember this game. The celebrations throughout the stadium were fantastic. This is what we want to implement, this is the spirit we want to maintain. These good feelings will be very important in this second half of the season, which will be long and with very important games. We will follow our path, our journey.”

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