João Brandão: “Right from the start I felt the team lacked intensity” | OneFootball

After the 3-0 defeat to Penafiel, João Brandão identified the lack of intensity as the main reason for FC Porto B’s loss on matchday four of Liga Portugal 2. Despite the result, the coach highlighted the team’s fighting spirit until the final whistle and recalled that most of the players are still at under-19 level.

“I don’t think we started the game badly, but from the beginning I felt the team was not at the intensity levels required to play in Liga Portugal 2. That was very clear in the move for the second goal, in the way we closed down, how we wanted to press, and how we allowed an inside pass into our block. The first goal also came from a throw-in where we had to win the aerial duel. That ran through the whole game, except for the period after the first goal when we tried to react, but the second goal affected us a lot.”

“In the second half, we tried to bring fresh energy and new ideas with Eduardo Ferreira coming on. We tried a different build-up from the first half, which had been very predictable, with little width and doing too little to move Penafiel’s block around. The third goal, especially because of the way it came about, affected us a lot. The team did not give up and kept pushing, but our inability to win duels and commit fouls remains an issue.”

“It’s growth, it’s a process, and it’s a long road ahead of us. Today there were 10 under-19 players on the team sheet, and that shows the team is very young and has room to grow. Now it is essential for us to adapt to the context of Liga Portugal 2, which is what we saw today, with a very high level of aggression and permissive referees who do not call fouls in contact situations. We have to adjust and be consistent in our behaviour. We have already shown that we can do it in spells, but not yet continuously, and that is what we are striving for.”

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