Pietuszewski and Thiago Silva ruled out of next Europa League match | OneFootball

The entry of Oskar Pietuszewski, crucial in the play that led to the penalty scored by Alan Varela for the winning goal against Vitória de Guimarães (1-0), and the security displayed by Thiago Silva against the pressure from the Minho forwards, may not necessarily be available for the UEFA Europa League against Viktoria Plzen on Thursday and against Rangers in the final match. Both the Polish winger and the Brazilian center-back can only be registered if FC Porto qualifies for the round of 16.

UEFA regulations are clear: "After the conclusion of the group stage and before the start of the knockout phase, a club may register a maximum of three new eligible players for the remaining matches of the current competition. These registrations must be completed by February 5, 2026."

This implies that, for the third consecutive match, Francesco Farioli will once again alter the defensive axis – an area usually characterized by stability. Continuity, however, is maintained as the most used duo this season returns: Bednarek and Kiwior. After a slight muscle discomfort in the Cup classic against Benfica, the Polish center-back was preserved in Guimarães and only came on in the 88th minute.

With the European match against Viktoria Plzen on the horizon, Farioli prioritized the management of Bednarek's efforts and experimented with a new connection in the center of defense, lining up Thiago Silva with Kiwior and betting on the versatility of Martim Fernandes, who was placed on the left flank. The blue and white wall responded: Vitória only made three shots on target out of 20 attempts, and FC Porto emerged unscathed from D. Afonso Henriques, achieving their 10th away win in the League, the 17th of the season, and the fifth consecutive clean sheet away from the Dragão.

These are impressive numbers from the league leader, who now turns their attention to the European commitment with the Czechs at the Doosan Arena. FC Porto is in eighth place in the Europa League group, with 10 points, three above Plzen, who are 14th.

With extensive experience at club and national team levels, Thiago Silva has played 105 matches in the Champions League but has never participated in UEFA's second competition, the UEFA Europa League.

"People always tell me that I've never won the Europa League. That's because I've never played in the competition. This year I have that opportunity, I hope we can have a great season and that in this second part we maintain the high level of performance," he said during his presentation as a reinforcement for the blue and whites on January 5.

As for Oskar Pietuszewski, he participated in one UEFA Europa League preliminary match and in six qualifying matches for the Conference League. In that competition, he qualified twice with Jagiellonia for the group stage, totaling 10 matches.

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