Farioli: "The spirit and desire were there" | OneFootball

FC Porto achieved their ninth victory in nine official matches by defeating Red Star 2-1 in the second round of the Europa League, and coach Francesco Farioli praised “the spirit and desire” of a team that knew how to manage “a scenario different from what they are used to” and managed to secure “another important victory in the final minutes.”

“There is still a lot of work ahead, but the result was positive and the team put in a good performance,” declared the coach, focused on “continuing to improve” to face the challenges of a “very demanding Europa League.”

Positive performance“The spirit was there. In the first half, before the goal, the game was always under control with and without the ball against an opponent that plays in a way we are not used to, and we managed it well. There is still a lot of work ahead, but the result was positive and the team put in a good performance.”

The path to follow“The action leading to the second goal gives a good image of what we want to be. We are far from perfect, but the spirit and desire were there. We counted on the fantastic contribution of Gabri Veiga and Victor Froholdt, and Pepê knew how to carry the ball and pass it to Rodrigo Mora. This is the image that remains.”

The aggressiveness of the Serbians“Up until their goal, the game was under control, but it was complicated to play against an opponent who, until the end, man-marked all our players except the central defenders. It was a scenario different from what we are used to, it required more time to adapt, but I think the game was positive overall. I am left with good feelings, but I need to review the game to have a better understanding.”

Mora focused on attack“At the start of the season, I had already said that Rodrigo Mora could play in more than one position. When Jan Bednarek started to have some cramps, I felt it was a good opportunity to try Mora as a false 9 and use Gabri and Victor’s runs a bit more, and then the goal ended up coming from a different dynamic. I think Rodrigo Mora can cover various options and, besides the goal, he produced two or three great moments, especially when he played higher up the pitch. It was good and the goal rewarded his performance.”

European prospects“We have to qualify first and there is still a long way to go. At Ajax, I started with three wins and then only managed to qualify in the last game. We have to keep moving forward, of course it’s an important result, the second to come in the final minutes of the match. We have to keep improving, especially because the Europa League is very demanding and we have to be prepared.”

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