FC Porto’s run in the Portuguese Cup came to an end in the semi-finals, following a Classic against Sporting in which the team “did everything they could and tried everything, but it wasn’t enough”. “We gave it our all, created plenty of chances, played well, but unfortunately we couldn’t score and that was the story of the game,” summarised Jan Bednarek, a centre-back determined to “win the next four games” to “end the season on a high note” and “celebrate the league title with all the fans”. 

Match summary
“We won a lot of balls in the opposition’s midfield and there was one incident where the referee should have shown the opponent a red card. To me it was clear and that could have changed the game. We did everything we could, we tried everything, but it wasn’t enough and we’re out of the Cup.”

The 12th man
“It was very special to have this support. What we’ve experienced here has been unique, and all these fans deserve the best in the world. I hope to celebrate the league title with all of them.”

Focus on the league
“If we look at the table, we can see we’re close, but we know there’s still a lot to do. We have to win the next four games. We’re very motivated and focused on our objective. There’s no noise around us. They try to provoke us, but the important thing is to finish the season successfully.”

Farioli’s comments
“He was very clear. He was proud of what we’d achieved and of our performance. We gave it our all, created plenty of chances, played well, but, unfortunately, we couldn’t score, and that was the story of the match.”

Moving on
“It was difficult, but I think we dominated the game and were the team that wanted to win the most. We wanted to turn the result around, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough. We had our chances, but that’s the way it is and we couldn’t go through.”

The refereeing
“We may not have been clinical enough in the opposition’s box, but we dominated the game. They did everything they could in the last 15 minutes to survive and wasted time. There are people on the pitch whose job it is to control this and they didn’t do it. The key moment of the match was the foul on William Gomes in the first half, which wasn’t given, and I don’t understand what needs to happen for a foul to be called. I’m speechless. These situations kill the game and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Learning from mistakes
“We lacked precision in the final pass. That’s the part of the game we need to improve. I hope we can learn from these moments.”

All eyes on Estrela da Amadora
“The fans are fantastic. We’re focused on our goal too, but we’re keeping our feet on the ground and know what we have to do. Now our focus is on the match against Estrela da Amadora, which will be a very important and tough game. We want to bounce back strong and will do everything we can to win the match.”