The new coach's debut resulted in a rout against Amarante (6-0). He was a third-tier opponent, yes sir, but the 'hunger' is still there…
There were 36,074 people in the stands at the José Alvalade Stadium, but everyone's eyes, from journalists to commentators, from sports fans to fans of any other club, were very much focused on one man: João Pedro da Silva Pereira, 40 years old, substitute for Ruben Amorim at Sporting and debuting as a coach at the highest level. The lions, in this century, had done the same with Paulo Bento and Ricardo Sá Pinto. FC Porto had done this with Vítor Pereira and Vítor Bruno and Benfica with José Mourinho and Bruno Lage. Bet on coaches with zero games in main categories.
This would certainly not be the ideal time for João Pereira (or any other coach) to join Sporting, the national champion, the isolated leader of the championship, with a high probability of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Champions League without going through the play-offs. and still with no less than 56 goals scored in the 18 games of 2024/2025. It's almost like someone who enters, for example, the stock market. Is it preferable to enter high or low? The answer is obvious: down.
It is what it is. The new coach of the lions, as expected, given that it was a home game and with Amarante (theoretically much more fragile), introduced many changes to the eleven compared to Sporting's last game (in Braga in the League, 4-2). . Without the injured Debast and Pedro Gonçalves, he rested Israel, Diomande (out of the game sheet), Quenda, Maxi Araújo and Gyokeres and placed Kovacevic, St. Juste, Gonçalo Inácio, Esgaio, Fresneda, Edwards and Harder.
The truth is that no major differences were noticed in Sporting, as expected, other than the much more advanced positioning of Daniel Bragança, who appeared to be playing 10 meters in front of Hjulmand and very close to Harder. The lions dispatched The question of progress to the round of 16 of the Portuguese Cup was very early on, with goals from Edwards (10'), Esgaio (15) and Harder (28').
An English winger, a Portuguese full-back and a Danish striker scored the goals, but those who stood out were two left-footed players: Bragança and Trincão. The first played like a vagabond, on the right, on the left, in the middle, with no less than three assists (1-0, 2-0 and 4-0); the second, almost always on the left, making the Amarantino defenders and midfielders head in the water. Closing the 45 minutes, Edwards made it 4-0. Almost everything closed then.
…except Sporting’s eleven. Right at half-time, João Pereira made two changes: St. Juste for Quenda and Hjulmand for Morita. Esgaio moved to third defender, alongside Gonçalo Inácio and Matheus Reis. And the game continued to flow in one direction: Didi's goal. Amarante tried to defend the best it could and, here and there, bet on counterattacks.
After a period in which the Lions' game was calmer, Trincão scored with Harder and, at the edge of the area, made it 5-0. Soon after, João Simões, Henrique Arreiol and Viktor Gyokeres entered, the monster that seduces Europe from rich clubs. From then on, the interest in the game, in addition to the debuts of the young players and João Simões and Henrique Arreiol, was focused on the numbers that the result could reach and whether Gyokeres would score any more.
After sending two balls to the left post, following free kicks, the Swede scored a penalty in the 89th minute, Sporting's sixth (goal of the season) and the Swedish striker's 33rd (!!). Beautiful debut for João Pereira, albeit against a third-tier opponent. Great month of November for the lions, with no less than 19 goals: 5-1 at Estrela da Amadora, 4-2 at SC Braga, 4-1 at Manchester City and 6-0 at Amarante!
