Xavier Malián: “It’s vital we pick up these three points at home” | OneFootball

The Champions League returns, and FC Porto plays at home again in the 7th round of Group A, facing Hockey Trissino (Thursday, 8:00 PM, Porto Canal) at the Dragão Arena.

Anticipating a "very difficult" match against an opponent with "a lot of goals" and "very good" players, goalkeeper Xavier Malián emphasized the need to "have a good defense" and to be "fully focused on this game." FC Porto leads alone with 15 points, two ahead of FC Barcelona and Hockey Trissino (13).

7-1 Victory in Trissino“We expect a very difficult game. They managed to draw at FC Barcelona's home. Our result at their place doesn't reflect what happened on the rink, but we played a very good game and were very effective. Tomorrow will be another game and it will be very difficult, but it's very important for us to get these three points at home.”

Defensive Solidity as a Pillar“It's very important to have a good defense in every game because in moments when we're not doing so well, we can rely on that good defense and still be competitive. They are a team with a lot of goals and have very good players, so we need to defend well, and we know that. If we don't defend well, we will complicate the game a lot. It's a big game, against the strongest rival in Italy, so we need to be fully focused on this game.”

Preserving the Group Leadership“It's always better to stay in first place, especially because you generally have a better matchup in the next phase. Above all, we have to go game by game and only think about the game with Hockey Trissino.”

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