Vitória SC boss: We learned from Estoril, but Porto are strong | OneFootball

Victorians and 'dragons' will compete on Thursday at 20:15 for the last spot in the 'final four' of the tournament, which takes place in Leiria between January 6 and 10, in a match that, according to Luís Pinto, will present his team with "different problems" and "extremely interesting challenges to solve".

"It's a challenge [facing FC Porto at Estádio do Dragão]. It's a good test to understand what this team is capable of at the moment. I believe that tomorrow's game [Thursday] will be a good test to assess our current capability and a good challenge to present us with different problems from the recent games, extremely interesting to solve," he emphasized, in the preview of the challenge.

Aware that a victory at the home of the Porto team ensures a place in the semi-final against Sporting, scheduled for January 7, the 36-year-old coach admitted that the League Cup, due to its brief nature, is a competition within reach of the eight participants and avoided commenting that the tournament is 'designed' to gather the top four finishers of the previous championship in the final stage.

"We know what the game means and what it can bring to the club. We want to enter the game to win. There is no team in the world that doesn't do that. (…) I prefer to look at the 'glass half full'. It's a short competition. All the clubs involved have the possibility to win it. By winning, we take a big step," he stressed.

The Victorian 'helmsman' also considered that the three consecutive victories – against Tondela (1-0) in the Primeira Liga, against Mortágua (4-0) in the Portuguese Cup, and against AVS (4-0) again in the championship – reflect "a natural growth process" and anticipated a different encounter from the one played on August 11, in the opening round, when Vitória was defeated in Porto by 3-0.

"At the time, the 'market' was still open. More than talking about growth, it's important to test, compete, and recognize the opponent's worth and compete to understand where we stand. Vitória is a very different team from the one that started the season," he mentioned.

For the coach, FC Porto "is a team that started the season very strong," that "remains very strong," that has only conceded one goal at home in domestic competitions – against Sporting de Braga (2-1) – and that continues to be dangerous offensively, despite the fair victory on Sunday (1-0) over an Estoril Praia that created problems.

"Estoril was a competent team at Dragão, but it is a team very different from ours in terms of characteristics. We can take something from that game, but Porto is extremely strong and capable. Only such a team can have such a low number of goals conceded," he stated.

Luís Pinto assured that he will field "the best eleven," "extremely competent and prepared," without revealing any potential changes from the previous game.

Vitória de Guimarães travels to Estádio do Dragão for the match that concludes the League Cup quarter-finals, scheduled for Thursday at 20:15, with Hélder Carvalho from the Santarém Association officiating.

The winner will join, in the 'final four', Sporting, Benfica, and Sporting de Braga, who respectively eliminated Alverca, Tondela, and Santa Clara.

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