Farioli: "This win, so important, is for Borja" | OneFootball

After the victory against Arouca, which keeps FC Porto at the top of the table, the coach Francesco Farioli dedicated the triumph to Borja Sainz and his family, already in the SportTV interview area: «This victory goes to Borja and his family for the very difficult moment they are going through. It is definitely important to send this message to a great person, whom we hope to have back in the coming days.»

Farioli praised the first half and the team's reaction: «We had a fantastic first half. We probably could have scored a few more goals earlier, but then to have this kind of reaction after the goal we conceded… Seven or eight shots, we created a huge amount of opportunities. It was great.» He also mentioned the role of the fans: «Our fans in the stadium really helped us get through the difficulties. The reaction was great. It was a good result and we will continue.»

Recognizing the phase of lower performance near the 90 minutes, he explained the causes of this drop: «When you put so much effort into generating this amount of opportunities and can't close the game earlier, after a good goal… You can have 5 or 6 minutes where the level drops a bit. That's what happened today. We had a moment where our level dropped a bit, also thanks to Arouca's quality.»

Regarding the opponent's stance, he praised the work of coach Vasco Seabra and the value of Arouca: «I said in the first half, I said yesterday at the conference, I said now to Vasco [Seabra], the coach: it's a team that plays very well, very brave, with and without the ball. So, yes, thanks to them too, for what they did, it was complicated. But, as I said, luckily we had the ability to bring the game back in the direction we wanted, with the result we wanted, which is definitely very important.»

The impact of the substitutions was highlighted by the coach: «The entry of Fofana? Yes, we felt we had to add some impact in the middle. One option was, of course, to bring in Seko [Fofana]. But there was impact from everyone who came in. William, Seko, as well as André Miranda, who made his debut today… Terem [Moffi] with the goal and Rodrigo… it was a very positive game. Terem with the goal, Seko with the penalty, above all, it was a fantastic performance… William also with the goal… It is important, especially at this stage of the season, that when we bring new players from the bench, we have a certain impact. And I think today they were fantastic.»

Regarding the penalty and game management, he maintained a positive assessment: «I haven't seen the images, but, again, I think the penalty, at least visually, was very clear. And we shouldn't let this distract from the performance we had. There are so many good things to value and talk about. It's more than enough.»

Finally, he highlighted the absences due to injury and confidence in the younger players: «We are here in February, with two top forwards who, unfortunately, are out with two serious injuries and that is something we cannot underestimate. It is definitely a factor. From my side, I have full confidence in Deniz [Gul] and I think that tonight, Terem's entry gave us a good boost. I am very happy with his goal. For Deniz, it's a matter of time. He is working very well. I am happy with his progress. So, we shouldn't create issues together. And, again, I think tonight, the Porto family sent a very strong message. In a moment of difficulties, the whole stadium raised the volume and helped us push the way we did. So, I am very happy with this game. And now, yes, we have to celebrate the game tonight and, tomorrow morning, prepare for the next game.»

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