– “We knew we had to win”

By beating Maccabi Tel Aviv (1-0) in Belgrade, Serbia, on Thursday, FC Porto qualified to the Europa League’s play-off  to access the Round of 16, where they will face Roma (Italy) or Viktoria Plzen (Czechia). Sent in by Martín Anselmi as a centre defender, Eustáquio acknowledged that “it’s a new position” in his career, but tried to “learn as much as possible in two days” and admitted to being happy that he was able to “help a little”. “Our communication was very strong and that’s also why we won”, the Canadian international midfielder added.

Absolute debut as centre defender
“It’s a new position for me, the coach may want to play with a central defender or a midfielder there, he had already warned me. I tried to learn as much as possible in two days and I’m happy because the team won and I, in a way, managed to help a little. I was already used to moving up in a line of three, but, in this game, I had the help of the coach and my colleagues. Our communication was very strong and that’s also why we won.”

Congratulations to players and fans
“We knew we had to win to move forward and to end the bad streak. We got it in a tough stadium. I take this opportunity to thank our fans who have come so far to support us. Congratulations to everyone. We want the fans on our side and we play for the good of FC Porto, just as they want the good of FC Porto. Together we will be happier.”

There are more trophies to lift
“We already won the Super Cup, now we are going after the championship and we still have the Europa League as well.”