Rui Borges backs Sporting player yet to impress: Belíssimo game | OneFootball

After Sporting's triumph with a 4-1 win over Kairat in the opening match of the Champions League group stage, Rui Borges attended the press conference and analyzed various aspects of the match. The coach said he was pleased with the victory, praised Iván Fresneda's "beautiful game", mentioned that Morten Hjulmand will continue to be the official penalty taker, and that he is satisfied with the current squad after the transfer window closed.

"We were competent. At times, there was some passivity in our reaction to losing the ball and in pressing. You could tell we weren't as fresh for that. It's part of the game, we have to deal with it better. In the first half, we created some goal opportunities without scoring, which caused some anxiety. We needed to be calmer. We missed the penalty. If we had scored, I think the game would have opened up differently. Trincão's quality led to the first goal. In the second half, we started poorly, very passive, and João Virgínia did well. We woke up for 15, 20 minutes, with better and clearer decision-making. We scored the goals naturally and those who came on brought good, positive energy. In the last ten minutes, we became passive again and conceded a goal. The team gave their all and the most important thing was to win", he began by saying, focusing on Francisco Trincão, Geovany Quenda, Eduardo Quaresma, Iván Fresneda, and Alisson Santos.

"I've already said that Trincão was the player who surprised me the most. I know him better now, I know what he's capable of and what he can bring to the team. His individual quality is above average. As for Quenda, at the start of the season we opted for Geny Catamo, but he was always my biggest headache. Eduardo Quaresma as well. He hasn't played much, but he was very important last season. I know what he's capable of, he's much more mature now and I'm happy with the response he gave today. Iván Fresneda also played a beautiful game. Everyone will get opportunities. Alisson Santos came from a completely different level and is adapting. I'm happy for his goal. We need to give time for growth because the daily demands are much higher," he said.

The coach addressed the physical management throughout the 90 minutes: "The group has always responded fantastically, even when they're more tired. (...) The fatigue isn't just from the Famalicão game, but also from minutes played with the national teams. There are things we can't control. We're entering this competitive rhythm and there's an adaptation to that. I knew that our individual quality would be better than Kairat's, but we couldn't let the game get away from us, and at times we did," explained the coach, focusing on Morten Hjulmand and Eduardo Quaresma.

"Morten Hjulmand has scored several, missed today. It happens to the best. By hierarchy, Morten is the first choice. He's been taking them very well. Regarding Eduardo Quaresma, he gave a great response and deserves to play. I can only use two and I have four. We'll see more different pairings, not just this one."

Regarding squad depth, the Lions' coach says he's satisfied: "In the last days of the transfer window, people said Sporting had the worst window, now it's the one with the most depth. I've always said I was happy with my squad. I trust everyone. It's a great group of friends, they support each other, respect each other a lot. It's very important to feel that every day."

Finally, Rui Borges explained the substitutions: "I tried to refresh the team because the energy wasn't as we wanted. The response in the last few training sessions had been positive, but the energy wasn't there during the game. We made more poor decisions than usual, even in short play. Refreshing was good because it brought more intensity, both in decision-making and reactions. I'm happy for those who came on, who gave a very good response," he concluded.

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