João Brandão: "The players gave it their all on the pitch" | OneFootball

At the end of a match that began with an opponent's goal born “from a foul on Melnichenka” and in which “the team was aggressive, sought the goal and created spaces,” João Brandão assured that “one point was the minimum” that FC Porto B “should and deserved” to have earned against UD Leiria (1-2).

Without “understanding the criteria” in the expulsions and “in the fouls throughout the game,” the coach criticized the “intimidation that the opponent often placed in the duels” before refocusing on the collective and the purpose of the B team, “which more than ever is to serve the A team”: “We have to do our best with who we have and today we gave our best, we left the game sad, but with the awareness that the mission is being fulfilled. Nothing and no one will divert us from our objective and the team gave a very positive signal in that sense today.”

The team's effort“Tremendous pride in the players, in the team, and in the work that has been developing. We were family, we were Porto, we worked and fought hard, the players are devastated and exhausted because they left everything on the field. Leiria started with an opportunity initiated with a foul on Melnichenka that then resulted in a corner from which the goal was born. From then on, it was all Porto. The team reacted, went after the game, was aggressive, sought the opponent's goal and created spaces, was assertive in the final third and hence the opportunities we had. In the second half, Leiria reacted to our goal and it was a balanced game against one of the candidates for promotion, but that was not noticeable on the field. The maturity the team showed was commendable and there is pride in this team because we did everything within our reach and deserved to have been happier.”

Different criteria“If we compare the incident that gives the second yellow to Martim Cunha with the incident with Zé Pedro at the end of the first half, we don't understand the criteria, just like in the fouls throughout the game. We have a quality team that wants to play football and we want the referee to whistle the game, it can't be the opposing team doing it with the intimidation they often place in the duels. My team even fought against that and sought to remain stable, with one and two players down, and we deserved more luck in the end because one point was the minimum we deserved and should have taken from this game.”

The Club at the top of priorities“At FC Porto, it's about winning, at any level. We hate losing and not being better than the opponent at all moments of the game. That's the culture of this Club. Another point is the purpose of the B team, which more than ever is to serve the A team, whether through the units that are there to play or train, as happened with Gabriel Brás, with Ángel, with Miranda, or with Pedro Lima. We are here to train and provide what the A team needs because that is the priority. We have to do our best with who we have and today we gave our best, we left the game sad, but with the awareness that the mission is being fulfilled. Nothing and no one will divert us from our objective and the team gave a very positive signal in that sense today.”

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