Samu’s got strength, but where’s the skill? It’s with Mora and Gabri | OneFootball

“If FC Porto loses the ball in the attacking midfield, Sporting has very fast players up front and can create a lot of danger. On the other hand, when Sporting is pressed in their own half, they tend to lose possession close to their area and FC Porto can take advantage. It will be a game of mistakes, and we’ll see if Sporting’s superior technique prevails over FC Porto’s greater collective strength,” he said in statements to Lusa news agency.

FC Porto, leader of the Primeira Liga with 55 points, will host second-placed Sporting, who have 51, on Monday at 8:45 pm, in a match for the 21st round. This is the second clash between the teams this season, after Porto’s 2-1 victory in the first round at Estádio José Alvalade, in Lisbon.

The unexpected defeat of the ‘Dragons’ in the previous round, their first in the league, against Casa Pia (2-1), allowed the ‘Lions’ to reduce the gap from seven to four points, a factor that, according to Inácio, could influence Rui Borges’ approach to the match.

“Up until Monday’s match, FC Porto was extremely confident. It’s no coincidence that they had, in 19 games, 18 wins and one draw. Sporting lost at home to Porto and was seven points behind. Things have changed and now Sporting knows they have a great opportunity,” he explained.

Augusto Inácio, who played for the ‘Lions’ from 1974/75 to 1981/82 and for the ‘Dragons’ from 1982/83 to 1988/89, and also coached both teams, points out that, despite the improvement compared to last season, FC Porto still suffers from a lack of creativity.

“At the start of the season, FC Porto had some games with impeccable dynamics, intensity, and attitude. Then, they stopped winning so convincingly. The performances took a back seat and they started winning more through determination, grit, and willpower. Everything that made FC Porto a winner was not enough against a well-organized team like Casa Pia,” he analyzed.

As for the limitations against more compact teams, Inácio believes the league leader has flaws: “Borja Sainz is a player with grit, Pepê is the only one who brings more technique to FC Porto’s attack. Samu has strength, but where is the technique? It’s in Rodrigo Mora and Gabri Veiga, but it doesn’t go beyond that. Varela, Pablo Rosario, and Froholdt are born workers and FC Porto’s value lies in their defensive ability, but sometimes, more is needed.”

On the other hand, the national champion, who he considers more technically gifted, may find it harder to recover possession and “maintain consistency” throughout the 90 minutes.

“I know it’s a paradox, but Sporting has it all. Trincão is creative, Geny [Catamo] is unpredictable, Suárez is a goal scorer, and there’s also Pote. And FC Porto is the one in first place. (…) Because they haven’t managed to perform at their best for the full match. Even recently, against Nacional and even Arouca, they had a lot of difficulties and have already been much better than they are now,” he reflected.

Regarding the title race, Inácio argues that a win for FC Porto or even a draw clearly favors Porto, but that a Sporting victory could profoundly change the outlook, recalling the case of Farioli at Ajax, when he lost the Dutch championship last season.

“If FC Porto wins, they’ll practically have one hand on the title and, if they draw, they still depend on themselves, although they can’t afford slip-ups. (…) If Sporting wins, that sense of doubt, the jitters, will creep into Porto. There will be a lot of talk about Farioli’s time at Ajax, when he was nine points ahead with five games to go and lost the championship. People are already talking about it behind the scenes,” he concluded.

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