FC Porto host Sporting in winner-takes-all Championship play-off final | OneFootball

Sporting are just a small step away from securing a place in the Championship playoff final, so this Wednesday’s trip to the Dragão Arena at 9pm could be decisive for the Lions, in a clássico broadcast live on the Portal dos Dragões website.

On the other side, FC Porto want to force a fourth game and, to do that, they cannot lose. Goalkeeper Xavi Malián assured that the European champions will “do everything to win and earn an extra life in the tie”, which is being played as a best-of-five series.

Trailing 2-0 in the series, Porto know they are facing “an extremely difficult game that will be decided by the details”, but the goalkeeper also made an appeal to the fans, in tune with the players, for everyone to “row together in the same direction”: “We are much stronger if we are all together, we’ve shown that many times already,” he told the Dragons’ website.

The arena is sold out, but confidence remains high.

“If we lose, we’re out, it’s a final, but we’re going to approach it the way we approached the last two games. Here at FC Porto, only victory matters in every game, we always play to win. We didn’t manage that in the previous two matches, but we’re going to do everything to win and to earn an extra life in the tie,” said Xavi Malián.

The goalkeeper also gave his analysis: “The first game was strange. We conceded three goals while shorthanded; this year we had been doing very well in that phase of the game, but these things happen. We felt very sorry for the fans who came to watch us, but that’s in the past now. We’re only looking at the next game, which will be extremely difficult and decided by the details, but together we will fight to get the win.”

The objectives are clearly defined. “We’re very confident and we want to win. We know that if we don’t win, there won’t be another one, but we have a lot of confidence because we’re working well, even though sometimes things don’t come off. We’re going to fight until the end and we want everyone together — players, coaching staff and fans rowing in the same direction.”

Xavi Malián believes in the strength of the fans: “It had been a long time since I’d seen the arena this full, it was very good. I want to thank them for their trust and tell them that we’re going to leave everything on the court to give them the win. We are much stronger if we are all together, we’ve shown that many times already, and that’s how it will be.”

Sporting, meanwhile, winners of the Portuguese Cup, won Game 1 of the semi-finals in Porto (7-3) and triumphed again at home (2-0), leaving the European champions under enormous pressure, with no margin for error and at risk of elimination in the best-of-five playoff.

Xano Edo, Sporting’s goalkeeper, has been one of the Lions’ standout performers, especially because of his top-level display at the João Rocha, where he shut down every route to his goal. The keeper’s confidence is high, as he explained in his preview to the club’s media channels: “Without a doubt, it’s very important to keep the opponent from scoring, above all because it was against a team like FC Porto, who attack very well and have players with a lot of quality in front of goal. But more important than me not conceding is giving confidence to the team, and that confirms that we’ve been doing a very good defensive job. That’s what we want to keep doing in the next games.”

Focused on the next clássico, the green-and-white goalkeeper hopes the team can respond in the same way again, even while admitting how difficult it is to win again at FC Porto’s home: “We want to keep this winning run going, but we know it will be an even more complicated game than the first two. If it’s already difficult to win at the Dragão, winning there twice in a row is even harder. We have to be even more disciplined in defence and attack because these games are decided by the details, and the details keep getting smaller. So we’ll have to pay very close attention to everything, and we have to keep doing the work we’ve been doing,” said Xano Edo.

Asked whether these first two wins, which leave Sporting one victory away from the final, are also the result of the group’s unity, Xano Edo did not hesitate: “From the day I arrived here, I felt the team came together straight away and I think, yes, that has been a huge strength and has helped us take a step forward in the tougher moments. We are a very united team and I think that is even more noticeable now at this stage, which is tougher physically and mentally. May it stay that way until the end so that everything can go well and we can finish the season with another title.”

Finally, Xano Edo also assured Sporting fans that the team “will keep giving everything as we have so far” and called for everyone’s support: “The fans’ support is fundamental and always works as an extra boost for us to achieve victory. So we need them to always be with us and support us no matter what, because we will keep leaving everything on the court for them.”

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