Without taking into account the points already lost (11 in eight rounds) and in view of the points they can still win until the end of the championship, Sporting has collected three more for the accounts of the I Liga. Today’s victory, over Gil Vicente (3-1), at Estádio José Alvalade, was scarce, given the leonine offensive flow and the facilities granted by the gilistas in the 8th round match. Morita, the man who apologizes for everything and always gives thanks (according to Rúben Amorim), was the man of the match yesterday, with a goal and an assist.
Thirteen days after their third defeat in the league, at Bessa (1-2), and after a break for the teams’ matches, the Lions returned to triumph, adding 13 points. of the Casa Pia’s sixth place, while Gi Vicente remained in 10th place with nine.
Although the presence of José Marsà is expected already in the eleventh, given the forced absence of Coates (St.Juste was on the bench) due to injury, this was nothing short of a novelty. The young Spanish centre-back played alongside Gonçalo Inácio and Matheus Reis, allowing Rúben Amorim to maintain the usual three-defender line-up.
The biggest challenge for the leonine team at the start of the game was to fit into Gil Vicente’s surprising plan. Ivo Vieira presented a team with deep changes, playing with three central defenders and with Lucas, Tomás Araújo and Rúben Fernandes in the starting line-up.
Paulinho scored in the 10th minute, but the goal was disallowed by VAR. The attacker was out of the game when he got the ball from Nuno Santos… who didn’t lose heart in terms of assists and shortly afterwards eliminated Morita for the 1-0. He gave the impression that southpaw Andrew was trying to shoot Silva, but the ball went to the Japanese, who made his debut to score for the Lions.
The game had become easy for Sporting. Rúben Amorim’s team was objective and reached the gilista area with three/four hits. And it was even in one of those moves that it went 2-0. Morita got the ball from Marsá and used his heel to serve Pote, who also reacted with class, taking an opponent out of the way before celebrating the 100th game with a stunning goal.
Bar against Boselli
With more than 70 minutes to go, the game looked decided. It was necessary in the second half to find courage and motivation against waste. Upon returning from the locker rooms, Gil’s five-defense line was dismantled, at the expense of the traditional 4x3x3, allowing the visiting side to be more comfortable in the game, but without causing major damage to the end.
Trincao held up the lion and scored before he left, but the goal would be declared void. Sporting did not give up the search for the third and got it via Rochinha (a pass from Esgaio). The game is definitely won.
Spectator Adán was barely bothered by Leonine goal. On one of the rare occasions, he ended up at Fran Navarro’s feet and dodged the goal (69″); on another occasion he saw the crossbar stop Boselli’s shot (83″); but eventually conceded a goal in the final move of the match: Fran Navarro took advantage of Sporting’s already famous last oversight to score the goal in Gilista’s honour, which in reality he no longer deserved in a match in which he was lost for more than 70 minutes and subjected in the field. The Spanish forward scored his fifth goal of the season and showed that he is serious business in this competition.
And so the seventh consecutive victory of the lions in duels with gilistas was built. “A very competent game, which could have been more complicated if we hadn’t scored in the first half,” said Ruben Amorim afterwards. “We created several chances, we didn’t let Gil Vicente create, maybe only in the final phase of the first half with Navarro. In the second half we were competent again, with several chances.” We should have scored more goals and we couldn’t have conceded. A complicated goal, with a rebound in the striker, which Navarro was able to finish. But it was a deserved win, it could have been longer’ concluded the Sporting coach.
SEE THE GOALS
Source: DN
