FC Porto left Madrid with a point in the first matchday of Group B of the Champions League, but the outcome of the match against Atlético (0-0) could have been different if Mehdi Taremi’s goal, scored 80 minutes in, had not been disallowed. Still, Diogo Costa, newcomer Wendell, Marko Grujic and Toni Martínez praised the performance of the blue and white team in the Spanish capital and assured that the Dragons will fight until the end for the qualification to the knockout stages.

Diogo Costa
“As the saying goes, a point is better than nothing. We only think about winning at this club, but it’s football and you get bad days. We have to always give our best and today we played with our DNA, we left a good image. FC Porto is not afraid of anyone and we are a very competitive team. I am living a dream and I will continue to give everything to be better every day. I will continue to work and be humble.”

Wendell
“We have to be happy for the work we did. Everyone played well and faced the match as a real final, as the coach asked us to do. We are leaving with a point, we fought hard and scored a goal, but unfortunately it was disallowed. We will fight for a spot in the Round of 16. Because of FC Porto’s history, we always have to go in as a big team, so we face all opponents as equals. We have great players, a great team, a great coach, and we are in a great club. I just got here and I have to get used to the training, the team, and what the coach asks of me. I want to thank everyone for the opportunity I had today and, little by little, I will help in any way I can. Be it for 15, 20 or 30 minutes, I will always give everything for FC Porto.”

Marko Grujic
“We don’t know if we should be happy or not. We had a great chance and it was an important decision to cancel our goal. We didn’t see the situation, but we will analyse it. We played a good match, a very tactical match. Atlético has a great coach and great players, with good strikers and midfielders. We knew it would be a difficult group. The competition started today, we have a fight here. We will fight with everyone and we have our chances to go to the next stage.”

Toni Martínez
“I’m happy for the match we played. It was a very competitive match and we did well against a great team. Those who played from the start and those who went in did great and this is how we are going to make a name for ourselves in this Champions League. On the disallowed goal, it’s true that Mehdi falls and the ball touches his hand, but the question is whether or not there is a penalty before that. It was a very quick play, but the VAR didn’t take long to decide. It could have been a penalty or not, because there is a hand, but they decided in the end that it was a hand. It’s a pity, because it was a key moment of the match and because we did everything to win. We feel we could have left here with something more. After all the work the team did, we are left with a feeling that we could have taken all three points. Tonight, we showed on the pitch that FC Porto can compete with any team in the world. We showed the attitude and the determination that characterize our club. FC Porto is up to the level of the great teams in the group.”