Farioli on Malmo clash: “Tried to get info from mate, no luck” | OneFootball

This morning, FC Porto held their final training session in preparation for hosting Malmö at Estádio do Dragão, a match scheduled for Wednesday at 8:00 PM as part of the 6th round of the Europa League. André Villas-Boas was at Olival closely following the team's work. The session took place just a few hours after the pre-match press conference, in which Francesco Farioli analyzed the game.

What kind of opponent do you expect?: “It’s not an easy task to prepare for a team that hasn’t played recently. As you said, they’re going through a technical transition, the new coach is a good friend so I tried to get some information, but as you can imagine, it wasn’t possible. We have different plans, different scenarios, but above all, we need a lot of focus for a game that is very important in our Europa League journey. With the support of our fans, with a full stadium once again, we’ll have the boost we need for such an important match.”

Points difference: “The difference is on paper. When the game starts, it will be 0-0 and they’ll want to fire their last shot, since it’s their last opportunity. They have nothing to lose, and when we face a scenario like this, it’s always complicated. The priority is to go all in, do everything from the first ball, because we need to steer the game in the right direction from the start and also respect the fact that Malmö is a club with history in Europe, a group of very talented young players and a coach who wants to finish his work in the best possible way.”

Transfer market: “We’re always in contact with the president, daily, and not just about the transfer market but about all topics that come up. The market will be just one more topic, we’ve had meetings with the scouting department constantly throughout the season so we’re ready from January 1st to respond to the difficulties we’ve had, especially with the injuries to Nehuén Pérez and De Jong. We’re evaluating different scenarios, different possibilities and that’s how it will be. Certainly, we won’t be able to cover all the positions we want, but we’ll be creative and find the best solutions to have a team that can fight until the end.”

Improving goal difference: “It’s step by step. You mentioned a point that was part of our meeting this morning, because although the results have mostly been what we want, we’re never satisfied. We want to do better, create more, concede less… In the league, points matter a lot and in the Europa League, the importance of points is added to that of goals, as it can determine whether you qualify directly or not. In Europe, with the new format, it’s an even stronger incentive for what we need, to be prepared for every moment and value every minute we play. Winning and scoring more goals can open up an interesting scenario for us, although first we have to approach the game looking to win and then see where we stand. The goal is always to score and not concede.”

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