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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Ian Doyle

Porto coach Sergio Conceicao makes 'aggressive' Liverpool claim before Champions League clash

Sergio Conceicao has warned Liverpool to expect a more "aggressive" Porto as his side aim for Champions League revenge.

Conceicao is convinced his team have learned from the poor performance that saw them thumped 5-1 at home by the Reds back in September.

Porto have since responded by winning every league game and taking four points from their Champions League double-header against Milan to give themselves a chance of qualifying in second place in Group B behind Liverpool.

And Conceicao is very much aware of what happened at the Estadio do Dragao earlier in the campaign.

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"We have corrected our mistakes and we have worked on that," said the Porto boss.

"We tried to fix what was wrong and in the match there were positive aspects and other things that weren't good.

"We have analysed the match. It's not that we weren't aggressive enough - people think being aggressive is about people being violent but that's not the case - but it's to do with aggressive movement and giving your all and being aggressive when the time comes to make swift decisions and react quickly.

"It's one of the features of the best squads in the world, their ability to change the rhythm to keep the ball and at the same time become a vertical type of team because of the pressure they put on the opposition.

"Liverpool is one of the best, of course. We could talk about other teams like Bayern Munich and other squads."

Asked about the prospect of an already-qualified Liverpool rotating their squad, Conceicao added: "We cannot control the strategy of Liverpool. It won't be significantly different from what they have shown in the last few weeks.

"We don't know what the coach will decide for the line-up tomorrow. We have to make good use of the excellent players we have and to trust they will respond effectively."

Porto are without centre-back Ivan Marcano and will make a late decision on veteran defender Pepe, who missed the September meeting between the sides.

"Pepe will travel with us, but this is a decision that we will make in the last minute," added Conceicao. "He has weight not only on the field but also in the dressing room. He's an extremely important player."

Marko Grujic is in line to feature against his former club for the first time since leaving Liverpool for Porto in the summer.

And the midfielder admitted: "It's a special game for me. I will be back in the town and the city where I spent five years.

"It will be a different game but I'm very motivated and if I get any minutes I will do as best as I can to help us win the points.

"Against Liverpool in the first match we didn't show a good face. We learned that against the best teams in Europe we have to run a lot to compete with the highest intensity to have a really good tactical game.

"We worked a lot since that defeat and we will try to show a much better game."

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