Goal ruled out, Pote shines, Ioannidis returns: Rui Borges reacts | OneFootball

After the 1-0 victory over Famalicão, Rui Borges, coach of Sporting, shared his thoughts on the triumph of the Alvalade club during a press conference at the Artur Agostinho Auditorium in Alvalade. The coach has no doubt that the disallowed goal for the Minho side was preceded by a foul, analyzed Pedro Gonçalves’ performance as a striker, and believes that Fotis Ioannidis will recover in time for the match in Moreira de Cónegos.

13th consecutive home win

“I don’t pay much attention to that, but I’m happy, because I’m a happy man to be at Sporting, enjoying the day-to-day with a great group.”

Match analysis

“In the first half, Famalicão had two dangerous moments, two transitions. They are a competitive team, they contested duels and forced us to make more passing mistakes than usual. We kept pushing, but it was clear we were missing a reference point in the box to make better decisions. In the second half, there was no story, because it was all Sporting and Famalicão created nothing. We kept possession, created some finishing chances, had 15 corners and ended up scoring that way, but we could have scored earlier from a set piece. That’s the story: one team always looking for the goal and the other defending well, organized and competent, waiting for transitions. For everything we managed to create, sometimes not so well in terms of quality, we did enough to win the game.”

Betting on Pedro Gonçalves as striker

“He was one of the available players for the position. We had Rafael Nel, it’s true, and Fotis was an option until the last minute, and if he could, we might have started with Nel to have a reference point. Without Fotis and using Nel at the start of the game, if we had this difficulty later, we wouldn’t have anyone else. At times we missed that reference to link up and finish better, and even in crossing zones there were hesitations because we lacked that reference.”

The ideal composition for a mobile attack

“‘Pote’ and Trincão are players who link up and define play, and we needed someone to attack the space, so we decided to push Maxi forward. He has good timing attacking the space and we needed that, both him and Luís Guilherme, to stretch the play.”

On the disallowed goal for Famalicão at the start of the match

“For me, it’s a clear foul, as simple as that. And it’s a play that comes from an offside, so that finish shouldn’t even have happened. Besides that, for me, it’s a foul. Mangas also gave us width, because he’s very vertical.”

Another goal scored near the end

“Football is from the first to the last minute. I also have two draws with goals at the end, that’s four points and maybe I’d be level with first place. It’s always subjective. Above all, the team’s ambition is huge. The game is 90 minutes, so why worry? I won, that’s what we want, and the games will get harder and harder. We played against a good, very competent team, which makes our victory even more valuable.”

The ‘big three’ all won by the minimum margin this round

“We didn’t play badly, the opponent also deserves credit and I’m sure the games will get harder and harder. For us and for everyone, especially for the teams at the top of the league, because the other teams have quality, are well organized, and need points. The difficulty is clear and we have to be prepared.”

Rafael Nel’s debut for the first team in 2025/2026

“I’m happy for him, because he deserved it. He’s worked hard in the B team. He has to keep working, he’s grown a lot and he’s a very competitive kid. I believe he’ll have more opportunities, because he’s very focused, works hard and wants to succeed.”

Will Fotis Ioannidis recover in time for Moreirense?

“I can’t say for sure, but I believe so.”

The goal and Daniel Bragança’s first steps on his return to competition

“He’s an important player, one of the captains and has Sporting DNA. He has above-average technical quality, is still looking for his best physical form, but he’s happy and motivated and will be an important player, as he was today, fortunately. He managed to score a header, which isn’t very usual for him. He’s a player who sees things differently and that’s why he came on. I’m happy to see him score, because he’s a player with a green heart. It’s also important to say a word to the fans. The energy from the fans has been phenomenal and on Saturday, in Moreira de Cónegos, in another tough game, we’ll need that energy.”

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