Sporting star shone, but Pedro Sousa disagrees: he wouldn't have left | OneFootball

Rodrigo Zalazar was one of Sporting’s standout players in the 3-1 win over Galatasaray on the opening matchday of the Champions League league phase. The Uruguayan midfielder scored one of the goals of the night at Alvalade in a performance that drew praise, but that did not dispel some doubts about his form for certain people.

During a debate on NOW, Pedro Sousa looked closely at the new Sporting signing’s performance and recalled that Sporting invested around €30 million in the transfer. The pundit also drew a comparison with the numbers Zalazar had previously posted while playing for Braga.

Zalazar’s substitution in the second half was also discussed, especially because it happened after the player had scored and while he could still have contributed to the team. Pedro Sousa believes Rui Borges’ decision should also be assessed in light of the level of performance shown during the match.

"If Zalazar had been putting in a world-class performance, he wouldn’t have come off. The coach isn’t asleep," he said, arguing that the goal scored against Galatasaray should not be enough to hide the aspects that still need to be corrected in the player’s collective and individual performance.

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