Bosingwa counts Porto's blessings

Bosingwa remained upbeat about FC Porto's prospects despite conceding after "a typical English move" and drawing 1-1 at home against ten-man Liverpool FC.

Flying start
Lucho González had put the Dragons ahead from the penalty spot after just eight minutes, but Dirk Kuyt levelled for Liverpool nine minutes later, heading in from close range after Sami Hyypiä directed Steve Finnan's long free-kick in his direction. The dismissal of Jermaine Pennant 13 minutes into the second half handed the Portuguese champions a man advantage but they failed to capitalise.

Constant threat
Bosingwa, a threat to Liverpool all night with his runs up the right flank, was disappointed but not deflated after the game. "We wanted to win this match but we had to settle for a draw," he said. "We started tonight's game very well with lots of pressure and kept Liverpool away from our goal. We took the lead deservedly but than they equalised following a typical English move."

Credit due
"Last season we also draw our opening game [against PFC CSKA Moskva] and still managed to qualify from the group stage," he added. "It wasn't an easy game for us tonight as we were playing against a team which twice reached the UEFA Champions League final in the last three seasons." The 25-year-old also gave Liverpool credit for their defensive performance in the latter stages, saying: "After they were down to ten men we pressured even more but Liverpool are outstanding playing with two lines of four players. They lost one man up front but were still very strong and organised in the back. We did have some chances but we failed to score so now we must focus on our next games."

Some consolation
Hyypiä, meanwhile, was pleased to see his side emerge with something to show for their efforts after a shaky opening. "I'm not happy with how we started, but the result was good," said the 33-year-old Finn. "If you get anything away then it's a good result. We didn't start the game well, and that made it difficult. [Porto] are a good side and if you are not playing well they can dominate the game, and that's what they did."

Half-time talk
Some stern words were said in the Liverpool dressing room at half-time about the Reds' defending, and it paid off in the 32 minutes following Pennant's dismissal. "At half-time we were talking about it, that we needed to be more compact and defend better," he said. "Of course when you are one man down you intend to defend better and that's what we did. We almost defended better with ten players than we did with eleven."