Sporting performance slated: They know they're 1-0 down, right? | OneFootball

Sporting’s approach against Arsenal (0-0) sparked mixed reactions in the English media, with some harsh criticism of the way the Lions approached the second leg of the tie. One of the strongest comments came from Nigel Reo-Cocker, who did not hide his surprise at the attitude of the Sporting side.

“The game against Atlético de Madrid is going to be very difficult for Arsenal. It won’t be easy, it will be a different mentality. If we look at Sporting, in today’s game... In the 85th minute or so, Sporting had possession, they were moving the ball around... Sporting had no bite. They were chewing bread with no teeth,” he said on the program 'Golazo', broadcast by the American television network CBS Sports.

Along the same critical lines, he reinforced the idea that Alvalade’s club lacked aggression and urgency: “That was Sporting today. They were passing the ball around, and I was thinking, ‘They do know they’re losing 1-0, right? Aren’t they going to be aggressive and try to score a goal?’. They were passing the ball as if the tie was level.”

Despite the criticism of Sporting, he also made some remarks about Arsenal’s performance, considering that the English side did the bare minimum, but without any brilliance: “Arsenal, for me, got the job done. Was it a convincing performance, once again? No. Was it something they can take positives from? I’m not talking about the result.”

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