Farioli: At Como, we play on the front foot and press hard | OneFootball

Francesco Farioli, coach of FC Porto, presented this Monday the preview of the match on Sporting's ground, scheduled for Tuesday at 8:45 PM, regarding the first leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-finals.

Is it expected that FC Porto will be even more pragmatic? “What is pragmatism? Holding onto the result and not taking risks in the last minutes? For me, pragmatism is speculative. Speculative for me is going onto the field with a clear plan. If you watch all our games, we challenged all opponents. On paper, whether we are more offensive or, as you say, more defensive, it happens. I've seen teams at Dragão that didn't press and reduced space at the back, that's pragmatism for me. But having the best defense in Europe and in Portugal means you defend well and that we press a lot. Playing against Sporting, which is capable of forcing you to defend lower, you have to be very good at it, have the humility and mentality to do it. But as I wish, our game is forward and full throttle on the pressure. We are predictable because our identity is clear, regardless of the opponent. In some games, we recovered 28 balls in the opponent's midfield, in others you are forced to drop back to recover. We are the best team in pressure intensity, in reaction to pressure…”

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