Sergio Conceicao concedes his Porto side are playing for pride in their Champions League last-16 second leg tie at Anfield on Tuesday.
Having been thrashed at home by Liverpool, the Portuguese club’s chances of achieving what no team have done in the history of the competition, turning around a 5-0 deficit, are virtually non-existent.
Porto trained under the lights at Anfield on Monday night as they attempt to tackle Jurgen Klopp’s side once again.
Conceicao accepts the Primeira Liga, in which Porto lead Benfica by five points, is the priority and Tuesday night is just about salvaging some of their reputation.
Sergio Conceicao concedes his Porto side are playing for pride against Liverpool on Tuesday
Having been thrashed at home by Liverpool, Porto find themselves 5-0 down on aggregate
No team in the history of the competition has managed to turn around a 5-0 deficit
Conceicao accepts the Primeira Liga, in which Porto lead Benfica by five points, is the priority
Porto trained under the lights at Anfield on Monday night ahead of the second leg
‘Everyone knows that our main goal is the championship,’ he told a press conference.
‘We have to defend the history of a major club, the best club in Portugal. The biggest motivation to play tomorrow is to represent Porto.
‘At Porto there’s always pressure. Pressure is synonymous with ambition and a will to win.
‘Even though we lost the first match, I don’t believe we’re playing without pressure tomorrow. We’re looking to defend the history of the club.
‘The five-goal margin is not a true reflection of the difference in quality between the two teams. We want to get a much better result tomorrow.’
Conceicao spoke to the media at Anfield alongside Porto defender Felipe
Felipe has the unenviable task of trying to keep out Liverpool’s emphatic attacking players
Iker Casillas and Ivan Marcano pictured training under the floodlights at Anfield
The Porto squad go through some warm-up exercises in front of an empty Anfield Road end
Players, including Ricardo Pereira and Oliver Torres, then moved on to some ball exercises
Leading scorer Vincent Aboubakar, who had missed six matches, came off the bench for the final 20 minutes of a 2-1 win over third-placed Sporting Lisbon on Friday to offer the visitors some positivity.
And their form since the first leg has seen them win four consecutive league games and score 15 goals.
However, no side have ever recovered from a 5-0 home defeat to progress from the second leg in 29 occasions of the competition’s history and Porto’s record in England is woeful as they have not won in 17 visits, losing 15 times.
Defender Felipe, who missed the first leg, said: ‘We are aiming to win in England. There is always a first time.’