Farioli reveals what he told Bednarek and warns: “What we did isn’t enough” | OneFootball

Francesco Farioli assured, this Thursday, at a press conference, that the 1-0 defeat at the City Ground against Nottingham Forest, a result that sealed elimination in the Europa League quarter-finals, will have no impact whatsoever on what FC Porto will do until the end of the 2025/26 season.

“Over these two matches, the bigger regret is the game at the Dragão, where we could have scored two or three goals. Today, we had the first chance, missed it and then the red card [for Jan Bednarek] changed a lot. It wasn’t easy to adjust, we made four changes at half-time and altered some tactical aspects,” he began.

“I’m very proud of these players, for their spirit, their intelligence in understanding the game and their effort. Playing with ten men against a Premier League team and still hitting the woodwork twice and having a dangerous free-kick… We probably deserved to be in the semi-finals, but we have to accept the result on the pitch. Now, it’s time to turn the page and prepare for Sunday’s game against Tondela,” he continued.

“We played our best, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough. We proved that we can compete at a very high level. The motivation and quality are on the right track. What we’ve done so far is not enough; we’re heading into this month packed with important matches with two competitions to win,” he added.

“Bednarek? I couldn’t have asked for more”

The Italian coach also revealed details of the conversation he had with Jan Bednarek after the final whistle: “What I’m saying here is what I said to the players: I couldn’t have asked for more. There are no regrets, perhaps only about the game at the Dragão because of the lack of finishing, but not because of a lack of quality. Today, I can only thank the players for what we did in such difficult circumstances.”

As for the fact that he only changed the team at half-time, bringing on Jakub Kiwior, Francisco Moura, Alan Varela and Victor Froholdt in place of Alberto Costa, Zaidu Sanusi, Gabri Veiga and Borja Sainz, even though the Poland international had been sent off after just eight minutes, the Porto coach offered a brief explanation.

“We started playing with two strikers, we completely changed the shape. In three minutes, we got the information across, and the players did very well. We were aggressive, won the ball back even with one man less and created the best chances in the second half,” he explained.

“We did what we had to do, but it wasn’t enough. Congratulations to Nottingham Forest. On our side, there is pride in an incredible group of players and some sadness about what might have been. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough,” he added, before reflecting on the consequences of this elimination.

“If we are mature, the game can only leave us with good feelings. There is nothing bad to take back to Porto apart from the elimination. Now, we have a different schedule from the one we wanted, with three fewer matches, but we are focused on two competitions. It is important that we stay focused on that,” he concluded.

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