Farioli: We prepared for seven scenarios, Estoril had an eighth | OneFootball

FC Porto struggled to defeat Estoril at the Dragão (1-0) in the 12th round of the Liga Betclic. After the final whistle, speaking to Sport TV, Francesco Farioli gave a lot of praise to the canaries, “one of the best teams” to play at the home of the blues and whites.

“Estoril was one of the best teams to play here, both in organization and individual quality. It wasn't easy, but it's part of the journey. We could have extended the lead early, but we couldn't. It was a demanding game, but the result is important and helps us move forward,” he began by emphasizing.

Did Estoril's tactical variation surprise you? “We knew they rotate a lot, they change a lot. They are a very fast team, they drop back a lot when necessary. And these are things that create many problems. We had a big game on Thursday and sometimes we lacked energy. Especially in the 1st half. In the 2nd, I think we managed better with and without the ball. We prepared seven different scenarios, they came with the eighth. Congratulations to Estoril for the performance, in yet another important victory for us.”

What did you communicate to the players midway through the first half? “It was a moment in the game. Diogo [Costa] felt something in his leg and it was an opportunity to clarify some things with some players.”

De Jong seemed injured at the end of the match… “We have to confirm what it is. We don't know exactly. He felt something during an action, it's something that needs to be evaluated in the coming hours. It's not exactly in the same area as the previous injury.”

Is the team showing fatigue at this stage of the season? “Against an opponent like today, with short players who combine a lot, if we're not fresh… On Thursday we had a game against a very physical team. It's normal not to be super fresh and super active, but that's no excuse. It's something we have to deal with. It's not easy to recharge batteries every three days. If we look at the last two seasons, where we were and where we are, I think we need to congratulate the boys.”

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