FC Porto is just three points behind Benfica, in second place with a game in hand, after beating Vizela (4-1) for matchday 26 of the championship. After the match, Sérgio Conceição praised the teams “competitive attitude” in a match that had “no history”, against “an opponent defending low”. Before quoting José Maria Pedroto and reminding that at FC Porto “the fans are not the 12th player, they are the first, as without them the club would not exist", the blue and white coach made a promise: “As long as the numbers say it is possible, no one will give up, we have 24 points to win and we will see where we are at the end”.

The half time talk
“A lot of people in the area to defend, which is normal, and then we had the misfortune of conceding an own goal scored by the biggest and best professional I have ever met in football. We conceded, we went after what we wanted and it's only normal after a match like the one we had against Arsenal. We got here the next day in the morning with some physical and emotional fatigue. The team showed the competitive attitude that I like, but they were missing the last pass and these are situations that happen. We talked at half time and I felt that the players would score goals to win the game. That's what happened.”

Not much to talk about the 90 minutes 
“There was a one or two moments when I felt we lacked presence in the middle, in front of goal, many crosses and runs from the wings… if we continued like that, we would have to make changes. We had to take the middle and the wings, but we improved and I remember Pepê's goal, a situation with Francisco and another with Toni in the middle. We forced situations that ended the opposing team getting a red card and there wasn’t much to talk, it was a game against an opponent defending low with powerful forwards. We created our situations and scored goals.”

24 points in sight
“We are always looking for maturity and solidity. We are fighting for two competitions, there is a lot of fatigue and the club is going through a moment that doesn’t have to interfere with the team. We have to be united and we can only fight for our objectives together, the Cup and the championship. As long as the numbers say it is possible, no one will give up, we have 24 points to win and we will see where we are at the end.”

The Master as a reference
“A word of respect for the firms of our FC Porto, a lot of respect for them. I came here when I was 15 or 16 years old and they were always unbeaten in terms of supporting the team. They are demanding, this is true, but also very passionate. Today I saw the stadium in the same way as always, supporting and trying to get into the game. To quote Mr. Pedroto, I will remind that the fans are not the 12th player, they are the first, as without them the club would not exist. We all have to be strong and FC Porto will also be stronger.”