FC Porto will face Rio Ave tomorrow at 8:30 PM, the opponent that inflicted their first defeat of the season, more precisely on August 28, 2022, on a night when the national champions were defeated thanks to two goals from Aziz and one from Pedro Amaral, and a completely uninspired collective performance.
The game did not go well for Porto, with Sérgio Conceição criticizing the attitude of his players and taking responsibility for the choices made. “Football must always be viewed with the utmost respect, and the truth is that today I was not worthy of being on the bench,” he said.
After the final whistle, Sérgio Conceição clashed with Luís Freire, accusing him of condoning Rio Ave’s anti-football tactics to disrupt FC Porto’s rhythm in the second half. There was an exchange of words and gestures on the pitch, which continued into the press conferences.
The Porto coach reiterated that the opponent used tricks to stop the blue and white reaction in the second half, with successive falls by players and the entry of the Vila do Conde medical team onto the field. Words that did not fall on deaf ears. Luís Freire, after listening to the Porto coach, supported his side with data that completely refuted his opponent’s words: “Rio Ave, out of the 10 league games with the most playing time, has three. And this game is the one with the most playing time of the entire round. Therefore, don’t be fooled by things that don’t matter. Rio Ave is a strong candidate to be one of the teams with the most games with playing time.”
Six months later, Sérgio Conceição and Luís Freire face off again, now at the Estádio do Dragão. The relationship between the two cooled considerably after Porto’s defeat in Vila do Conde, but it would be good practice, for the sake of football, if they sealed the peace with a handshake. After all, football isn’t a war. Not even a war of words…
