Sporting Scope 🦁💚

120 years of greatness 👑 SPORTING CLUBE DE PORTUGAL 💚

Sporting CP #StartingXI vs Casa Pia A.C.: Kaique; Fresneda, Eduardo Quaresma, Gonçalo Inácio, Maxi Araújo; Altimira, Silas Andersen, Pedro Lima; Luís Guilherme, Irankunda, Luis Suárez.

Time to bounce back! Vamos Sporting 💚

Zekri is a baller 🙌 what a find

Probable lineup: Rui Silva, Vagiannidis, Quaresma, Felicíssimo, Zekri, Silas, Lima, Simões, Jesse, Geny, Fotis

With little rest time, Rui Borges admits that few of the starters from the game against Académico Viseu will feature again in the starting XI for the Allianz Cup quarter-final against Marítimo. 🗣️ “The majority of the players who faced Académico probably won’t be available for this match. It’s not physically possible. There are open doors for our young players, who have made a good start to the season. They’re waiting for an opportunity. Almost certainly some of them will get that chance. I feel comfortable and confident in what they’re capable of”.

Taça de Portugal Draw 4th round: Sporting CP-União da Serra 5th round: Sporting CP/União da Serra-Atlético/Casa Pia

Thank you for your service. Varandas, the ball is on your side now.

This is exactly the type of starting 11 we were hoping for today 🙌 Lets see how it goes…

Sporting CP #StartingXI vs Académico de Viseu F.C.: Kaique, Fresneda, Ibrahima Ba, Gonçalo Inácio, Maxi, Altimira, Issa Doumbia, Flávio Gonçalves, Luis Guilherme, Irankunda, Suárez

Juntos 💚

Rui Borges press-conference for Viseu match 🎙️ • The team has reflected on the defeat to LASK and understands what went wrong, both individually and collectively. Borges admitted the team lacked energy, intensity and inspiration, with too many mistakes in possession. • On Sergi Altimira playing deeper, Borges defended his tactical approach. The team builds with three at the back and can defend in a 5-2-3 or 5-4-1, depending on the opposition. He insisted the defeat was not caused by Altimira’s positioning. • Asked about the team’s recent performances, Borges disagreed with the journalist’s assessment. He acknowledged the poor second half against Vitória SC and the difficulties against Arouca, but stressed that every match has its own circumstances. The team is still developing, and occasional lapses in maturity are part of that process. • The team has conceded nine goals at home, something Borges knows must improve. He highlighted defensive transitions as an area to work on, particularly given the team’s ambition to dominate possession. • Looking back at LASK, Borges admitted some decisions could have been different, including the timing of substitutions. However, he stressed that football is a game of opinions and every coach sees situations differently. • On midfield creativity, Borges explained that using players such as João Simões or Issa Doumbia depends on what each match demands. • Zeno Debast and Rodrigo Zalazar are unavailable. Ibrahima Ba, meanwhile, is an option for tomorrow, although Borges believes he still needs more time in training. • Borges also backed Flávio Gonçalves, explaining that his reduced playing time is not down to a lack of quality. Some matches require greater defensive balance in midfield, but he remains confident Flávio can contribute in the right circumstances. 🟢⚪ Plenty to improve, but Borges remains focused on the team’s growth and finding the right balance as the season progresses. #Sportingscope #Sportingcp

Tiago Fernandes might have the one of the most questionable talent ID’s in the game, but somehow he gets results. João Gião was getting “next big thing” praises for a similar performance. Zaid and Mauro emphasising the urgency to get their contract renewals done asap.

Once again, some tough decisions need to be made by Rui Borges to invert the situation: - Keep Kaique in the starting 11 - Bench Quaresma or Inácio - Start Ba (and maybe Debast when fit) - Bring back the original formula and push Altimira further up - Start Flávio in high-volume matches - Start Luis Guilherme for Geny - Sub Doumbia more often when he is uninspired - Trust Pedro Lima more - Trust the bench more There needs to be internal competition and meritocracy, for our players to feel like their place is not guaranteed if they are underperforming. Yesterday’s humbling could be determinant for the season, if Rui Borges realizes that he has alternative formulas that need to be adjusted according to the opponent’s profile. He has repeatedly said that our base formation has not changed, just certain nuances in player roles. Well the next step now is to improve his profiling and attribute the right roles for each match, while also learning to trust his bench. Back to work team, we have the whole season ahead of us.

Terrible performance to throw away a good start and early lead. Seems like we underestimated the opponent and thought it would’ve been a walk in the park. We only ever switched back on in the game when it was already 1-3. Really disappointing performances from most players, and disappointing reaction from Rui Borges as well. If Luis Guilherme came on 10 minutes earlier, we would’ve won the game. We’ll have to go get these 3 points somewhere else. Now the focus switches back to the league, where we cannot afford to lose any more points. We need a serious reaction to this embarrassing performance!

Sporting CP #StartingXI vs LASK Linz: Kaique; Fresneda, Eduardo Quaresma, Gonçalo Inácio and Maxi; Altimira, João Simões and Issa Doumbia; Geny Catamo, Irankunda and Suárez

Alvalade UCL Nights ✨ Time to get to 9 points 💪