Rúben Amorim was used to making history in Alvalade and today achieved what no one at Sporting had achieved: winning in Austria. The victory over Sturm Graz (2-1), in the first round of the 2023/24 Europa League, ended a spell of seven games without a win on Austrian soil, thanks to goals from Gyokeres and Diomande (halfway with Coates).
Adán’s tight defense after just five minutes, after Otari Kiteishvili’s header, was a warning that the Lions team took seriously for the rest of the match. The day before, Rúben Amorim warned that they needed the ball to win, hence Daniel Bragança’s starting role, but the state of the pitch did not help the midfielder in his attacking mission and trapped him in the defensive game.
More importantly in winning the ball back, Bragança – one of five new players in the eleven, along with Geny Catamo, Daniel Bragança, Matheus Reis, Trincão and Paulinho – found it difficult to circulate the ball and build play for the attacking trio. of Trincão (instead of Pedro Gonçalves), Gyokeres and Paulinho.
Having more ball did not mean that there were opportunities to score and so half time came without goals. The best chance for Leonine’s team was Paulinho’s header from close range and two threats (one from Coates and the other from Paulinho). Closely watched, Gyokeres lost patience with the hard tackles and achieved little, but would find some peace in the second half.
Suffer and get over it
Sporting started the second half better, when Geny Catamo swung, took Danté out of the way and shot… but defended well over the goal by Kjell Scherpen, who prevented Leonine’s goal less than a minute later. Great cross from Catamo to Trincão, who rushed to a spectacular save from Scherpen.
Despite Leo’s good entry, Sturm Graz scored. Kiteishvili shot on the post and Boving was in the right place for a successful rebound. Paulinho tried to equalize in the next action, but the Austrian goalkeeper masterfully prevented this.
Without wasting time, Amorim immediately made changes to the team, using the bench where Pedro Gonçalves and Nuno Santos sat, but Scherpen’s show would continue and in the same game he incredibly saved another Paulinho header and anticipated the Gonçalo Inácio at the top. -upwards.
The one thing that couldn’t stop this force of nature was Gyokeres, who equalized after a stylish touch from Pedro Gonçalves and breathed new life into the match with around 20 minutes to go. Time for Diomande to make history with the help of a rebound that betrayed the best on the field, the goalkeeper of Sturm Graz.
The centre-back’s goal (the ball grazed Coates) allowed the Lions to turn the score around on Austrian soil, something that had never happened before. Sporting now leads group D, together with Atalanta, which defeated Raków (2-0) and Rúben Amorim had the best start to the season with five wins and a draw.
Source: DN
