Sporting's coach, João Pereira, reviewed the match against Santa Clara, a match that is equivalent to the lions' first defeat in the championship.
What failed?
“In the first half there was a lack of speed when circulating the ball, there was a lack of concentration when it came to scoring. Then, in the second half we were very anxious, the players really wanted to win, they wanted to do everything quickly, but things are often not done in the best way quickly. . Santa Clara had two opportunities and ended up scoring a goal.”
Bet on Edwards
“I'm not stubborn, I thought it would be the best option for this game, I knew that Santa Clara would play with a low block, Edwards is a good player in short spaces. He didn't have a good game, but it doesn't shake my confidence in him. what we wanted to do.”
Crisis of trust or identity?
“No. We had opportunities, they weren't clear, but far from being a crisis. We dominated the game completely, I think there's no doubt about that. We conceded a goal in a play that started in the opponent's penalty area.”
Whistles from fans to the coach and president
“What do I say? That there were two defeats, that nothing will shake our spirit. I fully feel that we will turn things around and that we will give a worthy response. Refereeing? I don't comment on refereeing and we have to be cold in our analysis and that even with what could have happened, we have to create more opportunities and score goals.”
Morita entered
“Oh Morten [Hjulmand] It's been many games in a row. He played for the national team, against Amarante, against Arsenal. Santa Clara was in a 5-4-1 formation, but was also focusing on transitions, and Morten was getting very close to the striker and we felt he could be dangerous for us. Morita came in well and I remember he managed to kill one or two.”
Doing badly in games
“The truth is that we didn't start the game badly, we already knew that Santa Clara was going to give us control of the game, we weren't able to create big opportunities until that goal kick that gave the opponent a goal. We tried to bring in more fresh people. But we lacked effectiveness and also created opportunities.
Arbitration
“What I felt is that we have to do more to win the game, I'm not going to talk about refereeing, that was enough when I was a player, I'm not going to make the same mistakes. Santa Clara played with a low block, we tried to put some spaces between the lines , sometimes trying to force the pass there and we lost some.
Change of two centers
“As I already told you, we added two central defenders to give more speed to the game, to move around with more speed. Zeno was a little tired and harassed, that's also why we removed two central defenders and added two central defenders. Did the atmosphere in the stands hurt? Me I felt support, I even have a clear memory in the 82nd minute supporting and singing for the team to reach the goal.
Attack against low blocks
“Sporting had 11 consecutive victories in the championship, and also played against other teams with low blocks. We could have scored goals, I remember the shot from Gyökeres, Matheus Reis, Geny… all of this in the first half. If we scored the goal first than Santa Clara, they would certainly have to open up a little more. When a low block doesn't open, we have to penetrate it and score goals.”
