FC Porto remains two points behind the current leader of the championship, with Paços losing at Estádio do Dragão, 2-0, for matchday 12 of Liga NOS. At the end of the match, Sérgio Conceição stated that the scoreboard could have showed a larger advantage, and praised Loum, who scored the first goal, and mentioned that Aboubakar being injured again was “the only bad moment” of the evening.

Fair victory
“We knew we were facing a organized team, on a Monday evening, which isn’t attractive for the fans. We had to set the mood. Paços made our life harder in the shooting zone, but we had more than one opportunity to score in the first-half. In the second-half, we looked for a goal immediately, to “kill” the match, as we were still tired from the match on Thursday. Zé Luís did and he could have done two or three more times. After that second goal, we managed the team and attacked. The result is fair. It wasn’t a brilliant game, but we were close.

Control of the match without slowing down
“We like to control the match, but always looking to score. We are not a team with passive ball possession. We always have to be balanced with the ball, reacting when we lose it and focusing on scoring. We always created difficulties for their defence. Paços is a strong team in the back, typical in Pepa, but we were able to create dangerous plays tonight. We could have ended the match with one of two more goals.”

Loum
“Zé Luís described Loum in our post-match analysis. There is no point in a player sulking because he isn’t playing at some point. Everyone is important. We have a massive match cycle until Christmas break and we need everyone in the group. Loum is a case of persistence. He had injuries, but waited for his opportunity. He is focused, everyone is. When he had his opportunity, he grabbed on to it. He has a lot to evolve and grow in a club such as FC Porto, but he is taking important steps in that direction.”

Aboubakar injured
“That was the only bad moment of the evening.”