Aftermath of the game: “An important result on a very difficult pitch against a team that is fantastic in the league. It was very important to have a strong reaction after the Champions League game. Without conceding goals, a very competent performance.”
Opponent’s qualities: “Gil Vicente defends very well in duels, he is very strong. He protects the area very well. We had situations where we arrived in good conditions and it was very important to have scored for Borja, which gave us the result. Credit for the spirit they had and the effort they put in on the field.”
Difficulties in the last third: “They scored very well in the first 20 minutes. It was very difficult because they were covering everything very well. It was a game of great defensive application. In the second half of the first half we increased the quality of construction in the second phase. It gave us some interesting actions that we didn’t convert by a few centimeters on the last pass. In the second half it was a different game, with more moments in the other half of the field.”
Gabri Veiga leaving at half-time: “He had some moments where he had strong contacts. We have a team with alternatives, Inbeom came in with good rhythm and this is football. The players have to come in and change the dynamics of the game. Today they saw that Oskar had a small problem, Borja came in and was the man of the match.”
Pietuszewski’s situation: “We have to see. It’s in the other leg. It looks like a spasm but it’s too early to give complete information.”
Samu frustrated in thanking fans: “Frustrated because he wanted to score? I think so. He’s a striker and he wants to score. He said at the press conference that the unity of the club, of the fans, has always been key. It has to be like that. This team is a group of boys who always give their best on the field. We’re not perfect, we have a lot of areas to improve, but tonight they fought with everything they had. They sweated it out with every ball. It’s never easy to come here, play and win.”
Record start at FC Porto: “It doesn’t count at all. What really counts is the 27 points, which are an important step. But we’re in the middle of October, the season is very long and we still have to do a lot of things. We’re only 25% away from a long marathon.”
