Luís Pedro Sousa unimpressed by Sporting signing: off the pace | OneFootball

Sporting beat Alverca 3-1 in a win that, despite the result, did not fully convince Luís Pedro Sousa. The commentator believes that Rui Borges's team still needs time to reach the performance level shown in other seasons.

Nestory Irankunda's debut also drew a critical assessment. The Australian signing showed the speed that defines him, but did not impress the analyst: "He showed speed, but also that he was out of sync with the team," he wrote in the newspaper 'Record'.

Even so, the win was particularly important because of the response given by Luis Suárez, who started again, scored, and managed to reconnect with Sporting’s fans: "It was not a good performance and, with so many changes in the team since the end of last season, Sporting fans will really have to wait for the kind of spectacle they were sometimes treated to in the recent past. In any case, this win was more important than it may seem. Suárez started, scored and, it seems, has been forgiven by the Alvalade court".

Rui Borges also made changes in defense, bringing Fresneda, Debast and Ibrahima Ba into the starting eleven. For the commentator, the changes ended up working and Ba, in particular, took the opportunity to show that he is ready to compete at the highest level.

"That is another important takeaway from this victory. Rui Borges overhauled the defense, including Fresneda, Debast and Ibrahima Ba in the starting eleven, and they responded positively. Fresneda and Debast are no surprise, but Ba, who came in for Gonçalo Inácio, showed he was up to the task and that Sporting were right to sign him, after he had failed Strasbourg's medical tests. The recovery deadline was met and the center-back returned fully fit".

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