<![CDATA[ Vasco Seabra: «Foi o jogo em que provavelmente concedemos menos chances e sofremos 2 golos» ]]>

Arouca suffered their second consecutive defeat and their second game without scoring, losing 2-0 to Moreirense . However, Vasco Seabra was frustrated with the result, not the performance, as he believes the team is "conceding fewer goals".

What analysis do you make at the start?

"I think the game is a bit frustrating because it's unfair. I believe we played well enough to avoid defeat. Our team won several balls through pressure, we were very aggressive, very intense in our pressing. I think Moreirense always had a lot of difficulty getting out of their own half to build attacks, which ended up prolonging the game almost constantly, and we recovered a lot of balls. I think we always had that throughout the game, even more so in the second half, but I think that was happening in the first half as well. We always had a lot of possession. The only thing I think we lacked was, firstly, obviously, not conceding goals because at that moment I think we could have done a little more, because we had a lack of coordination on the right that then allowed a lot of space for the Moreirense player to deliver the cross, and in the second goal, the moment when we were in transition and had a five-on-two situation where we allowed the opponent to get out and reach our goal. But I believe that, overall, we played a very capable game to avoid defeat and I think..." "Essentially, we lacked that assertiveness closer to the goal because, given the amount of possession we had and the number of times we entered the opponent's final third, we created three very good goalscoring opportunities, but I believe we have many more chances to create because we can be more assertive in that area."

Why bet on Nico Mantl?

“Essentially, it’s related to Nico’s development. Nico didn’t start the season so well: in terms of pre-season, it wasn’t as good as we expected and wanted. He himself was aware of this, worked hard, and developed a lot. João was in a very good moment, but the truth is that in Portimão, Nico had already shown very good signs, and therefore we ended up feeling that it was a moment when the team also needed some calming down. I think Nico also played a good game. Essentially, teams sometimes want to press us higher up the pitch, and Nico also ended up giving us some solutions, as he found today. It was a decision that has nothing to do with any bad moment for João, nothing like that, João has already helped us immensely, but it had to do with Nico’s great growth, and I felt it was a moment to reward him for the way he was training and for what I also felt he could add to the team.”

Why has Arouca yet to finish a game without conceding a goal?

“I think that sometimes it’s a bit like… it’s difficult to explain, that sometimes these moments happen, sometimes we have to do five times more than usual for things to happen to us, and we are really looking for it. I think today was the game where we probably conceded the fewest opportunities to the opponent and ended up conceding two goals. It’s true that we have conceded many goals, it’s not at all usual for us. We have to keep working, keep maintaining a very cohesive unit, reduce that small number of errors and the small number of opportunities that we might eventually give to the opponent. It’s true that we haven’t managed it, so we have to continue with that same work. We feel that we are conceding fewer goals, so that is the process that leads us to believe that this will happen as soon as possible.”

Does Arouca need a "goalscorer"?

“Especially strikers live a lot on goals, and Barbero hasn't scored yet; he's in that phase where it seems like he's a bit anxious. He's a natural finisher and has always given us the impression, since he arrived, that he has a lot of finishing ability, so we know it's a matter of things sometimes going in. The way he works also leads us to that. It's a bit like what I said, I feel the team is creating a lot, we really need to improve that assertiveness, because the way we dominated the opponent, even more so in the second half, but since the first half, makes us feel that we have to finish the game with more shots on goal.”