Pietuszewski and Thiago Silva to miss next Europa League game | OneFootball

The introduction of Oskar Pietuszewski, decisive in the play that led to the penalty converted by Alan Varela for the winning goal against Vitória de Guimarães (1-0), and the composure shown by Thiago Silva under pressure from the Minho forwards, will not necessarily be available yet in the UEFA Europa League, against Viktoria Plzen on Thursday, or against Rangers in the final matchday. Both the Polish winger and the Brazilian center-back can only be registered if FC Porto qualifies for the round of 16.

The 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 means that, for the third consecutive match, Francesco Farioli will once again have to change the defensive axis—a position usually characterized by stability. Continuity, however, is maintained as the most used pairing this season returns: Bednarek and Kiwior. After a slight muscular discomfort in the Cup classic against Benfica, the Polish center-back was rested in Guimarães and only came on in the 88th minute.

With the European match against Viktoria Plzen on the horizon, Farioli prioritized managing Bednarek’s workload and tried a new partnership 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 delivered: Vitória only managed three shots on target out of 20 attempts, and FC Porto left the D. Afonso Henriques unscathed, achieving their 10th away win in the league, 17th of the season, and fifth consecutive clean sheet away from the Dragão.

These are impressive numbers for the league leaders, who now turn their attention to the European fixture against the Czechs at the Doosan Arena. FC Porto sits eighth in the Europa League group, with 10 points, three ahead of Plzen, who are 14th.

With vast experience at both club and national team level, 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 half we maintain our high level of performance,” he said at his unveiling as a reinforcement for the blue and whites on January 5.

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

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