FC Porto qualified directly for the Round of 16 of the Europa League after beating Rangers FC (3-1) on Thursday at Estádio do Dragão in the eighth and final matchday of the league stage. Happy to have achieved “one of our big objectives,” Jan Bednarek highlighted how the team stayed united “in difficult moments” and how they controlled the match “very well” in the second half. “We work hard every day to be successful, to put the club where it deserves to be, and to bring joy to our fans,” added the Polish central defender.

A resume of the game
“It was a difficult challenge to win this game, but it's good that we managed to qualify directly for the Round of 16. It was one of our main objectives, to win this game and secure direct qualification. In the second half, we controlled the game very well when we didn't have the ball.”

Rangers FC
“Our opponents wanted to win as much as we did and started very well, but we stuck together in the difficult moments and scored our goals. After the first 25/30 minutes, we showed our quality and it was a great reaction from the team. I'm very happy with the victory.”

Directly involved in the third goal
“I believe I could have scored the goal, but I ended up putting some pressure on my opponent and it worked out well. We work hard on set pieces, where everyone tries to win the ball in the air, but that's part of the game. It's always important to be able to convert these types of plays into goals.”

Game by game
“Every week we have to prove to the world that we are a good team and so far it has gone well. The most important thing is that we are aware of our quality and of our greatest strengths. We work hard every day to be successful, to put the Club where it deserves to be and to bring joy to our fans.”