Farioli: One team played safe, the other fought to win

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·6 October 2025

Farioli: One team played safe, the other fought to win

FC Porto ended in a goalless draw against Benfica, in the eighth round of the championship (0-0). Francesco Farioli believed that the team "deserved more", emphasizing that "it was clear that one of the teams tried not to lose, while the other did everything to win".

At the end of a match that he defined as a "very tactical game", the Italian coach stated he was "very satisfied" with "the level of maturity of the players" who have "evolved a lot in the last three months" and have not stopped showing that "they are a great team".

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Playing to win"I am very satisfied. The game was very tactical. I think it was clear that today one of the teams tried not to lose the game and the other did everything to win. There are games where if you expose yourself too much you end up being punished, it's part of football. The level of maturity of the players was fantastic and I can't be critical as I usually am. We played like a great team."

Jose Mourinho"The mark of an incredible coach who can convince top players to sacrifice themselves throughout the game remains. We played our game with some good moments in the first half and only conceded one shot on goal to a team of Benfica's level."

The substitutions"We tried to bring on players to increase the offensive levels, but it was also important to maintain the balance in the team, because if we increased the risk too much we would end up being punished, considering the quality they have, the players they could bring on and their physicality. They are a Champions League team."

A matter of inches"I think it was a good result, we deserved more, but these games can also be lost on a set piece and we hit our own bar in a play of that kind. Football is strange and the ball can go into the goal at any moment and in any way. We have to be satisfied with the result, despite having tried everything to win."

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