“The key to the game will be staying solid in defence” | OneFootball

FC Porto’s handball team returns to the national championship in Lisbon for the classic clash against Benfica, in the fifth round of the final stage, on Saturday at 3pm, live on Porto Canal. Before what he describes as “a decisive match to secure second place”, which could “ensure a possible spot in the Champions League”, Vasco Costa believes that “the key to the game will be for the team to stay solid in defence” and to “impose a strong tempo from the start”: “If we can get on the scoresheet first like we did in the first-leg match, we’ll be more relaxed.”

The fight for second place“It’s a decisive match for us to secure second place and we want to wrap up the standings as early as tomorrow. It’s a tough away trip, but we’re very confident. We played a great game against them at home and we want to reproduce that performance.”

The recipe for success“We have to impose a strong tempo from the start, we’ve been playing good handball and the key to the game will be staying solid in defence, as we have been lately.”

European League elimination“We were left with a bitter feeling because we played two good matches, we were always strong defensively, but in the end we lacked finishing, even though we were causing problems in attack. Everything was decided in the details, we were one goal away from taking it to a seven-metre throw shootout. Now we move on and want to secure the next win.”

Eyes on a possible ticket to the Champions League“A spot could open up in the Champions League next year and, by securing second place, we’ll also secure that opportunity. Our goal is always to play on the biggest stages, so our target is to win the remaining matches against Benfica and Águas Santas.”

Flat out from the very first second“We had a big advantage in the last game and, if we can get on the scoresheet first like we did in that first-leg match, we’ll be more relaxed. In these games you never know what’s going to happen, it can stay close right until the end, but if we impose a good tempo we can play a great match.”

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