Waiting for settings

While adding consecutive victories (there are 7) after the draw at Jamor with Casa Pia, FC Porto tries not to anticipate the definitions, something that will only be achieved if they win in Alvalade to then go on to win at Luz in April.

Also with a trip to Braga and with the Champions League games crossing difficulties with Inter Milan, the calendar does not, theoretically, work in favor of the “dragons”. But it’s practice that wins games. There are more than many points of analysis and equations, much more than the 8 virtual points or 5 real points that separate us from the leadership. Believing is necessary, playing more is imperative, even for those who carry the full national titles on their chest and have everything to come out victorious.

Consistency does not always match exuberance. The solid and deserved victory against Vizela did not reveal the splendor of the game and lived on from the presence of a committed team in the shadow of the absences of Otávio and Eustaquio. It won’t be worth much to dwell on the lack of the Portuguese-Brazilian maestro in the balance and “punch” of the Porto midfield. Without him it’s different. Faced with the impossibility and use of the Canadian international, what Grujic delivers to the game is coherent, but with less capacity for construction and rupture. Evanilson’s return is great news for the materialization of the first pair of forwards, the one chosen at the beginning of the season. This team seems to live waiting for the moment to make a difference and that possibility materializes in Alvalade and in the Champions League. Decisive moments are approaching and everything is yet to be defined.

going up

Vasco Sousa’s debut adds another degree of reading to Sérgio Conceição’s midfield options. At the age of 19, making his debut in FC Porto’s main team is an award that can only be obtained with quality, work and merit.

Going down

Wendell’s injury could complicate the accounts for Alvalade and promote Zaidu to eleven base. An absence to which the Otávio equation is added, decisive factors and with an impact on the interpretation of the team’s game processes.

* FC Porto supporter

(The author writes in the old spelling)