Francesco Farioli: “It was a good test against a good opponent” | OneFootball

FC Porto hosted Aston Villa at the Estádio do Dragão in a presentation match that ended with a 2-1 win for the Dragons. After the game, Francesco Farioli gave his assessment of the match:

“It’s a good test against a very strong team, and it’s good to see how we approached the game; we had a very good start. We’re starting to use players for the full 90 minutes, and it’s important to get back to a normal rhythm, to extend the players’ minutes as much as possible. It was very good to play in front of the fans, a great atmosphere, a good start to the new season. Next week we already play Torreense, and we have to be at our best to win the Super Cup.”

“Use of the squad players? We shared the minutes as we did against Gil Vicente. Everyone has almost the same number of minutes. Now it’s time to make decisions, but on my side it’s not just 11 players; we are 25 plus those who may still come in from the market. There’s a lot to do, but we have to start somewhere, and these games give me enough to make those decisions. After the defeat in Barcelos, the players gave their all, and now it’s time to freshen up the legs and the mind a little so we can be ready for next week.”

“Pablo Rosário as right-back for the Super Cup? We’ll see. Alberto has recovered, but we didn’t want to take the risk. One or another can play, Martim could also be back, we’ll see how things develop over the next five or six days and then we’ll choose the best eleven for the game against Torreense.”

“Transfer market? We still have many weeks of the window ahead of us, and we need to do a few things. We are all on the same page about what we need. We don’t completely control the market; there are players we wanted to approach who are difficult at this stage, and there are opportunities that may come up later in the window. But, as I always say, we have to pay more attention to this fantastic group of players. I’m sure the club will do what is necessary for us to be competitive.”

“Are FC Porto favourites? As I said last season, what was done in the past is part of history, part of the museum. That does not give us any extra credit; we will start from zero. I want a team with the hunger and desire of an underdog. It’s not about piling up titles, but about going game by game, season by season. What was done is in the past; the Super Cup is the last link to last season. After that, we reset, we start from zero, and we have to be very demanding of ourselves. The level of competition is going to increase; we’ve seen how things are changing. As always, we’ll be going full throttle, because that’s the only way we know how to compete.”

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