FC Porto beat Boavista 5-0 at Estádio do Bessa, reaching the second victory in two matchdays. After the match that placed the Dragons in the lead of Liga NOS with the best attack in the competition, Sérgio Conceição saw the adjustments for the second-half as fundamental to “hurt the opponent”. “We had a second-half worthy of FC Porto from last year, with great ambition and determination”, the blue and white coach added. According to the coach of the national champions, “It was a good match”, with fantastic goals, beautiful and well worked”, in “moments of great level”.

Reaction during halftime
“I think the difference was the way we prepared the last third of the pitch. In the first-half, we could have scored, even if Boavista did manage to create danger, once or twice, but that had more to do with mistakes we made than for what they did. I remember one shot from them without any sort of danger. They never posed danger, and we could have and should have scored before the break. In the second-half, we obviously corrected one or two situations that we weren’t working as well, on the defence, and that was extremely important to hurt the opponent. We had a second-half worthy of FC Porto from last season, with great ambition and determination. The goals continued to appear, we could have scored one or two more, without Boavista creating danger. I remember Marchesín had one good save, and that was it. It was a good match for us, with fantastic goals, beautiful and well worked. The players understood the tactic and the match perfectly, and there were moments at great level, especially in the second-half.”

Substitutions added imagination and speed
“They were important, for what Luis (Díaz) can do and also for Otávio, in the centre. There one two or three situations where I felt Matheus (Uribe) wasn’t well in the match, but not because of his quality, just for the way I was analysing the match, and I wanted to add creativity and imagination in the centre. Also adding more speed upfront, that’s what I prepared.”

Set pieces come from a lot of work
“We work them, I believe everyone knows hoe important those moments of the match are. And, as they are part of the game, we work everything to the smallest detail. That also takes time.”

Offensive efficiency explains the score
“I enjoy winning, above all. And then, if you score five goals... There are match when you can’t score, despite creating many opportunities, but we were fortunate in that regard tonight.”

Football needs fans
“It’s a shame to have an empty stadium, with the fans watching it on TV. These are the matches and the derbies that, deep down, people enjoy the most. I still think that football without an audience is not good for anyone.”

Group united around the team
“Everyone knows each other well in this team, players and coach. I hear and read that FC Porto plays with the same players. That’s perfectly normal, as I choose those who are better prepared for the matches, which doesn’t mean that the new players don’t know what we want. Tonight was the perfect example of that, some players that arrived recently gave a positive response. That pleases us, as do the celebrations of the players who didn’t go in, when the team scores, and how they live the match, that’s a reason of pride for me. And this isn’t bluff from me, I’m not trying to create this fantastic setting. This spirit exists, we have a good and healthy spirit in the group. This is a competitive group, that know that the team is what matters the most, and that makes me happy.”

The team defines itself during
“Looking at the squad, we understand which players give us the response we want for the matches. That’s doesn’t mean I going to send in the same team again. It depends on the week, on what the players do in training, so there is nothing pre-established in terms of who plays on each matchday. It depends on what they do. We also look at the integration of the new players who joined us, coming from different contexts, and who are not used to FC Porto. Obviously, they need to adjust, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t ready to play. I’m the one who decides on that, depending on what I see during the week and on what I know about my players.”