Pereira looking beyond Ibrahimovic

Porto coach Vitor Pereira says Zlatan Ibrahimovic will not be his team’s only focus against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

Ibrahimovic is PSG’s top scorer so far this season, and will surely prove a major threat for the visitors in the Group A clash at Estadio do Dragao.

Nevertheless, Pereira is keen to concentrate on containing his team’s opponents as a whole, rather than as individual threats.

“We’re not going to worry only about Ibrahimovic, because there are 11 players in a team and PSG have a great side, individually and collectively. But they’ll be up against a great team too,” he said.

“The last match in Zagreb left only good memories. The team showed great tactical maturity and our identity was expressed throughout the match,” he said, referring to Porto’s 2-0 win away to Dinamo Zagreb on matchday one.

“We prepared for this game as we always do, passing information to the players as usual. We will play as we do all the time, controlling the ball.”

After winning the Europa League in style under Andre Villas-Boas in 2010/11, successor Pereira oversaw Porto’s group-stage exit in the Champions League last term.

And this season the coach wants his team to make an impression on Europe’s elite club competition, despite being outsiders to challenge for the title.

“This year we want a Champions League campaign that reflects our quality,” he said.

“Being favourites in this competition doesn’t mean much, as we saw last year, so we just have to take it match by match.”