Rui Borges on Sporting slip-up and controversial moments | OneFootball

After Sporting’s draw against Famalicão (1-1), Rui Borges analyzed the match and, in the press conference, pointed to a certain lack of intensity and competitive attitude in the move that ultimately allowed the Minho side to equalize in the closing minutes.

Analysis

"It’s a simple game to analyze. In the first half, we came out in the opening 20-25 minutes with some patience on the ball, knowing that the pitch also wasn’t in very good condition for us to play through the middle, so we had to win through the flanks. We started well, tried to draw Famalicão out calmly, without allowing prolonged attacks or letting them get into counter-attacks. Then we started losing patience and a few steps, we tried more long passes and ended up letting Famalicão get into counter-attacks and quick attacks. Even so, we were very competent in that moment, with good energy and a competitive attitude on our part. We clearly controlled the game from start to finish in the first half. In the second half we came out exactly the same, with the same patience and calm, setting up play in Famalicão’s half with some caution and good energy in defensive transitions. We created several scoring chances, but in the end we were unlucky. In the only chance Famalicão had, in the one single move in the game where we needed to be more aggressive and intense on our left side, we weren’t, Inácio was unfortunate with the clearance and the ball ended up going in."

Refereeing

"As for the refereeing, I’m not going to comment, as I never do, regardless of whether it favors us or not. The incidents in the game are subjective. As for the goal, it’s as I said: we lacked competitive attitude in the only minute when we didn’t have our usual energy and intensity, and we were punished for it. It’s something we have to understand as a team and it cannot happen in a team like Sporting. Regardless of whether we’re playing with 10 or 11 men, it has more to do with the competitive attitude in that move. Inácio ended up being unfortunate and Famalicão fortunate in that moment. There are things we can’t control."

Switching from the Champions League to the league

"The switch had been made, the team showed a very good competitive attitude. In the only minute when we switched off that mindset and that competitive attitude, we were punished. The team showed tremendous commitment and was switched on from start to finish, but in the only moment when we switched off a little, we were heavily punished. A team like Sporting, which wants to win every game and fight for the title, cannot switch off for even a second. As for Zalazar, he had been ill over the last two days and that’s why we chose not to start him."

Porto and Benfica

"Regardless of the others, we’re concerned with ourselves. Clearly, it’s a result we didn’t want and didn’t hope for on our path. We have to focus on ourselves, improve what we need to do better, and grow even more for the next game."

You spoke about a lack of intensity and energy, but there were also many arrivals in the box without finishing. When you decided to make changes in the second half, bringing more presence into the box, don’t you feel that minimized the flanks and the crosses a little?

"I don’t think so. The option of Ioannidis was precisely because we were going down the flanks a lot and managing to get in from there. With the substitutions, the idea was to keep as much width as possible, because we were playing a lot through the middle. We put two men in the box to attack the ball and Zalazar acting as the third man coming from outside to inside. On the right we kept width, we tried with Geny and then took a risk with Nestory. Even after the equalizer, we had three clear crossing situations where we could have finished better."

At certain moments in the first half, wasn’t Geny left isolated?

"In the first half, regarding Geny, I don’t think so. We needed to be more decisive when the ball reached the flank, with more players attacking in behind when the ball went wide. We started losing that as time went on. We tried to find space to combine through the middle, although the grass wasn’t making one-touch football easy, the ball was bouncing a lot and the ground was hard, which didn’t help play through the middle. Against a low block, players have to work in short, tight lines, which is the difficult part for great players. We weren’t managing that either because of the pitch and because some players don’t fully have those characteristics, but we kept trying. We lacked clarity in decision-making in the final third, because we missed a lot of passes near Famalicão’s box. Still, we did very well in stopping their counter-attacks. We had chances to score and we should have scored. As I say, we have to stay switched on for the full 90 minutes or more, we can’t switch off for even a second."

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