Sporting stalwart not fully satisfied, would have preferred a 4-0 win | OneFootball

Sporting thrashed the Kazakhs from Kairat Almaty, this Thursday, September 18, at Alvalade, by 4-1, in the first round of the Champions League group stage. Rui Borges is not getting carried away and mentioned that he would have preferred not to concede any goals in the prestigious competition match.

"It feels like just a victory. It's three points at the start of the competition, in a game we knew could become more difficult, against a team that was theoretically inferior. We knew the opponent was very motivated for the competition and for some time we were passive, which cannot happen. At moments in the first half, we let the game slip away and that becomes dangerous," he began by saying, in statements to Sport TV.

The coach acknowledges that the team was not at its best at the start of the second half: "Not scoring too early also creates some anxiety, and it was felt in the team. We started the second half very poorly, we let the opponent believe, but after that, there were 15 minutes of Sporting's intense, competitive play, with good decision-making and individual quality. In the last ten minutes, we became passive again and conceded a goal."

Regarding the three-goal advantage, Rui Borges admitted he would have liked it to be four: "We are in a league phase, more than the goals, it's important to win. Teams theoretically inferior in individual and collective quality, but then there are surprises. More than the goals, it's good to win 4-1. I would have preferred to win 4-0, but the most important thing was to win," he concluded.

Rui Borges's team thus collects the first three points in the competition. The next game in the international competition is scheduled for Wednesday, October 1, at 8:00 PM, away from home, against the Italians from Napoli, who lost 2-0 to Manchester City.

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