Rui Borges, head coach of Sporting, explained what went wrong in the first half and praised his team’s attitude after the break following a 4-1 victory over Rio Ave in the 33rd round of the Liga. The Lions’ boss admitted the team struggled to counter the hosts’ style of play and highlighted their response after the red cards.
“The image has always been there—we have been a very offensive, high-scoring team, and we were that again. We never strayed from that. It was a tough win, a difficult first half. We conceded early and were always at risk. We knew what Rio Ave does well: drawing the opponent into a high block, then playing direct balls to their two forwards. When they don’t go direct, they are very active on second balls and create overloads against defensive lines. That happened for most of the first half. We knew that was their game. We lost some duels, which made the first half hard. Then we improved, scored, and were fortunate in the second half. The second half has no story—it was all Sporting. The team didn’t relax with the numerical advantage; they controlled the game, always focused. It was important not to fall asleep. Even with one man down, Rio Ave could be dangerous because their frontmen are very fast and physically strong. The victory is well deserved.”
Regarding Rio Ave’s 4v4 setup and Sporting’s failure to exploit central defenders’ ball carrying, Borges added: “More than ball carrying, we easily broke Rio Ave’s press. They pressed man-to-man, and we beat it easily. Initially, we overdid interior play, even with free men, making unnecessary passes when we could have moved the ball wider to attract pressure from outside. We insisted on interior play and lost balls, and they are very strong in transition, creating one or two dangerous chances. We knew we would face a 4v4, and we tried to adjust midway through the first half—Morita won some balls there. Rio Ave stretched the first ball. When the ball came from the keeper or from center-back to center-back, we triggered the press, and our midfielders didn’t need to be exposed to their references because they didn’t target midfielders. Also, because we conceded early, the team became anxious, wanting to press everyone and focusing on references. At halftime we adjusted and managed to do that. Then we had the numerical advantage and controlled it until the end. It was just about more midfield coverage.”
On the injuries to Debast and Vagiannidis, Borges confirmed: “We lost both in training.”