Leonino exclusive, Sporting stalwart in career-low and frustrated | OneFootball

Gonçalo Inácio is frustrated with the start to the season he has had while playing for Sporting, Leonino has learned, at a time when the centre-back acknowledges that his performances have fallen below the level he has already shown throughout his time at Alvalade.

According to what our newspaper has found out, the Portugal international does not hide his dissatisfaction with some of his performances, but he remains positive about the future and believes he is going through a rough patch that can be overcome with hard work and consistency.

The situation took on greater significance after the two consecutive own goals against Galatasaray and Famalicão. The first did not end up affecting the result, as the Lions beat the Turkish side 3-1, but the second came in the 90+1st minute and allowed the Minho side to equalise (1-1), in a match in which Sporting had been ahead. The two incidents put the number 25 at the centre of the criticism.

Even so, Gonçalo Inácio remains convinced that he has enough quality and experience to return to the level he has previously shown. The centre-back sees the recent mistakes as part of a negative spell in his career, and not as a definitive change in his ability to be one of the team’s key figures.

Sporting’s technical staff themselves also continue to have confidence in the defender. Rui Borges even considered leaving him out against Arouca, but any such decision would be seen as a way of protecting the player from the accumulated pressure and not as a punishment or a definitive loss of status.

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