Villas-Boas: Porto must make Europa final

Porto manager Andre Villas-Boas wants his side to end a perfect season by making the Europa League final.

Villas-Boas’ side have already wrapped up the Liga Sagres crown and are undefeated in 26 matches, having booked their spot in the last four of the Europa League after they won 5-2 at Spartak Moscow on Wednesday to seal a 10-3 aggregate thumping.

They will join fellow Portuguese sides Sporting Braga and Benfica in the last four, with the Porto boss adamant his team must make the showpiece final in Dublin on May 18.

“We will try to reach the final,” Villas-Boas told Porto’s official website.

“We have registered an impressive victory and we have to give more and try to reach a much desired goal – the final.”

“Last season Atletico Madrid and Fulham played the final, but few remember the other two teams that were in the semi-finals (Liverpool and Hamburg).”

“Our journey in the competition has become even more remarkable and we will try to reach the final.”

With their league campaign over, Porto can place their full attention on winning the competition, something Spartak Moscow will not be able to do after their embarrassing defeat over two legs.

But despite the seven-goal aggregate defeat, Spartak manager Valery Karpin declared that he was ‘not ashamed’ of his side.

Karpin preferred to focus on the side’s ability to create chances, with his attention now firmly on the Russian Premier League where his side sit second from bottom.

“There were more positives than negatives today. We created 15 opportunities to score, and the main thing is we created them,” Karpin told NTV-Plus after the match.

“Maybe I am crazy, but I have no complaints. For the team I’m not ashamed.”