Farioli: “Our rivals want to bring FC Porto down” | OneFootball

Francesco Farioli, FC Porto’s coach, explained his decision not to play with two forwards at the same time during the draw against Utrecht in the UEFA Europa League, despite the team having a numerical advantage.

“Deniz was quite tired when he came off, the game was very demanding. It was a physical and tactical decision. Gabri was the best player on the pitch during several phases of the match. I felt we needed him until the end to get into the penalty area more often. Deniz was even used as a winger against Moreirense. There can be many scenarios,” he said at a press conference, previewing the match against Famalicão.

The coach was also asked about the difficulties in the team’s last two victories.

“A game lasts 90 minutes, whether you score in the 1st or the 90th minute, it counts the same. We have to manage things; expectations are high because of how we started, people think winning 2-0 or 3-0 is normal… But it’s not like that. In the league, in Europe, in the Cup, the games are very tough. Sometimes we break the deadlock early, but in others we have to fight and compete until the end,” he said.

“I’ve talked about this a few times, I think a narrative has been built that isn’t healthy, but it’s normal. Our rivals and the media want to put FC Porto down. But we want to see the team united. We will face difficulties as a family, the Porto family. This is the time to be united, when we need our fans, to keep fighting just as we have since the start of the season,” he added, calling for the fans’ unity around the team.

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