Farioli urges calm after Famalicão: “Stay calm and focused” | OneFootball

The way FC Porto let victory slip away against Famalicão, right on the last play of the game, deeply shook the players’ morale, with Francesco Farioli admitting afterwards that the team was not at its best and ended up suffering a heavy blow at a decisive stage of the season and the fight for the national title.

The Dragons had not expected to throw away two precious points at home in such an intense title race, but the slip happened and reality must be faced: FC Porto still depends only on itself to achieve the season’s main objective, although it has lost the comfortable cushion it held over Sporting, even if the Lions have one game in hand, against Tondela.

Even so, the message Farioli gave the group was one of calm and focus, with no room for drama or any shadow of the scenario he experienced at Ajax in 2024/25. The Italian coach wants, from the outset, to protect the squad from the noise that may surround the Porto family after an unexpected result on a matchday when such an outcome was not anticipated.

Once the wounds have healed, the immediate priority is to produce a strong response against Nottingham Forest in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals at the Dragão, in a match in which Francesco Farioli is expected to make significant changes to the starting eleven, in management similar to what he applied in the two matches of the previous round against Stuttgart.

In practice, the transalpine coach’s idea is to use this 2-2 draw with Famalicão as a boost for the six finals remaining in the Portuguese league, as well as for the two matches against Nottingham. Despite the shock felt by the Dragons, the team wants to give an immediate and convincing response, returning to winning ways and aware that bumps in the road happen even to the best. Overcoming them requires a firm reaction on the pitch.

Curse of the final moments

Of the eleven points dropped by the team coached by Francesco Farioli in the league, nine have been lost in the second half of the season, which has led FC Porto to surrender a comfortable lead that had reached seven points over Sporting. But there is one striking pattern in the matches where the blue and whites have let points slip away: victories have almost always escaped in the closing moments. Against Sporting at the Dragão, Luis Suárez’s penalty goal came at 90+9; at the Luz, against Benfica, the Eagles’ 2-2 came in the 88th minute; and now, on matchday 28, against Famalicão, Hugo Oliveira’s team once again beat goalkeeper Diogo Costa when the clock already showed 90+9.

At times, this experienced team has lacked concentration, wavering and ultimately paying a high price in stoppage time. It is certainly an aspect Farioli will have to work on with his players to avoid further scares over the course of the season, in a context where every detail can be decisive in the final reckoning. The difficulty increases as the end of the season approaches and, in the blue-and-white world, there is full awareness that the climb is becoming ever more demanding. Unity remains around the team, with the fans applauding the players after the final whistle against Famalicão. Champions’ journeys are made with obstacles along the way, but success always requires the ability to overcome them… and Farioli knows that.

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