The coach speaks before the Champions League tie with RB Leipzig

Sporting Clube de Portugal face RB Leipzig on Wednesday, on the seventh matchday of the UEFA Champions League.

After the team's arrival in Germany, coach Rui Borges previewed the game in his press conference and started by emphasising that his debut in the UEFA Champions League "only has real meaning if the victory that guarantees access to the playoffs comes -and that's the goal."

"RB Leipzig are dangerous all together. I look at their team and the formation they have fielded, which has been different between the UEFA Champions League and the Bundesliga. I'm focusing on that to get my players ready for tomorrow," he told reporters.

"At a team like Sporting CP, we only think about winning. We know that there are opponents who will cause us more problems and make us suffer more, but we will always fight for victory. Our objective is clear: To reach the playoffs. To do this, We have to win tomorrow against a great team," he continued by saying.

The coach admitted that reaching UEFA Champions League level "is a dream come true."

"Maybe a year, or a year and a half ago, I was on the couch watching the games and dreaming of being there. I'm very proud of what brought us here as a coaching staff, which was hard work."

"I feel that the team are very well prepared. We've had some very difficult games since taking charge, and the team gave a fantastic response. With few training sessions and a change of formation, we could have had more difficulties, but the players are intelligent and have a lot of quality, as you can see from the response on the pitch," he told the media.

For Borges, fitness "could be crucial, especially because the RB Leipzig press a lot and are competitive in the individual duels. We will have a lot of duels and we have to be able to match their physical and athletic capacity. So, we have to be smart to understand what the game is giving us in terms of space, to be able to be on top of the game. We are going to have a nice challenge, but I think we will be prepared."

Finally, Borges addressed the Sportinguistas.

"We know that physically they are not here, but that they will be cheering and suffering a lot for us at home, so that we can leave here with victory."