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.