Daniel Chaves: “we want to show a much better response” | OneFootball

One week after the goalless draw at Olival, FC Porto women’s team coach Daniel Chaves and midfielder Letícia Almeida looked ahead to the rematch against Racing Power, away from home, on matchday one of Group A of the League Cup, scheduled for Sunday at 4:30pm and broadcast on Porto Canal. The coach expects a different challenge, while the player is targeting victory and a debut that can leave its mark. The standard required was summed up by Daniel Chaves: “to be Porto in every game.”

The new clash comes with the lessons from the league meeting still fresh, but now within the context of a different competition. Daniel Chaves wants to correct what was missing in the first encounter, and Letícia Almeida takes into this debut the confidence of a united group determined to show what it is capable of.

Looking back at the stalemate at Olival, the coach did not hide his dissatisfaction with Porto’s performance. Daniel Chaves identified room for more effective ball circulation against Racing Power’s pressure and admitted that the team fell short of what it could have done.

“We were left with the feeling that we could have been better. We had space to keep the ball and, despite the opponent’s intense pressure, we could have been better in those moments,” he admitted. “It ended up being a very physical, hard-fought game, with a lot of fouls by the opposition that disrupted our rhythm whenever we wanted to keep possession. We could and should have been better.”

Letícia Almeida also acknowledged the difficulties posed by the opposition, without overlooking the positive signs taken from the match.

The midfielder assessed: “It was a closely contested game against a team that created some difficulties for us. We were aware of their quality and we wanted a better result, but we still took some positive lessons from it.”

The draw therefore left a shared diagnosis: Racing Power confirmed its quality, but FC Porto believe they had the conditions to produce more. It is from that margin for improvement that expectations for the rematch arise.

Although the opponent is the same, Daniel Chaves refused to treat the second meeting as a repeat of the first. The change of competition changes the context, and the week’s work has been geared towards a stronger response.

“They are different competitions and that makes the game itself different as well. Obviously, we want to give a much better response than the one we gave in the last game at Olival, and we are working towards that,” he explained. “We also know which areas we could have explored better, so all that remains is for us to work on being better against the same opponent in a different competition.”

Letícia Almeida admitted that Racing Power may also bring some new elements, but placed the focus on Porto’s preparation.

The player assured: “I believe they may change a few things, but we are aware of the work we are doing during the week and we are confident about what is coming.”

The short gap between the two matches offers references, but not certainties. FC Porto are preparing for a challenge with its own identity, built on the corrections made since the meeting at Olival.

Group A includes, besides Racing Power and FC Porto, SC Braga, Benfica and SCU Torreense, with the top two teams advancing to the semi-finals. Faced with a highly demanding group, Daniel Chaves kept the team’s ambitions fully intact.

“The expectations are the same in every competition: we want to be competitive in every game,” he said. “We are clearly in a very strong group and, if we added Sporting, we would have the best teams in the league. We know the group will be difficult, but we want to be Porto in every game, and being Porto allows us to be competitive and fight for victory in every match.”

For Letícia Almeida, the start of the League Cup also brings the desire to give the fans something to celebrate and to make their debut in the competition count.

The midfielder stressed: “It’s our debut in the League Cup and we want to give this joy to our fans. We hope to leave a good mark.”

The group poses difficulties from the very first matchday, but Porto’s message seeks neither shortcuts nor excuses. Competitiveness is the starting point for fighting for victory and building a meaningful run in the competition.

Daniel Chaves also spoke about the growing number of FC Porto players being called up to national teams. The coach highlighted those call-ups as a sign of progress, although he acknowledged the difficulties they create for collective preparation.

“It’s good for FC Porto to have more and more players being called up to the national teams; it’s a sign of the growth we are achieving,” he noted. “The only downside is that it is a work period without matches in which we do not have the players with us, but that is part of it. We will take the opportunity to work on our process, even if they are not here.”

Between satisfaction with the call-ups and the need to keep working without all the players, the message is pragmatic. Individual growth is valued without diminishing the importance of consolidating the collective process.

It is precisely in the strength of the group that Letícia Almeida finds one of the foundations for Porto’s confidence. The midfielder described a united dressing room, aware of its own abilities and bound by a connection that goes beyond the game.

“I feel very good; there’s not much to hide. We are a very united and special group, and we all get along really well,” she said. “We have our heads in the right place and we know what we are capable of doing. We feel that we are a family and we want to show everyone what we are capable of.”

In the player’s words, that unity is more than just a dressing-room image. It is presented as the emotional and competitive foundation of a team that wants to make its mark through what it produces on the pitch.

Before the League Cup debut, Letícia Almeida also had a message for the Porto fans. The support received is seen as an important part of the journey and reinforces the desire to respond with a win.

The player reiterated: “The support of our fans has been very important to us and, as I have already said, we would like to give them this joy.”

Between the desire to put right the draw at Olival and the ambition to open the new competition with a win, FC Porto head into the rematch with a clear idea: to turn the fans’ support into a performance capable of showing the strength of this group.

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