Farioli: Had to sub Alberto after harsh booking for no foul | OneFootball

You made six changes to the starting eleven – did you not think about the two games happening simultaneously, or was it necessary to manage the effort for the matches against Benfica and Stuttgart? “It was about bringing in important players like Moffi and Fofana. The response was very positive, as you know I really believe in the power of the collective and our ability. Today, once again, we did our job, especially in the first half with all the players in the right positions, we were very good. Our rivals took 20 minutes to come back from halftime and that’s interesting, because usually halftime is 15 minutes. Today they had the ability to decide when to return and had those extra minutes. I had to substitute Alberto because he got a yellow card for a foul he didn’t even commit, while there are at least three Sporting players who should have seen one. The Bednarek case is too obvious and it’s up to the league to take action against the player who did it. Then, at the end of the first half, there’s a gesture from Suárez to the cameras that leaves little room for interpretation. They just had to follow what’s determined and everyone knows what could have happened.”

Sporting contests Alberto Costa’s sending off, Hjulmand received a yellow card, and Suárez’s gesture: “There are things we can see and others we can’t. The penalty is a penalty, there’s no discussion, but 30 seconds earlier there’s a clear foul on Pepê and then the play continued until the move that resulted in a penalty for Sporting. Now the fouls, the cards, Hjulmand, what he did in each play, the way he argues with the referee on every play while our captain couldn’t even take a step to approach the referee… it’s painful to see these images. I think Alberto’s foul is a yellow, but the first one he got wasn’t even a foul and there was even a foul by Maxi Araújo before that… I’m not criticizing the referee, I’m just commenting on what is clear to me.”

Is there a sense of impunity at Sporting? “We’ll see tomorrow. I wish nothing. I just think the images are clear.”

What impact could this have before the game with Benfica? “In terms of impact, from my point of view, we have to leave here with the right energy because we played a very good game. The second half was a bit different, but to finish the game with Pepê and Rosario defending when they’re not defenders, knowing that on the other side is Sporting, which has the best attack and in both games against us scored two penalties and an own goal… Things could have been different with a natural full-back and center-back. In the first half, the pieces were in the right place. The best image was Sporting taking 20 minutes to get back on the pitch, they had that time to think about solutions for what was happening. But I have nothing to say about Sporting’s quality. We played a very interesting game. We’ll prepare for the league, Europa League, and in seven weeks we’ll look at the Portuguese Cup again.”

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