Farioli on Arouca-FC Porto controversy: “Not my job to complain” | OneFootball

Francesco Farioli admitted, this Thursday, in a press conference, that FC Porto faced, against Salzburg, “one of the most difficult” matches of this season, which ended with a hard-fought 0-1 victory, thanks to a (great) goal by William Gomes, already in the 90+3 minute.

After the final whistle of the opening round match of the Europa League group stage, at the Red Bull Arena in Austria, the Italian coach highlighted several setbacks, among them the state of the pitch: “It was difficult, but not just for us. We saw how hard it was to stay on our feet.”

“It wasn’t easy to come here. It was a very physical team, winning second balls… It was competitive. Honestly, today, any result could have happened, it was an open game. We had the first big chance, then we also had our moment, we tried everything to win the game and I’m happy that William took the shot, even though I asked for a cross. Good thing he didn’t listen to me,” he said, laughing.

“I’m strict with my analysis, and there were things we could have done better. I saw players running, fighting, going into duels. Doing everything possible. Then, it must be said that we played against a high-level opponent. Two or three times, they caught us in open field with several players running over 35 km/h,” he added.

When asked if the Dragons’ result outweighed the quality of their performance, the former Ajax coach emphasized the importance of the points: “It’s very important, especially in the league phase of the Europa League. Every result, every point, every goal counts. I have to congratulate Salzburg and their coach for the game they played. I wish them the best.”

Controversial visit to Arouca doesn’t ‘shake’

Francesco Farioli also sought to downplay the controversy generated by the rescheduling of the next match, against Arouca, from the 7th round of the Primeira Liga to 8:00 pm (mainland Portugal time) the following Monday, which will force the team to play three matches in just one week.

“We talked about this game, whether to play it or not… I’ve already expressed myself about that. Thinking about the UEFA ranking… The scenario isn’t ideal, but my role isn’t to complain, it’s to find solutions. Today, we proved the value of the team, you saw the importance of the players who came on, how they changed the game. When I talk about the Porto family, the celebration of everyone, with the fans. With the right spirit, we have to overcome these challenges,” he said.

“When I looked to the left, I didn’t find anyone. Players, staff, everyone was there. We work for these kinds of emotions. We move forward. Tomorrow, we start preparing for Arouca, I like the way they play and we’ll keep that in mind. Very surprised by what they do with and without the ball, we have to be aware of what we can and cannot do,” he concluded.

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