In his definitive goodbye to the Sporting bench, Ruben Amorim was close to suffering his first defeat in the championship, surprised by a SC Braga team that was superior in tactical terms in the first half. Ricardo Horta scored twice, but Morita, Hjulmand and Harder, who scored twice, secured a bye with victory.
And what if it works? The phrase will be repeated ad eternum when talking about Ruben Amorim's time at Sporting. In March 2020, the coach made this prophecy at the time of the presentation and began a cycle that had its epitome in both championships. But more than four years later, when he said goodbye, it seemed like it wasn't going to work.
10 wins in 10 games. By far the best attack (35 goals) and the best defense (3) in the championship, as well as a victory over Manchester City (4-1). This was the calling card with which Sporting arrived in Braga to say a final goodbye to Rúben Amorim, in the house that launched him into the spotlight.
But faced with some well-known faces from a time when he had not yet dreamed of being on the Manchester United bench, the Sporting coach found himself outdone by an astute Carlos Carvalhal who laid the foundations of a tactical ruse that aimed to tame the lion.
With three defenders taking away Gyökeres' depth and the interior midfielders controlling Francisco Trincão and Pedro Gonçalves, SC Braga stopped the offensive machine. In attack, Roger created imbalances on the left side, with Bruma and Ricardo Horta causing chaos. The goal ended up arriving in the 20th minute, when Debast did not do well to clear a loose ball at the feet of Ricardo Horta who kicked it into an unguarded goal by Franco Israel, who was hit by an opponent.
Everything got worse for the lions six minutes later, when Pedro Gonçalves left injured in tears. The fate of a player not always chosen by Roberto Martínez, but who when he has opportunities is betrayed by physical issues. Without the midfielder's creativity, Sporting continued to experience difficulties and SC Braga took the opportunity to score another blow. Moutinho recovered the ball, launched Bruma who isolated Ricardo Horta (45') and the captain scored twice. For the first time, Sporting conceded two goals in a single game.
The second half brought a renewed Sporting team. Amorim didn't want to say goodbye with a loss, he launched St. Juste, Conrad Harder and Morita for messing with the game and were rewarded. Two minutes after coming on, the Japanese midfielder scored, following a header hit by the Dutch defender's post. Hope was reborn.
The minutes passed, anxiety increased, SC Braga was entrenched. A shout was needed and it came from the captain. Hjulmand had space at the entrance to the area and fired a bomb that exploded in SC Braga's net. The tie was made, but the script had not yet been finalized.
Conrad Harder was not Amorim's first option to succeed Paulinho, but he was the one who arrived. And the Dane did not disappoint the coach. A crossed shot in the 89th minute and the turnaround was complete.
There was still time for the young striker's double at 90+4' and the party with Amorim.
Sporting recorded their 11th victory and equaled their best start ever, to remain isolated in the lead, before seeing one or two rivals drop points in the classic.
Yes, Rubens. Everything went well.
Flashscore man of the match: Morten Hjulmand (Sporting)
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