The sixth round of the Portuguese Primeira Liga ended with a 3-0 victory for Sporting CP against the Moreira de Cónegos team, in a match decided by the smallest of details.
No one expected an easy match for the Alvalade team. Moreirense was enjoying its best start ever in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, with four wins and only one loss.
Vasco Botelho da Costa had promised, in the pre-match press conference, an organised team that would make it as difficult as possible for the opponent to find space between the lines—and that’s exactly what happened.
The first half was marked by high pressure from Sporting CP, who had two clear chances to open the scoring. In the 13th minute, Pote played a through ball to Luis Suárez, who managed to get past André Ferreira, but defender Gilberto Batista cleared the ball on the goal line, preventing the first goal.
Luís Suárez, in the 25th minute, was the figurehead of another missed opportunity when he stole the ball from Marcelo and, with only the Minho goalkeeper in front of him, shot against the post.
Even during the first half, the Rio de Janeiro team’s fans vehemently criticized the opposing goalkeeper for wasting too much time on the ball, suggesting that replacing the ball-catchers with cones doesn’t solve all the problems.
The second half was a prototype of the first, with a more organised Moreirense team, preventing Sporting from entering the box and blocking space.
As the match wore on, Rui Borges’s team became more nervous, lacking clarity in their finishing and build-up play.
Fifteen minutes from the end, Francisco Trincão was fouled inside the box, and young referee Henrique Carvalho awarded a penalty in favour of Sporting CP. Luis Suárez was called upon to beat, and with coolness, he broke the deadlock, transforming the growing nervousness of the Sporting fans into joy.
With the goal conceded, the Moreirense team needed to open up the game more and not play so deep, which would have led to greater risks.
In the final minutes of the game, Sporting benefited from another penalty and, through Pedro Gonçalves, extended the lead to 2-0, giving the team the desired stability.
In stoppage time, the fans were able to celebrate another goal. Alisson Santos crossed into the six-yard box and Fotis Ioannidis made no mistake, sealing the 3-0 victory.
Sporting CP now has fifteen points and remains in pursuit of leaders FC Porto, with three more points.
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