Sporting sweep aside the competition, but Rui Borges not fully satisfied | OneFootball

When the season kicked off, the main challenge for Sporting was clear: to continue scoring many goals without Viktor Gyokeres, the forward who had scored 97 goals in 102 games over the previous two seasons. Rui Borges not only accepted the challenge but wanted to go further. The Sporting coach sought a team less dependent on a single scorer, more varied, and even more overwhelming in the offensive moment.

By the 14th round, the numbers prove him right. Sporting leads the league's attack with 38 goals scored - eight more than Benfica and 11 more than Porto, which is still playing the round. An average of 2.71 goals per game confirms the offensive power of the lions this season, but Rui Borges is not yet fully satisfied.

At Alvalade, the numbers are even more impressive: 23 of the 38 goals were scored at home. The thrashings help explain this record, with special emphasis on the 6-0 victories against AFS and Arouca, and the 4-0 against Estrela da Amadora. A performance that makes this the highest-scoring Sporting at home by the 14th round since 1973/74, when the lions had 29 goals in seven games at the old José Alvalade. In total, the current 38 goals find a parallel only in 1995/96, albeit with one less goal.

Despite the impressive numbers, Rui Borges wants more. Even with significant absences in the offensive sector - Pedro Gonçalves and Geovany Quenda injured; Geny Catamo absent due to the CAN - the coach believes the team will continue to respond at the required level.

Since arriving at Alvalade in December 2024, Rui Borges faced a demanding context: regaining the lost leadership after Ruben Amorim's departure and João Pereira's troubled tenure. After returning to the 3x4x3 in an initial phase, it was in the 4x2x3x1 that he found the definitive identity of the group, making Sporting more associative, more unpredictable, and less dependent on a single finisher.

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