Magnus Andersson: “Fire in their eyes in the dressing room” | OneFootball

FC Porto’s coach explained that the team went into the break disappointed with what was happening in the Clássico against Benfica and that, in the second half, everything changed, ending in a 10-goal victory.

“We were very disappointed at half-time. Not because of the way we played — I don’t think we were bad in attack, we found good solutions, although we missed some good chances — but I had the feeling we were far too passive in defence. We changed things a bit to be more aggressive, trying to force fouls in certain situations and control the pivot better. At the start, our defence was sometimes a mess and they did whatever they wanted. They have so many good players that if you are passive and one step behind, they will always make the right decision,” Magnus Andersson began.

“We changed that at half-time. I also felt some frustration with the two-minute suspensions; we played almost four minutes in a row shorthanded, we wasted a few balls and that gave Benfica energy. In the second half, our defence was good, which is also easy to say when you have a goalkeeper making so many saves. In attack, we found excellent solutions. A lot of players were fantastic, like Vasco Sousa and João Gomes, who made a few mistakes but is very strong one-on-one. I’m pleased with the result. Not with the first half, but we are dealing with human beings and the players were very disappointed at half-time, and in the end they did a good job.”

Was it important to carry that frustration into the second half? “Yes. You could see the fire in their eyes in the dressing room. They were disappointed because they felt we were attacking well, but we knew that to win we had to be much better in defence.”

Was Abrahamsson, with 16 saves, the key player? “Without a doubt. Handball is a sport where a goalkeeper can make all the difference. Today, maybe he wasn’t the only factor, because we won by a lot, but the goalkeeper is fundamental. If we look at the last games against Benfica, Capdeville made a huge number of top-level saves. In those games we didn’t even play badly, but it’s frustrating to miss so many chances. I think Benfica’s coach would say the same.

How important is a result like this for the team’s confidence? “It is only one game, but after so many years here, I understand that it is not just one game: it is a clássico between rivals, and at our home the expectations are extremely high. It was an extremely important result. Now we have two weeks to work without matches. From August until recently, we were playing almost twice a week. Now we will have two weeks just for training. We are at the end of the season and we are still a bit down because of the result against Sporting, so this helps shift the focus: train hard, but also relax a little. They are not machines, they are human. Some internationals have been playing almost nonstop for a year and a half. We all dropped a little after the game against Sporting, so I am very happy with this turnaround and with the win in the second half.”

Do you still believe in the title? “It will be difficult. We are not thinking much about that right now because we lost against Sporting. I don’t want to speculate too much. My job is to keep the players focused. We have 14 days ahead of us, then Águas Santas and Melsungen. We have to clear our heads, try to win every game and see what happens, while also focusing on the European League. Honestly, after the home game against Sporting, I had the feeling of ‘damn, we’ve lost the championship’.”

Satisfaction with the signings: “I’m very happy with them. Gilberto Duarte was exhausted at the end. He gave us a lot of energy. He is a club legend, an incredible professional and he helps us a lot with his reading of the game. He wasn’t in the best shape when he arrived, but he will improve. Ante Grbavac is a fantastic goalkeeper and someone everyone respects. My problem now is having too many players available in training. I have to give the opportunities and the respect that everyone deserves, but this is sport and at a club of this size, that’s how it is. Miguel Oliveira is also coming back step by step, and we are very happy for him; he has already played for the B team and now trains full-time with the first team. My difficulty in every game is having to tell three or four players: ‘Sorry, you’re not playing today.’”

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