Coach highlights team's "very competent performance"

After the final whistle of the win away to FC Arouca, Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim gave a press conference to review the match.

"We didn't concede goals and didn't let the opposition create many opportunities, but I haven't forgotten about the dangerous situations in the first minutes of each half created by FC Arouca," he explained.

"These are crucial moments that can change games or make them more difficult, and we have to be better then. However, during the game we controlled the opponents' movements well and were brave in going at a team who pressed up on us."

Regarding the five changes made to his starting eleven, Amorim said that “this is part of the season, and there are solutions."

“There were players who arrived at the last minute. Ousmane [Diomande] didn’t even get to train since he came back, [Eduardo] Quaresma played a game for the Portugal Under-21s three days ago. [Matheus] Reis and Nuno [Santos] trained with us, Inácio came back earlier and trained in the middle. We thought Henrique Araújo would play and Inácio is perhaps the quickest in controlling the depth. Zeno [Debast] is very strong with the ball and is very fast; he has some problems in aerial duels, but he is mobile and intelligent."

"Those who are training with us are very important and everyone is focused, because we have to win every game and pick up every point. Tonight's game was a very competent performance."

Despite the perfect record for the team in Liga Portugal so far, Amorim did not hide the fact that there are still improvements to be made.

"There are different kinds of games during the season, but I think we are more confident. We have a different ability to keep the ball and, due to the characteristics of the defenders, pressing more, it helps us to dominate games," he explained.

"The team are older and our idea is maturing, but the great improvement comes from the quality of the players."

"In the Champions League we will be more exposed with our mistakes and we won't always have many chances. We can also play better and finish better in attack," he concluded.