Sporting CP face Olympique Marseille this Tuesday

Speaking in a pre-match press conference, Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim made clear the objective for his side in France, where this Tuesday they face Olympique de Marseille in the Champions League. 

“A draw is not a good result. We are Sporting CP, a big team in Portugal who are growing little-by-little in Europe. We always want to win. This group can change from one moment to the next and we don't know which game will make the difference in the end. Last year we had zero points at this stage and we managed to make it to the knockout stage, so anything is possible”, he told the media.

“We have to win this game, which is very important for us. This is a competition where we want to win and where we make money, and everyone knows that's important to us too. We want to be a club who are used to these competitions and, therefore, our objective is to take the three points. As the game progresses, we will see if a point would be good for us or not. I hope my players have a great game, that they are able to read it well, that they understand if we can win or if we can draw... but the idea is always to win”, he added.

The situation for both clubs is different in both their respective leagues and in the Champions League, but, according to Amorim, “there is a great similarity between the two teams. Olympique Marseille played two good games in the Champions League and they didn't deserve to lose at home against Frankfurt, and we also noticed that with Tottenham, if it weren't for the sending off, the game would be very difficult for Tottenham. Those were two games decided by details. For us, in the Portuguese league we have also played good games that, in my view, we didn't deserve to lose, but obviously we were to blame, as we made mistakes. That is the great similarity between the two teams: We maintain our identity, play well in both competitions and have had more or less luck in one or the other”.

“We have our identity, we like to play in a certain way and we always play the same way, whether in the Champions League or in Liga Portugal, and we always have to win. Whether we have six or zero points, are seventh or first in the league, our club forces us to always win”, underlined the coach.

“We play practically in the same formation as Marseille , but we play differently. Our concern is always with individual movements and collective dynamics, which are difficult to predict. It will be a battle of ideas and I think that tomorrow individual qualities will make a big difference”.

Amorim refused to reveal his starting lineup for the game, commenting that “Paulinho is coming off an injury, but he has recovered, had an excellent last game and is an option. I won't say which players will play because it changes our dynamics. Playing with Paulinho is not the same as playing with Marcus Edwards. Therefore, I will not help the coach of Olympique Marseille. One of the two will play in the middle is the only thing I can say”.