Pote’s dip in form doesn’t go unnoticed, sparks talk at Sporting | OneFootball

Pedro Gonçalves has been one of Sporting’s pillars since he arrived at Alvalade in 2020, coming from Famalicão. However, the current season has been marked by some inconsistency in the performances of the ‘number 8’ of the green and whites.

A large part of this drop is associated with the muscle injury he suffered on the eve of the match against Bayern Munich, in the Champions League group stage, played on December 9, 2025. Although about three months have passed since that moment, the Portuguese international has only scored one goal and provided one assist since returning to competition, still showing some physical decline.

After recovering, he returned to action in the away match against Arouca, in the 19th round of the Primeira Liga, coming on as a used substitute. The same happened in the match against Athletic Bilbao, which closed the group stage of the European competition.

At the time, coach Rui Borges highlighted the creative player’s importance to the team’s collective dynamics. “Pedro Gonçalves makes everyone better. Pote is clearly different, the music changes,” he said after the victory in Bilbao.

Next came the match against Nacional, in which Pote returned to the starting lineup, scored, and celebrated his 100th career goal as a professional—93 of them for Sporting. He was again in the starting eleven against AVS SAD, in the Portuguese Cup, and then came off the bench against Porto and Famalicão.

The attacking midfielder was even rested in the league match against Estoril, at a time when Sporting had demanding fixtures ahead. Rui Borges then explained the decision: “Pedro Gonçalves was not at one hundred percent. It was better not to use him.”

Even when it was expected that he would start in the first leg of the Cup semi-finals against Porto, at Alvalade, he began on the bench and only came on in the 66th minute. The coach again justified the player’s physical management, stressing that he was still trying to regain his best condition.

In the following match, against Braga, Pote returned to the starting eleven and even provided an assist, but the performance fell short of expectations. He was substituted in the 72nd minute, making way for Luís Guilherme, in a game where his performance did not fully convince the Sporting fans. Despite this less consistent period, the coaching staff remains convinced that, once he fully regains his physical form, the player will continue to be one of the key pieces in Sporting’s game model.

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