After leading the team in the victory over Boavista (4-1) from the bench, Vítor Bruno stated that the Dragons were aware of “Boavista’s strength at home”, a team that “uses aggression as a weapon”. With “the delightful first 10 minutes”, that could have led to “three or four goals”, the team always showed to be “serious and professional”, achieving a “fair victory by clear numbers”: “The players flooded the pitch with sweat and that always makes the team closer to winning and to succeeding”. The coach also explained that Pepe returned to the pitch after having worked “hard to be ready” because, in the opinion of the coaching staff, “he deserved to have a few minutes before going to the World Cup”. After a few days off, the blue and whites will return “serious” to play for the League Cup, a competition that everyone wants to win: “The club never won it. We want to add another trophy to our museum”.

Analysis to the clear victory in the derby
“We had to be competitive. An opponent that is remarkable at home, with only one defeat against the league leader, which shows Boavista’s strength at home. We knew we were going to find an opponent leaning back, always trying to hurt us on counter-attack. We had to understand the paths we had to take without forgetting our inside plays. We realised that we had to play more in depth. The first 10 minutes were delightful and, had we scored three or four goals, it wouldn’t have been strange. We were a very serious and professional team, there was a moment when Boavista was on top, we scored another goal and the final part is a demonstration of our strength. We have people who behave like arrows aimed at attacking the opposing goal and it was a fair victory by clear numbers.”

Sweat and skill to fight the opposition’s aggression
“It was a challenge. We tried to keep a clean sheet, the team was very mature, we knew that talent was not going to be enough on a pitch where the opponent uses aggression as a weapon. I don’t remember any clear goal situations and that’s to our credit. The players flooded the pitch with sweat and that always makes the team closer to winning and to succeeding.”

Pepe’s return and wishes for the World Cup
“We don’t need to show anyone that Pepe was ready. Pepe worked hard to be ready. He is a very experienced player, a leader in the squad and we understood that he deserved to have a few minutes before going to the World Cup. Good luck to everyone going to the World Cup, may they be very successful and come back injury-free.”

Focused on trying to make history
“The stoppage is what it is. We can do whatever comment we want. We will start this competition after a few days that the players will have off. The League Cup is a competition we really want to win. The club has never won it. We want to add another trophy to our museum. Obviously, we will have to be very serious from the moment we start this new competition. The players know it, we’ve talked about it in the squad. The important thing in this 4, 5, 6 days period is that the players might replenish their energy bar again so that we can come back strong and determined. Everyone has to realise that this is a competition we really want to add to our museum.”