Porto, Fresneda, Nel: what Rui Borges said after Sporting v Santa Clara | OneFootball

After Sporting’s win over Santa Clara (4-2), Rui Borges was present at the Artur Agostinho Auditorium, where he analyzed the triumph. The coach praised the lions’ response to the goal they conceded and stated that the win “cannot be disputed.” He also addressed the management of some regular starters, praised Rafael Nel and once again spoke about the controversies with Porto.

Rafael Nel’s performance

“He put in a good performance, but he wasn’t under any obligation to make anyone be forgotten. He had the obligation to do his best, what he does in training and for the B team in matches. He played a terrific game, understood well what he had to give to the collective, and then his individual talent came through. He is ready, we knew that, and he gave a very good response, just like the whole team. He has grown immensely and the game he played showed that. He clearly showed that he is here to help and to be a solution for the first team more often. He knows what he is good at and what he has to improve. That is half the battle to be successful and become better. He has improved hugely in his technical game, in wall passes, when facing forward, in support play, and he is a very competitive kid who wears down a defense. He is very intense and, personally, I really like those qualities of his. I have no doubt that he will be an important player in Sporting’s future.”

Match analysis

“It was important for us to give a clear demonstration of our group and they did that. They were switched on, in a game where we conceded a goal in the very first minutes, and from probably the only move Santa Clara had in the first half. The team stayed true to what it had to do, to our game idea, calm and confident. We grew into the game, creating several chances, and reached half-time with a 3-1 lead that was more than deserved. In the second half we were also in control, and Santa Clara ended up believing in the final minutes, in a move we had under control and where a small lapse from us allowed them to make it 3-2. Other than that, Santa Clara always relied on long balls. They have a very specific style, physical, intense and competitive, but even at that level we gave a great response: often going man for man, exposed to some problems with runs in behind, we still kept things under control. The win cannot be disputed in any way.”

Is Pedro Gonçalves’ performance a message?

“Coach Roberto Martínez certainly knows what he can count on. If he called him up, it’s because he is paying attention to what he has been doing at Sporting. The substitution was only about management. We have to understand that he was out for some time. We hoped he would have had some minutes with the national team to gain confidence and a physical boost, but, with everything this month will bring, we thought it was ideal for him to play only 45 minutes, and they were a good 45 minutes. We had the game reasonably under control, I felt the team was doing well, and we chose to manage things.”

Iván Fresneda’s absence

“He woke up with a fever. He was in the squad, but became unavailable and went home due to illness.”

Controversy with Porto

“Honestly, those who had to speak have already spoken. I fully stand by everything the President says, I’ve said it several times before. Coach Ricardo Costa spoke, he is one of Sporting’s own and I stand with my people until death. I truly believe his word, because I know him, I know his character and his personality. Those who had to speak have spoken.”

Did the team switch off?

“I’m happy with everything the team was capable of. There was no switching off at all. It is natural that the pace dropped, because of all the circumstances, but the team did well. Santa Clara took advantage of one moment of our lack of concentration, that was all. For everything we were capable of—matching them in duels, being competitive and intense man to man—I’m very happy with the team’s response.”

Goals down the left flank

“We identified a few things. Santa Clara were defending in a 4-4-2 that lacked intensity when accelerating to press, and that gave us a lot of time to settle in the attacking midfield. On the right we had double width, because the wingers, as they were concerned with breaking quickly on the counter, then in a second phase stopped looking at their references. Georgios Vagiannidis could create a lot of superiority there and we also already have more players in that area, like Francisco Trincão and Geny Catamo. Santa Clara’s defensive line takes some time to spread out and we knew that when the ball went wide, if there were inside accelerations, we could create danger because of those delays. That’s what happened in the first half. Then, what Dani gives us... he and Morita give us a bit of what Morten also gives us on the ball: clarity, calm and composure. Our defensive line looks there and feels confident because they have that ability in short and long passing. Dani gives us more mobility than Morten; they are players with different characteristics, although with the ball they give similar things in some moments. I’m happy for him, he has grown immensely and become a different player from what he was, but an important player and one whose quality is recognized by everyone. Happy to see him return in a good moment after a long layoff. It’s to his credit, and now he must keep going.”

Breaking Mário Lino’s record

“I’m happy to, in some way, keep making history at Sporting, but I give the credit to the players. They are the ones marked by those 17 consecutive wins, more than me.”

Changes to the starting eleven

“Inácio came back carrying a knock from the national team, Morten was ill, but today he no longer had a fever and ended up playing. On top of that, he was coming off 110 minutes for his national team, Maxi also played two games... we felt his energy would be more important later in the match than at the start. If I had started Maxi, I might have had to take him off after 50 minutes. Because of the wear and tear and everything this month will bring, not just the next game, we have to manage everyone’s workload and remain competitive. That was the management we carried out with the players who started on the bench.”

“The only one who ended up unavailable was Iván. I hope and believe he will be available to play, hopefully so. As for the rest, the lads will be available, except Quenda. Unfortunately, because he is a player who will help a lot in this final stretch.”

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