"We played against more than a club" - Porto boss uses Barcelona's motto to slam referee after 1-0 UCL defeat
Porto manager Sergio Conceicao took a thinly veiled dig at Barcelona's 'more than just a club' motto following his team's 1-0 home loss to Barca in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday (October 4).
It was all Porto in the opening exchanges of the first half at the Estadio Dragao, but Barca weathered the storm and the exit of striker Robert Lewandowski due to injury.
On the cusp of half-time, Ferran Torres - who had come in for Lewandowski - scored what turned out to be the only goal of the game. Porto laid seige on the Barca goal after the interval, capitalising on their high defensive line, but an equaliser was not to be.
Mehdi Taremi's strike was narrowly ruled out for offside. Conceicao brought on four new players in the final five minutes. Gavi saw red for Barca for pulling an opponent's shirt in stoppage time, but the visitors did just enough to hang on to the win.
After the game, Conceicao expressed his anger at the refereeing, claiming that his team were up against more than one team on the night (as per Diario AS via Football Espana):
“I have already answered about it in the flash interviews, I don’t know if three or four (decisions that went against us). We played against more than a club. … And that is all I have to say.”
The Porto boss lamented his team's profligacy:
“I think we lacked something, because we caused ball losses in the final third of Barca, especially in the first half, but we didn’t know how to take advantage of them.”
With the win, Barca make it two wins out of two in their Champions League group, three clear of second-placed Porto (3).
Barcelona remain unbeaten this season after win at Porto
Barcelona are one of the few clubs across Europe's top-five leagues that are yet to lose this season. Following their narrow win at Porto on Wednesday, Barca have won eight of their 10 games across competitions.
Six of those wins have come in La Liga, where Xavi's side trail leaders Real Madrid (21) by a point after eight games. Meanwhile, they have made a perfect start to their Champions League games, winning both without conceding. They beat Royal Antwerp 5-0 at home in their campaign opener.
Barcelona next travel to Granada on Sunday (October 8) where a win will return them to the top of the La Liga standings unless Los Blancos beat Osasuna at home a day earlier.