Pressure tells on Mourinho's men

By Fergus O'Shea in Porto

FC Porto coach José Mourinho suggested his team failed to cope with the weight of expectation at a packed Estádio do Dragão as they struggled to a goalless draw in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final against RC Deportivo La Coruña.

'Pressure to win'
There was barely an empty seat in the 52,000-capacity stadium, where Porto have continued their surge to a second consecutive Portuguese SuperLiga title and dispatched Olympique de Marseille, Manchester United FC and Olympique Lyonnais in the Champions League. Nevertheless, after a stormy encounter relentlessly punctuated by breaks in play, Mourinho said: "My players didn't perform to their own standards. Maybe it was the pressure of playing at home and having to win."

Stifling defence
Besides Maniche hitting the crossbar with a curling effort which left Deportivo goalkeeper José Molina rooted to the spot, an anxious Porto side struggled to carve out clear-cut opportunities. Their coach was visibly frustrated by the visitors' stifling defence and felt the tactics spoiled the game as a spectacle. "It was not a good game because there was only one team that wanted to play football and score goals," Mourinho added. "We don't need the stats to prove it but I don't blame Deportivo for playing like they did. We have to understand that after conceding eight goals against [AS] Monaco [FC] and four against [AC] Milan, their first plan was not to let in goals."

'Not spectacular'
Deportivo coach Javier Irureta echoed his opposite number's assessment of the match, which was punctuated by the sight of Deportivo's Alberto Luque, scorer of five Champions League goals this season, carried off on a stretcher moments before half-time. "The game was not a spectacular one," agreed Irureta. "We came with the intention of scoring and the first half was very tight with little to report, but Porto were better than us in the second half when we gave up too much ground. With Luque getting injured, we really felt his loss."

Caution vital
That said, a goalless draw makes the Primera División side marginal favourites to advance although Irureta explained: "Everything is open for the second match. It is a dangerous result but it also gives us hope. We'll have to be careful not to concede a goal that will count double for Porto." The Deportivo coach will also be without two key players for return leg in a fortnight's time. Mauro Silva will be suspended after picking up a yellow card and Jorge Andrade will serve at least a one-match ban after his late red card for petulantly prodding Deco in the back with his boot after a mistimed tackle.

Naybet wary
Deportivo defender Nourredine Naybet is under no illusions how important his role will be when Porto, undefeated away from home in Europe this season, visit the Riazor. "We'll have to be careful in the second leg because they are a team that can score away from home," said the Moroccan centre-back. "Their strength has been their away perfomances. It will be tough for both teams."

'Slight edge'
Mourinho's thoughts were also on the crucial second leg. "0-0 is not a bad result and more importantly I believe that we will be playing in the final," he added. "Deportivo might believe that they have a slight edge with the home leg to come but we have a good chance. It's just one more game of football to come. Why shouldn't we win it or get a 1-1 or 2-2 draw? I'm confident that it's possible."