FC Porto responded in the best possible way to their midweek defeat, beat Casa Pia 4-1 in Rio Maior and preserved their outright lead in the league before the Clássico with Benfica. Francesco Farioli especially valued the team's maturity after conceding first, their efficiency from set pieces and the decisive influence of Diogo Costa.

Speaking to Sport TV after the match, Farioli stressed the importance of the players' response, in a context he considered demanding: 'After the midweek defeat, I think the response was positive. The reaction after the goal was good, we kept calm and in control, and it is an important result on a day and at a ground that are always difficult, especially when several strange things happen.'

Asked about that reference, the Italian coach avoided elaborating: 'No, nothing. The images are there. Everything is quite clear, so I think there is nothing more to comment on.' The sentence implies the coach's displeasure with some incidents and decisions in the match, although Farioli chose not to fuel the controversy.

The Porto coach then returned to explaining the result, highlighting the weight of set pieces, a dimension in which the team had already distinguished itself last season, with 20 goals scored from corners. 'Yes, that is one of the elements, of course. It gave us the opportunity to get back into the game. In the first 15 minutes of the match, we had four or five corners in a row. I believe that one of them could have led to a penalty in our favour. We created chances, something we invest a lot of time and energy in. It is just the natural consequence of the work the players do during the week.'

In the first 15 minutes of the match, we had four or five corners in a row. I believe that one of them could have led to a penalty in our favour

The Italian made a point of acknowledging that Diogo Costa was indispensable at decisive moments of the game. 'Diogo is top level. There is nothing more to say,' he summed up, before adding: 'We are very happy to have him with us.'

With the league back at the forefront, FC Porto now immediately turn their attention to the Clássico. 'We will start preparing for the game from tomorrow morning, with the right analysis. We are going to play an important match and, from tomorrow, our focus will be entirely on next weekend's Clássico,' said Farioli, who also left Victor Froholdt's availability open: 'We don't know. We have to assess it day by day. It is a situation that requires proper management, so we will see in the coming days.' Froholdt had begun preparations for the trip to Rio Maior with restrictions.