Everything Rui Borges said ahead of Tondela v Sporting (25/26) | OneFootball

Rui Borges, the green and white coach, spoke to journalists in a pre-match press conference ahead of Tondela - Sporting, this Saturday, October 25th. The match is scheduled for next Sunday at 6:00 PM, at Estádio João Cardoso. Read here everything the Lions' coach had to say.

"On the contrary, those stats can sometimes be misleading. They're playing at home, with a full house. It's a team that likes to have the ball, especially because of their coach's philosophy—he's someone who likes to create. I think in the majority of their games they've had more possession than their opponents. They're the second team that makes the most mistakes after Sporting. They create many finishing opportunities. It's a team that's super motivated, so it can be a bit deceiving. We need to stay alert and focused. Just yesterday, Pote said it: our Champions League is the league. We have to go in with a competitive attitude, just like we did against Marseille."

Simões starting

"He's as prepared as anyone else. He's responded well whenever the coach has thought it was the best opportunity for him. He had a somewhat difficult pre-season, in terms of the level we were expecting. But he's grown. He's been called up. We'll see tomorrow. He's given a fantastic response. He will be a leader at Sporting, I have no doubt. He's in his maturity phase, has very good characteristics. He's a fantastic kid."

Changing the mindset after the Champions League

"The Moreirense game was a great game, we played well from start to finish, created plenty of chances. Against Braga we played below our level, I hope we can give a good response. I feel the team is happy, they like to have fun. We know the difficulties. That change in mindset is always very difficult because confidence is always high against the best teams. It's about keeping them just as focused. I'm happy Pote said that yesterday. He had already said it internally. They also want to take on that responsibility, these are games we really have to win. Here and there, complacency can creep in, but knowing they're focused puts me at ease."

Bad phase

"I spoke out because I was asked. I'm not going to talk about something that doesn't exist. It was just one game where we didn't perform as well, nothing more. As I said, we're in second place. We lost a game at home, it was close. In the Cup, we advanced. In other years, Sporting has already been eliminated. Cup games are different and sometimes strange. Against Braga, we couldn't be the team we had been. Other than that... for me, that doesn't exist."

‘Gala’ starting eleven

"It's one game at a time. I'll go with the team I think is best to face Tondela. Then with Alverca, we'll see, we'll make a lot of changes. I'm calm about that. It's about giving opportunities to players who haven't had as many minutes and need them. I'm not worried at all. Then we'll see who is best prepared to give a good response."

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