Ståle: We deserved our point as much as Porto
FC Copenhagen deserved their point away at Porto this evening and could have won all three had they kept 11 men on the field, manager Ståle Solbakken believes.
The Lions came from a goal down to secure a 1-1 result in Porto that kicks off their Champions League campaign on a positive.
Andres Cornelius cancelled out Otavio’s opener for Porto when the Dane headed past veteran goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
But the Lions couldn’t push for a win as midfielder Jan Gregus was sent off with 14 minutes remaining - forcing Copenhagen to defend for the rest of the match.
Yet Solbakken insists the point was good value for the performance.
“One point is not a victory today. We are very satisfied with it but it’s no victory because we were at least as good as Porto today,” he said.
“We produced the same number of chances and we had control of the game until they played 11 v 10.
“So we are very happy with the point, we would have taken it before the game but it’s not like it’s not deserved.
“We were maybe closest to the win but obviously when you play with 10 men for such a long time people get tired. We are very good at defending and we didn’t let them produce many chances.”
Copenhagen and Porto sit level on points in Group G after the first round of games, with Premier League side Leicester topping the pool after beating Club Brugge 3-0 in Belgium.
The result extends FCK’s unbeaten start to the season to 15 games.
But Solbakken believes securing a draw away to arguably the group favourites is the biggest achievement.
“The point means we are on the board! Which for a Scandinavian team I think every point you get, every goal you score it’s a dream for the club this size,” he said.
“We played probably against the favourites of the group away from home and to get one point is obviously great for the fans.
“It’s great for the small clubs in the tournament because there are some ugly results out there.
“I think we also fight the small clubs’ case to still be involved (in the Champions League) and I think we deserved that today.”
Next up for FCK is a trip to Horsens in the Alka Superliga on Sunday, with their next European outing at home to Brugge on 27 September.
