FC Porto was eliminated from the League Cup after losing in the semi-final against Sporting (1-0). For Vítor Bruno, “split games are won in details” and, although the Dragons “went in to control and dominate”, “Sporting solved the game early in the second half and then managed to deal very well with the advantage in the scoreboard”.

Eliminated from the competition, the focus of the Dragons now turns to “the game against CD Nacional and to the championship that is the main objective”. “The fans, members and the team deeply feel these outcomes and FC Porto was born to win, so now we have to go after the championship”, the blue and white coach added.

The analysis to the classic
“The first half seems good to me, in the first 30 minutes we were controlling and dominating, we were bold in the way we applied pressure, we had two or three plays to finish with another criterion, but, to score, we need to shoot on target and we didn't. We had Nico and Mora trying to score, but we didn't. At the end of the first half, Sporting approached our goal without posing danger, but the game was split. The second half was very conditioned by the goal, which came at a very early stage. They scored and we tried to send in some firepower to the wings, managing to grow a little in the last 25 minutes with the help of João Mário and Zaidu. Then we sent in two forwards upfront to try to create danger closer to the end, but failed to do so. Sporting started to feel comfortable and to control their last third. Now we have to be more direct and increase our pace.”

The importance of details
“We knew the team was moving behind too much and we wanted to let them know about it, but that coincided with the goal conceded and we kept what we had prepared. At that moment, Fábio (Vieira) and Zaidu were about to go in and, later, we tried to move the game to the wings, by sending in Iván Jaime and João Mário. We realized that there was space on the outside, we had one or two crosses, we tried, the team grew in terms of attack, settled in the opposing midfield, falling victim to one or two counters, because Sporting is strong in those moments and has a very powerful forward attacking depth. We still managed to control it and Sporting had no clear goal play, except for the one they scored. It was a split game, decided in details.”

Different mindset
“We have to take steps forward. In knockout competitions, we need to play differently, we need to have another competitive mindset. These games are won in details and Sporting solved it early in the second half and then managed to cope very well with the advantage in the scoreboard. It's no use to us that we improved in this classic, we have to look ahead and focus on the game against CD Nacional, focus on the championship, which is our objective.”

Focus on the objective
“The fans, members and the team deeply feel these outcomes and FC Porto was born to win, so now we have to go after the championship.”