As we’ve said last week, Porto’s Champions League match against Leicester City is receiving very big pre-match coverage in Portugal. They’ve been following the fans, the clubs, and now O Jogo managed an interview with José Mourinho to talk about the tie.
They were lucky enough to catch Mourinho for a talk right after the Premier League match against Leicester, so it wasn’t difficult for the boss to talk about Porto’s next opponents: “FC Porto shouldn’t think Leicester are what they’ve done against Manchester. It’s nothing like that.” he said, making clear that Claudio Ranieri’s side aren’t easy to beat 4-1.
“Leicester are a good team and Porto will have to play very well to beat them.”
The manager praised the Foxes and said good things about Jamie Vardy, who only played for 45 minutes on Saturday: “They’re a very dangerous team in counter-attacks and Vardy is the best counter-attacking player in English football.”
Asked about the former Sporting striker Islam Slimani, who’s known as the “dragon slayer” in Portugal due to his many goals against Porto, Mourinho said: “Slimani, who seemed to be out of context in the team against Manchester, came to add what they didn’t have, which is the aerial ball power, jumping to deflect and Vardy running in deep, attacking the crosses they make from the wings.”
But the manager couldn’t hide who he’s supporting in tomorrow’s game: “I like Claudio Ranieri, I have great respect for Leicester, but I’m more of a Portista,” he admitted.
