José Dominguez thrilled with Sporting’s epic win: "Incredible" | OneFootball

José Dominguez gave an interview to our newspaper and analyzed Sporting’s 3-2 victory over Athletic Bilbao. The former player considered that the team managed to surpass itself in the “hell” of San Mamés, praised the great collective performance of the squad led by Rui Borges, as well as their campaign in the Champions League, and also commented on the possible clash against Benfica in the round of 16 of the competition.

“A fantastic achievement by this Sporting, especially considering how difficult this management period has been, with all these setbacks due to injuries. It shows that the group, the coach’s leadership, and all the departments are working at full capacity. This group cohesion proves just that,” he began by saying.

Another adverse condition was Athletic Bilbao’s home advantage. Even with the “hellish” atmosphere, the 51-year-old coach praised the reaction capacity of the Lions: “It’s a stadium with a very complicated atmosphere, where Sporting had never managed to win. Being able to come back twice from behind shows that Sporting really has good leadership and a group that is always focused on the task. It’s a group that is ambitious, and you can see that all the players are committed.”

José Dominguez was thrilled with the winning goal: “That goal in the 94th minute was an explosion of joy, an incredible thing. Alisson is also a youngster, just starting to emerge, and every time he’s come on, he’s made his mark,” he said about the decisive power the Brazilian winger has shown in the Champions League.

In a more individual analysis, the former Portuguese international spoke of the “importance” of Ousmane Diomande, the “growth” of Iván Fresneda, the “fantastic form” of Maxi Araújo, and also praised Luis Suárez: “He’s a fantastic striker. After we lost Gyokeres, and considering what he did in the last two years, Sporting really hit the mark with his signing. He has fantastic numbers and is always a loose threat for defenses.”

“Sporting has been fantastic in this Champions League. I hope that now, with more recovery time, Sporting continues to show its ability, really showing all the teams why we made it among the top eight teams in Europe. The sky right now won’t be the limit. It will just be the starting point,” he said.

Finally, regarding a possible eternal derby against Benfica in the round of 16, the former footballer, who played for Sporting between 1995 and 1997, believes it would be a game of another dimension, but that he would prefer for them to meet later on: “It would be a match with a special character, with the added element of being in the Champions League round of 16, but if they met in a final, it would be even better,” he concluded.

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