Benfica's result? Rui Borges on Sporting's approach: It doesn't matter... | OneFootball

Rui Borges admitted, in statements to Sport TV after Sporting’s 4-1 thrashing of Rio Ave, that he had already expected the difficulties the team felt, especially during the first half of the match. The Sporting coach highlighted Rio Ave’s attacking quality and explained that the game ended up becoming too stretched at various moments, while also commenting on Benfica’s result.

“A very open start. We knew where Rio Ave were strong, in an open game. The players up front are good footballers and we knew we couldn’t let the game get stretched. We did let that happen because we tried to press aggressively, to pick up references. And that was how almost the entire first half went. Of course, after we conceded, we pushed even harder for the result, we became more exposed in transitions, in one-on-one situations, we left our defenders one against one... We could have improved here or there in some cover situations, we tried to adjust at the end of the first half and started winning a ball or two. Then we took control, Rio Ave also went down to 10 men and the team didn’t ease off. In the end, it was a fair win, but against a great opponent who caused us plenty of problems in the first half,” he began by saying.

The green-and-white coach was also asked about the atmosphere in the stands and the influence the events of the Benfica vs Braga match might have had on the team’s concentration. Rui Borges acknowledged that the players were keeping track of what was happening at the Estádio da Luz, but stressed that the priority always had to be Sporting’s performance on the pitch.

“From a certain point on, did you need to stop the noise from the stands getting into the players’ heads? It’s natural that it was felt and that the players kept asking, but we have to stay focused on what we can control. They stayed calm, they didn’t ease off, even as the tempo dropped. Their concentration and discipline in defensive moments did not drop. Even though we had an extra man there in the second half, Rio Ave have extremely strong players on the counter-attack and could have created danger. The team stayed switched on. There’s no point in worrying about the others. It’s normal that the players heard the noise, but we have to stay focused on our own game,’” replied the Sporting coach.

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