The Scottish club, which has Portuguese striker Youssef Chermiti in its squad, is already mathematically eliminated from the European competition – it only has four points – but it intends to extend its run of eight consecutive victories between the championship and the Europa League.
“In recent weeks, we have shown that we can win many games. We did very well as a group against very tough opponents. We scored in the Europa League”, recalled the German coach, in preview of Thursday’s match, at Estádio do Dragão.
Danny Röhl praised the atmosphere felt at Dragão and recalled his time at the stadium in 2017/18, when he was Leipzig’s assistant coach working with Austrian Ralph Hasenhüttl, in a game that the ‘dragons’ won 3-1.
“We have a big challenge ahead of us, you can feel it straight away when you enter here. Eight years ago, I was here with Leipzig, I know the stadium. I see the excitement on my players’ faces because they want to play, but, for me, it’s important to do some rotation, because we still have Sunday’s game in mind”, he admitted.
The coach recognized merit to his counterpart Francesco Fariolihighlighting the numbers of the ‘blue and white’ team, which leads the Portuguese championship alone with seven points ahead of Sporting and ten over Benfica.
“They have also had a good run. In the last 10 games, they have won 9, with many games without conceding. They are a very organized, well-trained team, Francesco [Farioli] has done an excellent job so far. Everything is ready, we expect a great game”, he said.
In his opinion, all the pressure will be on the side of the ‘blue and whites’, who in the last round are looking to secure a place in the top eight of the Europa League, which allows them direct passage to the round of 16, despite also depending on results from third parties.
“The pressure is on their side, because they want direct qualification. They will start with a lot of energy, high pressure, and we have to stay compact and organized, waiting for our moments to achieve something. But, for that, we have to be 100% tomorrow [quinta-feira]”, he highlighted.
In addition to Röhl, Max Aarons, a 26-year-old English right-back and one of Rangers’ figures, took part in the press conference and expressed his desire to maintain his good form.
“I think it will be a good test for us against a team that is at the top of its league and that is experienced and strong. Because not long ago, we went through difficult times in this competition and recently we had good games and we are definitely confident in our current moment”, concluded the player.
FC Porto, ninth in the League group, with 14 points, receives Rangers, 31st with four, at Estádio do Dragão on Thursday at 8:00 pm, refereed by Belgian Jasper Vergoote.
