Sporting’s record is alarming when they slip up on matchday one in Portugal | OneFootball

Sporting’s draw away to Estrela da Amadora left an unpromising statistic for the Lions. Since the start of the century, the green-and-white side have never managed to win the national title in seasons when they failed to win on the opening matchday. During that period, their best finishes after starting without a victory were two third-place finishes, in 2009/10 and 2014/15.

In the last three seasons, Sporting had managed to begin the league campaign with wins, and on two of those occasions that start ended up coinciding with winning the title. The exception came in 2022/23, when the team then coached by Ruben Amorim drew 3-3 against Braga in the opening round and finished the league in fourth place.

The draw in Reboleira once again exposed a weakness that had already marked the previous season: the Lions’ difficulty in protecting leads. In 2025/26, Rui Borges let 10 favorable results slip away across all competitions. Now, against Estrela, he once again squandered a two-goal lead, something that had already happened three times under the Transmontano coach, against V. Guimarães, AVS, and Tondela.

. The 21-year-old left-back was named in the starting lineup by Rui Borges due to the limitations on that flank. Maxi Araújo was suspended and Nuno Santos is still not fully fit.

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