Diogo Costa: “Ballon d’Or? No idea who picks it, not interested…” | OneFootball

Match analysis? “We came here to compete, we really wanted to win. After their 1-0, we were well on top of the game, we had chances to level it, but as time went on, the frustration grew and our composure suffered. We were so eager to score that we ended up conceding from a transition. By pushing so hard, we lost the concentration we should have had in defence.”

The team’s performance? “City are no ordinary team. We managed to play long, we varied our game a lot, we exploited City’s weaknesses, and we had more than enough chances to equalise, but football is like that, and when you do not score, in this competition you get punished easily.”

How important is experience? “It was an extremely competitive match, considering their quality and how much they underestimated us because we have little Champions League experience. For many players it was their first time, and we did well, we competed, we showed our DNA, and we just lacked a little bit of luck to equalise. After that, it could have become a completely different game. We are upset we did not win because at FC Porto we always want to win, but we will keep working, we are always learning so that things go better in the future.”

Match-up with Haaland? “I gave my best, I tried to help my teammates, that is what I focus on. I never want to win on my own, I feel that to win I need everyone. It was a good battle [Haaland], but we are sad and frustrated that we lost. We competed well and we want to carry this good performance into the next matches.

Not being nominated for the best goalkeeper award at the Ballon d’Or ceremony? “I simply do not know who chooses that. It is not something that interests me right now and I have nothing to say about it.”

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