Rui Borges slipped up at the worst time, Sporting paid in three-peat bid | OneFootball

Sporting saw the dream of a first three-peat in 70 years slip away largely due to the inability they showed against their main league rivals. Rui Borges’ team failed to win a single match against Porto, Benfica, Braga and even the surprising Gil Vicente, results that ultimately weighed decisively in the final league standings.

The campaign started to get complicated as early as the fourth matchday, when the Lions lost 2-1 at Alvalade to Porto. Later, another home disappointment against Benfica — who may now be rooting for their rival — by 2-1, virtually ended Sporting’s hopes in the title race, on a particularly painful night for the green-and-white fans.

In between, Sporting also threw away leads against Braga, conceding stoppage-time equalizers both at Alvalade and at the Pedreira. Against Gil Vicente too, then the surprise package of the league, the Lions let important points slip away near the end of the match.

Curiously, against the rest of the league’s teams, Sporting showed great competitive consistency. The side coached by Rui Borges dropped very few points against lesser opponents, but the lack of emotional and competitive sharpness in the toughest matches ended up being fatal in the title race.

Even so, the Lions can still end 2025/26 with a trophy if they beat Torreense in the Portuguese Cup final, which would allow them to win the competition for the second consecutive time. Still, at Alvalade there remains a sense that the three-peat slipped away precisely in the matches where Sporting needed to deliver a stronger response.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.