The coach reflects on the win in his debut against SL Benfica

Rui Borges expressed his happiness with Sporting CP's derby win over SL Benfica in his first post-match press conference, as he reflected on the victory.

“I didn’t perform a miracle; this is all down to the players. We just tried to make them believe the few things we talked about, with few changes -nothing extraordinary- and they believed. We knew that the team would be far from what we want, but we knew they would give a very good response. We had a great first half, in which we could have scored more goals, and the second half was true to what I said about inspiration and attitude," he explained.

"The first half was inspiration and attitude and the second was more attitude than inspiration, but that's part of the game. The team fell off a little physically, but they held on as a team. Their spirit was important, and I had asked this of the team -that when we weren't so good on the ball, they should draw on the energy from the outside. That energy was fantastic during the 96 minutes and we were fair winners."

“It's still only three very good points” for Sporting CP. “The players focused, above all, on what we had to do to win, and they did it very well. Being top of the table is a consequence of the victory and now it's time to keep working, because on Friday we have a very difficult game away at Vitória SC," he continued by saying.

"Today the players can celebrate and they have the right to. Tomorrow we all have to think about the game against Vitória SC, which will be as difficult a game as today's match”.

"My teams have had quality and been very competitive and we're not going to run away from that. These are the club's demands. Sporting CP has its own soul, and we have to have this attitude from start to finish in every game. If so, regardless of everything, the fans will stick with us until the end. Today they were very important for us. I want the energy to be like this until the end, both from the players and the fans. Because, if it is like this, we will be very happy. I have no doubt about that.”