Pereira: Porto will not sit back in Malaga

Mar 12, 2013 6:15:00 PM

The boss has vowed to send his side out to play their natural attacking game and believes they will thrive in the atmosphere, while Silvestre Varela also gave his thoughts

Porto coach Vitor Pereira has revealed his side will not sit back against Malaga despite having a one-goal advantage in the tie.

The Portuguese champions won the first leg 1-0, and travel to Spain knowing that at least a draw will see them through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but Pereira has insisted they will be looking to win the match.

"It will be a good quality match, both teams will go to win, and both have a lot of quality. It will be an interesting match and the atmosphere will be great," he told a press conference.

"Experience does not guarantee we will win, what really is important is the quality and the way we are able to play. I believe in our work, individually and as a group. We know what we can achieve but we know that they will want to score early.

"We do not play to defend scores, we are competitive, and they are going to risk things. We like to play attacking football, we are ambitious and we will play as we always play.

"We know what we have to do to get to our goal and pass through to the next stage. We like to play in great atmospheres and we will experience another one at La Rosaleda."

Despite being confident that his side can progress, the 44-year-old admitted Malaga showed enough in the first leg to prove they will be no pushovers.

He added: "Málaga is a great team who have good players with a lot of individual talent. These games are not the same as league games, and Malaga proved their quality at the Dragao.

"The difference is that they must go looking for a goal but if we can score we will put them under pressure, though I know [Manuel] Pellegrini is a good coach."

Meanwhile, winger Silvestre Varela says his team-mates are confident of beating Malaga and progressing to the Champions League quarter-finals.

“It will be different from the first leg, they will come out to score early and they will try to turn things around. We are united, motivated, and confident; we are going to do everything to reach our goal."

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