The coach insists his team need a “fantastic” performance to hold onto their lead but believes his side have what it takes to progress
Julen Lopetegui believes Porto will hold onto their lead over Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final second leg if they stick to the game plan they have practiced in training.
Porto shocked Pep Guardiola’s men in the first leg, with two early goals from Ricardo Quaresma followed by a Jackson Martinez strike giving them the upper hand, however Thiago’s away goal gives the Bundesliga side hope heading into Wednesday’s match.
Lopetegui is relishing the challenge, though, and urged Porto to keep it simple in the Allianz Arena.
“We are focused on the match. We need to put everything we have planned into practice,” he told reporters.
“It will be a very difficult task, but we will try to find simple answers. We like the idea of playing against Bayern – one of the best teams in the world.
“We can’t think about what could happen, we will just try to give the answer on the pitch. We will try to create chances and play our game.
“We need to produce a fantastic performance. We have earned the right to play in the quarter-finals – we have worked hard on this. All matches are crucial at this stage. We will try everything to succeed and go through to the semis.
“We are proud of what we have achieved in this campaign.
“We will have the energy, the support and the affection of our fans – who yesterday gave us a massive send-off boost at the airport.”