The coach explains how his side beat Gil Vicente FC

In the aftermath of the triumph over Gil Vicente FC, Sporting Clube de Portugal coach Rúben Amorim expressed his thoughts that the win was more than deserved, also highlighting the role of his attacking trio - Marcus Edwards, Pablo Sarabia and Pedro Gonçalves - in obtaining the victory.

“We managed to understand where the space was, because Gil Vicente FC defended a little higher and there were some moments in which we gave them the ball. The fact that they pressed us higher meant that we were able to break through several times, and it was because of our width that we had that capacity. Samuel Lino, as we knew, made an adjustment to play with a five-man defence, and when they wanted to put pressure on us, they had difficulties in catching Nuno Santos and Porro,” he began by saying in his press conference after the game.

“The players were good at bringing the ball out and realising that the space was out wide, in addition to them having the individual quality to solve problems. We reached areas in which we could score many times, but we didn't finish the chances very well. Either Porro's crossing was too heavy or Nuno Santos' crosses were slightly late. We can improve on that, but we showed a lot of good things. We missed a lot of chances, but we completely dominated the game."

Asked about Rodrigo Ribeiro, the 17-year-old forward who came on at the end of the game, Amorim said that he was a young player “with a lot of talent."

“He can play in any of the front three positions, because of his mobility, and he is very intelligent. Even though he doesn't have that much experience training with us, he knows how to organise the press from the middle. He had the help of his teammates and I noticed that. The way he received the ball and took it to goal to finish shows his personality. On his second move, the way he controlled with his left foot, turned around and didn't rush to shoot, are details that we noticed when he started training with us,” he revealed.
Amorim also commented on the fact that this result guaranteed Sporting CP a spot in the UEFA Champions League group stage.

“It is something that was down to us, and that no one can take away from us anymore. Even so, we have to beat Portimonense SC and that's all we have to think about,” he stressed, before explaining why Pedro Gonçalves took the second penalty, after Pablo Sarabia had converted the first. 

“They were the ones who made the switch. I could even have said it, because Pote needed a goal, but I didn't say anything. Nuno Santos also wanted to score, but they gave Pote the opportunity and that shows that they know each other well,” concluded the coach.

A 4-1 victory means Sporting CP will have Champions League Group Stage football next term

Sporting Clube de Portugal beat Gil Vicente FC by 4-1 on Matchday 32 of the Liga Portugal season, and secured a lowest possible finish of second place for the current campaign. The team thus have a guaranteed a place in next season's UEFA Champions League Group Stage.

With captain Sebastián Coates unavailable due to injury and Bruno Tabata suspended, coach Rúben Amorim reshuffled his defence to put Gonçalo Inácio in the centre, Luís Neto on the right and Matheus Reis on the left, in addition to bringing back Pedro Porro. In attack, the trident of Marcus Edwards, Pablo Sarabia and Pedro Gonçalves was retained.

As part of a club initiative for Mother's Day in Portugal, the players came out with the names of their mothers on their shirts.

Sporting CP provided the first warning right away: Nuno Santos, from distance, tested the reflexes of goalkeeper Andrew.

As expected, Sporting CP began to dominate against the league's fifth placed side, pushing on the wings in an attempt to find spaces behind the opposing defense. However, it turned out to be from a set piece that they came close to opening the scoring again. Off a free kick on the edge of the area, Sarabia shot powerfully, missing the target by centimetres.

The first goal of the match arrived from a penalty, when Nuno Santos was brought down on 19 minutes and Pablo Sarabia converted for his 18th goal of the season.

Even with the advantage, Sporting CP did not take their foot off the accelerator and remained focused on attacking. After Sarabia had tried his luck on two more occasions -one of them going just wide-, Pedro Porro came close to a fantastic goal with a drive that pushed Andrew to the limit.

It was only a matter of time before the second goal was scored, in the 38th minute. Following a header by Neto, poorly met by the goalkeeper, Marcus Edwards tapped in the rebound to make it 2-0.

Gil Vicente FC managed to pull a goal back through Fran Navarro in the final moments of the first half, and before the whistle Pedro Gonçalves shot wide from inside the area.

On their return from the interval – and after the rugby, swimming and gymnastics teams had been honored at half-time for their respective recent trophies– Sporting CP came back out onto the pitch with an unchanged lineup and with the same hunger. After Sarabia threatened with a shot that went over, the third goal arrived through an own goal by Lucas Cunha, who was attempting to clear a cross from Nuno Santos.

Amorim then brought on Paulinho in place of Edwards, giving a fixed centre forward to the attack, and on his first intervention he backheeled for a long-range shot from Gonçalves -again kept out by Andrew.

The chances followed one another, including a second penalty of the match: In the 63rd minute, from a penalty, Gonçalves scored his 15th goal of 2021/22.

From then on, the home team slowed down and preferred to play in a more reserved fashion. Although Gil Vicente pushed, the more dangerous chances were for Sporting CP, who threatened again through Nuno Santos and Paulinho.

With everything practically decided, the final minutes were notable only for a long range effort wide from Rodrigo Ribeiro, the 17-year-old forward who came on for Sarabia.  
Os Leões, who surpassed the hundred-goal mark this season – they now have 102 –, will play their 33rd and penultimate Liga Portugal match on Saturday, May 7th, away to Portimonense SC.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GR], Luís Neto [C], Gonçalo Inácio, Matheus Reis, Pedro Porro, João Palhinha (Manuel Ugarte, 66'), Matheus Nunes (Daniel Bragança, 83'), Nuno Santos, Marcus Edwards ( 56', Paulinho), Pedro Gonçalves (Rúben Vinagre, 67') and Pablo Sarabia (Rodrigo Ribeiro, 84').

The coach is impressed by the reaction of his side against Boavista FC

After the 0-3 triumph over Boavista FC, Sporting Clube de Portugal coach Rúben Amorim analysed the performance and praised the response from his players.

"We were more like the team that we are used to being. We weren't that aggressive when we got into the box, but we had several balls in the first half that saw our three forwards facing up to the Boavista FC defence, and we created problems there. We got the opening goal in one of the few opportunities we had, but we were always in control of the game. We had another opportunity for Pablo [Sarabia] in the first period, and in the second half we controlled the game better, we found more space and we didn't let Boavista FC go on the attack," he began by telling journalists, before recognising that his team had some problems stopping Boavista FC's Gorré in the first half.

"[Gorré] created some difficulties for us, because he dropped back a lot to defend and when he had the ball he showed the ability to drive through, forcing Palhinha to help out in that space. In the second half that didn't happen, and we clearly controlled the game, created opportunities and the players who came on helped the team a lot: Manu [Ugarte] gave stability, Dani [Bragança] brought the quality he usually gives, just like Tabata, and [Rúben] Vinagre was very aggressive in looking for space."

 "The game went well, we gave few chances to Boavista FC, we created chances of our own and we were competent," summed up the coach.

Despite the slip-ups by FC Porto and SL Benfica on this matchday, Amorim said that he would stay true to his previous statements about the title fight.

"We knew it was very difficult and obviously it will be hard, but it's not worth thinking about the games in which we dropped points. It was good to get back to winning ways and move closer and closer to UEFA Champions League qualification, to keep our project going and focus on growth. I think that in the title race it doesn't change anything, but it's always good to cut the gap and the longer we keep things alive, the better for us," he underlined, adding: "We are there in the fight for second place and trying to delay the title being decided as much as possible."

Returning to his explanation of the game, Amorim emphasised his satisfaction with the team's adjustments.

"We were competent. When we have to defend, we all do it. We won and we didn't concede goals, so that was the response I expected after some bad times and everything that was said during the week. We focused on what we had to do, that's what we did and it's an excellent sign from the team."

He also passed comment on the performance of winter signing Marcus Edwards.

"Every time he has played, he has done very well. In the semifinal of the cup, he felt the rhythm of the game a lot and it was noticeable. I think he can give us much more, he knows that and he is still adapting to our way of working, but he is already approaching that. He was very good defensively too, in his pressing and covering spaces."

The team take a 3-0 triumph on the road in Liga Portugal

Sporting Clube de Portugal returned to Porto on Monday night for a league game against Boavista FC, won 0-3 by Os Leões. After a difficult week, they produced a consistent and effective response to get back to winning ways and close the gap to first place – now standing at six points.

In addition, the team are just one point away from clinching second place in Liga Portugal, which would take them directly into next season's UEFA Champions League group stage.

In changes from the game against FC Porto in the Taça de Portugal, coach Rúben Amorim left out the suspended Matheus Reis, Pedro Porro and Paulinho, as well as Manuel Ugarte, bringing in Nuno Santos, Ricardo Esgaio, João Palhinha and Marcus Edwards. In addition, Zouhair Feddal returned to the squad after an injury, joining youngsters Gonçalo Esteves and Rodrigo Ribeiro on the bench.

Sporting CP took the early initiative and played with plenty of width, and their first chance came from Esgaio down the right; Nunes, on the edge of the box, hit the ball badly, however. Fluid movement between the front three, regularly exchanging position, helped keep the team mobile and unpredictable.

Boavista FC were missing their top scorer, Petar Musa, and one of their most used players in Sebastián Pérez. They tried to stay organised and quickly go on the attack after each ball recovered - mainly through Kenji Gorré.

Sporting CP enjoyed 64% of the possession in the first half, and converted it into chances for the likes of Pedro Gonçalves, who shot off a rebound and had his effort blocked by Rafael Bracali.

They would open the scoring with another move created from the left channel, with Nuno Santos putting in a cross and Gonçalves bringing the ball down, Nunes striking with a low shot into the net for his fourth league goal of the season.

In the 40th minute, Sarabia tested Bracali from outside the area, but the goalkeeper sent out the Spaniard's swerving shot for a corner. 

The second half brought with it a more daring Boavista FC. In the 50th minute, Antonio Adán made his first save, holding off a long shot from Jeriel De Santis, whilst Makouta shot just wide. Amorim decided to make his first change shortly after, bringing in Ugarte in place of Nunes.

The second goal arrived immediately afterwards: To culminate a good collective move, Edwards' cross took a swerve off a deflection from Rodrigo Abascal, the ball hitting the post before completely crossing the line.

Further switches saw Rúben Vinagre and Bruno Tabata enter for Nuno Santos and Pedro Gonçalves. With less than a quarter of an hour to go, Amorim also introduced Feddal – back in action after more than a month sidelined – and also Daniel Bragança. 

Sporting CP hit the crossbar through a Paulinha header, as a third goal seemed ever closer. It would finally come when Tabata was fouled in the box, and he himself would convert the penalty as Os Leões won 0-3.

Currently on 76 points, Sporting CP are six points behind FC Porto and eight ahead of third-placed SL Benfica. Next up, they take on Gil Vicente FC at the Estádio José Alvalade on Sunday.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán, Nuno Santos (Rúben Vinagre 68'), Gonçalo Inácio, Sebastián Coates [C] (Zouhair Feddal 78'), Luís Neto, Ricardo Esgaio, João Palhinha, Matheus Nunes (Manuel Ugarte 57'), Pedro Gonçalves (Bruno Tabata 68'), Marcus Edwards and Pablo Sarabia (Daniel Bragança 78').