Sporting celebrated on the trip to Austria by beating Sturm Graz 0-2 in the third round of the Champions League. The draw against PSV, at the beginning of the month, was behind us and the lions ended the day in third place in the group – albeit provisionally.
Rúben Amorim once again showed courage, especially when it came to choosing the starting team. He decided to launch Ricardo Esgaio so, according to him, he could have a line of four in defense, and later in the game, even before a final squeeze exerted by the Austrian team, he launched Pedro Gonçalves and St. Juste, both coming from injury.
Sporting ended up being worth the two goals scored at the beginning of both halves, an advantage that was maintained by a high level of ball possession that, even so, did not translate into scoring opportunities.
In the end, especially in the last 15 minutes, the lions were surprised several times and only didn’t suffer because Sturm Graz lacked effectiveness (and some luck).
So let’s look at the notes:
Figure
The goal was just the ‘cherry’ on top of a very good performance from Nuno Santos. The full-back was responsible for occupying the entire wing and, when called upon to attack, he was always an element that caused danger. He ended up scoring the first with some luck, given Gyokeres’ failure, but his positioning to finish only helps demonstrate how much he ran during the time he was on the field.
Surprise
Zeno Debast conveyed security, but also appeared, at times, to unbalance. The highlight is his contribution to the second goal, in which, after coming out with the ball in front of two opponents, he managed, with his left foot, to launch Gyokeres into the counterattack.
Disillusionment
Amorim bet on Maxi Araújo as a winger and the Uruguayan could have made better use of the fact that Pedro Gonçalves was not yet recovered. When he had the ball, Maxi didn’t ‘fill his eyes’ and, despite having fulfilled it, a little more was expected.
Coaches
Christian Ilzer
Sturm Graz continues without scoring in the Champions League, although it is one of the teams with the least arguments in this competition. It will be difficult for the Austrians to take anything away from the ‘millionaire league’.
Rúben Amorim
It was a night of many risky decisions for the Leo coach. The courage, however, did not translate into great success, especially because Ricardo Esgaio was not brilliant and the entries of Pedro Gonçalves and St. Juste coincided with Sporting’s most pressing moment. At the end of the day, what matters is getting the three points.
Arbitrator
It wasn’t a difficult game for Giorgi Kruashvili and the Georgian’s most prominent moment was when Catamo, in the 66th minute, fell in the area due to a supposed foul by Gazibegovic. After reviewing the images on the VAR, the referee ordered the game to continue and, contrary to what it might seem at first, it was actually the right decision.
Read Also: Amorim ‘moves and shakes’ and Sporting returns to winning ways in the Champions League
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Eighth consecutive year Consumer Choice for Online Press and elected product of the year 2024.
* Study by e Netsonda, Nov. and ten. 2023 product of the year – pt.com
