The Portimonense coach said today that his team has to “know how to stop” leader Sporting, who is going through “a fantastic moment” in the Portuguese First Football League, in Saturday's game of the 15th round.
“Sporting’s quality is top-notch, probably the strongest team at the moment in the League, more confident, with a very positive wave around it. Therefore, it is a very fantastic moment and we recognize all of that. It is the first step to prepare for the battle”, stated Paulo Sérgio, at the press conference previewing the game scheduled for the Estádio Municipal de Portimão.
Given the “potential” and “great moment” of the 'lions', the Portimonense coach maintained that his team must be competitive and focused, contrary to what they showed in the previous round, in which they were beaten at Moreirense's home ( 5-2).
“We have to do everything we can to get something positive out of the game. And that always starts with us being able to be competitive, being focused, not giving away freebies”, he stressed.
The Algarve team must compete “for every ball, for every move, for every space”, and must be “a very objective, very assertive team”, in the search for Sporting's goal. “But the first impact, and with all humility, has to be knowing how to stop Sporting”, he highlighted.
Paulo Sérgio recalled that the leader of the I League has a “very elaborate” game process, which “is easy to identify, but not so easy to stop”, and that “he plays with the game on, as well as exploits very well the depth”, praising the Swede Viktor Gyökeres.
“What makes the difference, most of the time, is quality. And I have no doubt that Rúben [Amorim] is much happier this year, with the introduction of this athlete, who is having the response that we all know, than he would have been last year, not having it”, mentioned.
Stressing that the striker hired from English club Coventry, “due to his characteristics, his power, his ability, brought different things”, Paulo Sérgio acknowledged that it is “always difficult” to stop Sporting.
“If you lower the block too much, Sporting has athletes to play between the lines and who have a lot of technical quality, if you raise the block, you have Viktor exploring the depth like no one else. Therefore, the balance and pressure on the ball carrier, the filling of spaces, the compensations, the mutual assistance will be able to stop the Sporting team, so that we are prepared so that, after winning the ball, we can be dangerous and can also create damage.” , he concluded.
Portimonense, 13th placed, with 15 points, will host leader Sporting, with 34, on Saturday, in a game scheduled for the Estádio Municipal de Portimão, at 20:30 pm, refereed by Manuel Oliveira, from the Porto association.
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