Rui Borges hits out at Mourinho, Sporting boss delivers emphatic reply | OneFootball

During the press conference previewing the match against Rio Ave, Rui Borges was asked about José Mourinho's comments regarding the title race. The Sporting coach did not want to get into analogies or say which Formula 1 driver the Lions would be in this fight, limiting himself to listing some of the sports where Sporting is better than Benfica.

"I don't watch Formula 1... I watch handball and volleyball... Sporting also wins a lot. That's what I see, I don't watch Formula 1. I'm not a fan", said the coach, after analyzing the Vila do Conde team, which will not be able to count on Clayton, the forward who received his fifth yellow card in the last match.

"Regarding Rio Ave and whether or not they are weaker without Clayton, I give as an example the match at Luz, where they drew and neither Clayton nor André Luiz were starters. That says a lot about Rio Ave. A team that will create difficulties for us, that has only lost away from home in Moreira de Cónegos. They drew at Luz, in Famalicão, and that shows their competitiveness away from home. If we think we’re going to score a goal as time goes by, we’ll be mistaken. If we’re not serious and rigorous... A very strong team in duels, competitive, that plays on the counterattack and with quick attacks. We have to be prepared with good defensive transitions. We have improved throughout the matches. From that perspective, we hope to be at our usual level to overcome a team that has been difficult to beat away from home."

Rui Borges spoke about the return of the players after the Christmas break and commented on Frederico Varandas' words about the penalty in the Azores: "They’re fine, they behaved. I think they must have eaten a little, but that’s part of it, they’re calm. The starting eleven won’t be decided by rabanadas or filhoses. They arrived well and are professionals. Regarding Santa Clara, that was the president’s opinion. He told me right away on the plane that, for him, it wasn’t a penalty. I respected that and said it always comes down to judgment. I’ve seen it given, I’ve seen it not given. More than me saying whether it is or isn’t, both things have happened. It’s very relative."

Regarding the management of yellow cards, the coach was clear: "Hjulmand will play, the most important match is against Rio Ave. There’s no management. Last year I did that once and it almost backfired. It served as an example. And it was even Morten as well, in the match against Gil Vicente. In this case, there’s no management. When someone is out, they’re out and someone else plays. The team has responded well, everyone has shown up. And that leaves me calm and super comfortable. It will always be like that. As for the noise, I won’t comment much. The president has already spoken, he’s the boss. Whatever he says, we back him up. It’s all one group, all one structure, and everyone is always connected to everything that happens day-to-day," he said.

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