After Sporting’s draw, Carlos Xavier names top right-back | OneFootball

Carlos Xavier analyzed Sporting's performance against Juventus (1-1), in a match of the fourth round of the Champions League. In an exclusive interview with Leonino, the former captain of the Alvalade Club acknowledges that Georgios Vagiannidis and Geovany Quenda were below their teammates and chooses Eduardo Quaresma as the best right-back in the squad.

"The draw is fair. It was predictable that Juventus would react after the goal. They are a great team with great players. Sporting managed to withstand the pressure. The bit of luck we lacked in Naples, we had now. This point feels like a victory," he begins by saying, before discussing the players he considers were not at their best level.

"I was commenting during the game that Quenda was out of it, he wasn't connecting with Vagiannidis and Rui Borges saw that well by making changes in the second half. Eduardo Quaresma brings other things defensively that others don't. It's the grit, it's the speed. I even believe he should be the starting right-back, even with Fresneda at 100%," explains the former lion who praised Rui Silva's performance.

"Kenan Yildiz was at a great level, but Rui Silva was really the best on the field. He was excellent. The team, in general, was very good, except for the ambitions of Quenda and Vagiannidis." Regarding Sporting's ambitions in the competition, Carlos Xavier does not set specific goals but hopes that Rui Borges' team goes as far as possible.

"We have the game with PSG, with Bayern Munich, who are really the favorites to win the competition. We are not, but we have ambitions. In the past, we have already eliminated great teams. That's the mindset we have to have during all the games and go as far as possible."

Carlos Xavier also spoke about the new controversy in Portuguese football, namely Porto's attempt to influence referee Fábio Veríssimo: "Portuguese football is full of this. The problem is that. Until there is a heavy hand for these incidents, nothing will change. The most disadvantaged are the smaller teams. They are the most disadvantaged and do not complain because they have no say in the matter," he concludes.

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