FC Porto host Sporting in all-or-nothing playoff final showdown | OneFootball

Sporting are just a small step away from securing a place in the Championship playoff final, so this Wednesday’s trip to Dragão Arena, at 9:00 pm, 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 afford to lose. Goalkeeper Xavi Malián assures that the European champions will “do everything to win and earn an extra life in the series,” which is being played as a best-of-five.

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 same way we approached the last two games. Here at FC Porto only victory in every game matters, we always play to win, we didn’t manage that in the previous two games, but we’re going to do everything to win and to earn an extra life in the series,” said Xavi Malián.

The goalkeeper also gave his analysis: “The first game was strange. We conceded three goals while short-handed, 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 see 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 are very confident and we want to win. We know that if we don’t win, there isn’t another one, but we are very confident because we are working well, even if sometimes things don’t come off. We will 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 supporters: “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 are going to leave everything out on the rink to give them the win. We are much stronger if we are all together, we’ve shown that many times, and that will be the case again.”

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 players, 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 is 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 great touch in front of goal, but more important than me not conceding is giving confidence to the team and confirming that we have been doing very good defensive work. That is 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, although he admits how difficult it is to win once more at FC Porto’s home: “We want to keep this winning momentum going, but we know it will be an even more complicated game than the first two. If it is already difficult to win at the Dragão, winning there twice in a row is even harder. We have to be even more precise in defence and attack because these games are decided in the details and the details are getting smaller and smaller. So we will have to pay close attention to everything and we have to keep doing the work we have 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 very great strength and it 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 in this phase, which is physically and mentally tougher. May it stay that way until the end so that everything can go well and we can finish the season with another title.”

To finish, Xano Edo also assured Sporting fans that the team “will keep giving everything as we have done so far” and called for everyone’s support: “The fans’ support is fundamental and always works as an extra push 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 out on the court for them.”

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