FC Porto lacked intensity and aggression as they went down 4-0 at home to Club Brugge in the Champions League, said their coach Sergio Conceicao after Tuesday’s shock loss.
The defeat puts Porto in peril in Group B where they have no points after also being beaten away at Atletico Madrid last week when they gave up a last gasp goal to go down 2-1.
But Conceicao insisted there was nothing to apologise for and that the club must now look ahead to restoring their chances in their next Champions League outing, at home to Bayer Leverkusen on October 4.
“Sitting on the bench I felt that there was a lack of intensity, aggression, joy in the game. We lacked everything that is the basis of this team and that we showed in the last Champions League game in Madrid,” Conceicao told reporters after the clash with the Belgian champions.
“We weren’t even this poor when we were playing our pre-season preparation games. It’s hard to explain what was missing and I have to talk to the players because this is not the image this club wants to show. It’s neither normal nor usual.”
Porto looked flat and made little headway as the unfancied Belgians picked them apart and took advantage of some sloppy defending for a runaway, and well deserved, triumph.
“A night where a lot went wrong, we committed eight fouls in the game, the opponent comes here and makes twice as many fouls. That’s a sign of little aggression and a poor attitude on our part,” the coach added.
But Conceicao said there was no need to apologise to disappointed supporters
“We could find a thousand and one things to apologise for but we don’t have to do so. We have to look forward now to our next match. It’s not all disaster and turmoil. It was just a bad day,” he added.
