Porto hold no fear for Manzano and Sevilla
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
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One win in seven games is hardly ideal preparation for a trip to FC Porto but Gregorio Manzano is confident that with so much at stake Sevilla FC will recover from their 2-1 loss in their last-32 tie.
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Sevilla FC coach Gregorio Manzano has described his side's task of reaching the UEFA Europa League last 16 as "difficult, but not impossible" as they seek to overturn last Thursday's 2-1 first-leg defeat by FC Porto.
Unbeaten in nine European matches this season, the Portuguese Liga leaders are in a commanding position thanks to strikes from Rolando and Fredy Guarín at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuan, yet Manzano believes his team can draw on past experience to edge through.
"There have been games this season where we have scored a few goals away from home, and not just two goals either," the 54-year-old said. "We've come back from difficult situations before and that we must score two against Porto is non-negotiable."
With a 1-0 home victory against Hércules CF on Sunday ending a run of six games without a win in all competitions and restoring "good vibes" to the Sevilla dressing room, Manzano insisted his players were mentally ready to for a "huge encounter" at the Estádio do Dragão.
"The difference between our respective situations is that Porto are leading their domestic league and so it might be considered a small setback for them if they were eliminated," he explained. "For us that's not the case at all and so we must fight until the very end while taking the quality of the opposition into account.
"They possess fine technical attributes and have a defence that can withdraw before springing on the counterattack. We need to be aware of what they can do, while keeping in our heads that two goals will be needed to at least force extra time."
With Andrés Palop (calf), Martín Cáceres (thigh) and Ndri Romaric (ankle) sidelined, Sevilla's task could be made all the more difficult with the return from injury of Falcao – the tournament's seven-goal leading scorer − and defender Álvaro Pereira to the opposition ranks.
"They are crucial players who can help us a lot," Porto coach André Villas-Boas said before warning that his side can not prepare for a last-16 encounter with PFC CSKA Moskva just yet. "The victory in Spain was important but it's not over; we still have a lot of work to do.
"Anything can happen in the second leg and only an efficient FC Porto will get through. We shouldn't think that the draw is enough − we need to win."
