Rui Borges' pick reveals Sporting foe is his idol | OneFootball

Rafael Nel believes Sporting can still turn the tie around against Arsenal, despite the 1-0 defeat at Alvalade. The young forward, brought on in the 79th minute to replace Pote, insisted that the team remains confident about reaching the Champions League semi-finals and revealed that Viktor Gyökeres is his “idol”.

“It was a solid game. Unfortunately we conceded a goal at the end, but the tie is still open and we’re going there to play with everything we’ve got,” he began by saying in the flash interview area to SportTV. The attacker also recalled the comeback against Bodo/Glimt and admitted he came onto the pitch intending to make the same kind of impact. “Yes. Even today, when I came on, I was thinking about helping with a goal. Unfortunately I couldn’t, but I gave everything.”

Rafael Nel also revealed that he exchanged a few words with Viktor Gyökeres at the end of the match, highlighting his admiration for the former Sporting striker. “He said a few words. He said he was happy for me, and I’m always happy for him too. He’s an idol to me. I’ll see him next week and we’ll play the game with everything we’ve got.”

The youngster stressed that the group remains confident of a comeback: “The tie is still open. We have nothing to fear. The team is confident and we’re going to play a good game”. Finally, Nel said that the immediate focus is on the league: “With these results, we have to focus on ourselves. I think the team’s focus is on Estrela, then we’ll think about Arsenal. We’ll look at the opponent, understand their dynamics and approach the game the way we approach any other.”

This season, Rafael Nel - valued at €1.5 million - has made 28 appearances for Sporting: five for the first team (two in the Champions League and three in Liga Portugal Betclic) and 23 in the Second League for the reserve side. In total, the forward has played 1,633 minutes, scoring nine goals and providing five assists.

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