FC Porto said goodbye to Estádio do Dragão in season 2019/20 with a victory over Moreirense, 6-1, for matchday 33 of Liga NOS. After the big victory, Sérgio Conceição admitted he enjoyed the second-half more, with the national champions scoring five goals. According to the coach, the foundation to the blue and white victory was the “quality” of the team and the “good spirit there is right now”.

The summary of the match
“This was a match against a team that is comfortable in the table, a team that has been having a great championship. Like I said at the preview, Moreirense only lost one in the last 14 matches. We knew the difficulties we would face, and we needed a team with the same spirit that faced Sporting, as only then could we manage the match like we wanted. We went in well, but, in the first-half, the team was terrible without the ball. That made the difference between the first and the second-half. Our defensive process was very different in the second-half, and, after that, with our quality and with the good spirit there is right now, we reached these numbers.”

Six goals scored
“That comes from work. We had Marega scoring from a free-kick tonight, and that comes from training. He shoots with power, and that comes from the team as well, with the strong dynamic we had in the second-half. We always have the chance to score, regardless of the players being more or less technical. It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with the work you do every day.”

Everything changed after the break
“There are always things to correct. Even if we had been winning 3-0, there are always things that aren’t as good as you wanted or going according to plan. At halftime, I realised Moreirense was showing they are a solid team, that doesn’t concede many goals, and that means they are consistent in the back, but they also remained dangerous on the attack. They were a calm team, playing for the sake of the game, with well-set principles. After the break, we corrected things, and everything came out naturally, the players had fun. They ran less, but they ran as they had to. FC Porto scored 19 goals in the second-halves after the interruption and four in the first. That’s from the great work we did during the interruption. And a word goes to Eduardo Oliveira, our physiologist, who was tireless. A word to him. Everyone worked for this, and that’s why our second-halves are so good. When you are physically well, these great goals come up. It has to do with this capacity of being at our highest level physically.”

Everyone is important
“We prepared what we had to prepare for this match and we took the opportunity to play Diogo Costa, who has been in the shadows. There are many players that are working in the shadows so that the ones who play the most are at a higher level. They are doing a great work and I give them as much or even more importance than the ones who play the most. A squad and a competitive group depends on the respect about the choices of the coach during the season. Only then do we have people who, when they are called, give their contribution at the highest level. That is a reason for great satisfaction for any coach. This is a competitive group, solid, strong, that doesn’t have only 11, 12 or 13 players. This is a group. In these three years, the proof of this is that those who go in add something. It has to do with what they do, often in the shadows. That work must be praised. Everyone is eager to help and that’s vital for us. There are no rewards for anyone. I want to say this to all the players who aren’t used as much, and that make FC Porto more competitive. They are rarely mentioned, but I give them credit and attention, as they are the ones that make a squad strong. They are the ones that make a squad competitive, and they are the ones that, when they go in, always give a positive response.”

4-4-2 or 4-3-3
“It depends on who plays as offensive midfielder or as forward, it depends on the strategy, on the plan, on the fitness of the players. I give a lot of credit to daily work and to those who give the best response when they go in. The players already know our DNA, they know almost perfectly what we work on and what we do.”

Diogo Costa in front of goal
“That’s what I decided on for the rest of the season, these three matches: this one, the one in Braga and the final of the Portuguese Cup. That’s the plan, thinking one match at a time. The main goal is the final of the Cup, as this is a title that we already deserved last season.”

Replacing Fábio Vieira in the first-half
“The conversation I had with him at the end of the match had to do with that. I’m already explained the reasons to him. I didn’t have to explain much, he understood what was planned, what was defined for the match. If had to do with what Fábio can bring for the next matches. He joined us recently, his skill is above average, and tonight wasn’t as good as usual for him, especially without the ball. We needed a player to win the ball, to balance when needed.”

Marega’s fantastic free-kick
“Many people criticise Marega because his technic isn’t the best, but this is technic for me, his movements, coming up in front of goal with tremendous ease, the way he controls the ball when he shoots. For, that’s what matters in a player, not the juggling; that’s for the circus and we’re a football team.”

The celebration on the pitch
“It was to pay homage to those who couldn’t be at the stadium. It would have been like hosting a party, but not play music. That’s what football without fans is. It isn’t a real party. It’s a shame, we deserved a full stadium, and the fans deserved to live this with us.”

A fair champion
“Many coaches in the League sent me messages, in private, talking about the title. I want to thank here everyone who congratulated, me and FC Porto, for the title. It gave us a lot of work, but we deserve to become champions.”

Nakajima
“I’m not the one who has to answer to that.”