Sporting CP 3 v Vitória SC 0

Sporting CP v Vitória SC
April 21st, 2024
Estádio José Alvalade
Matchday 30

The Warm Up

During Tuesday night’s post game press conference following the 1-0 away win to Famalicão, coach Ruben Amorim was quoted as saying “we have to suffer,” as the fight for the title enters its final weeks of the season. I’m wondering if maybe my mother writes him a note that I may be excused from having to suffer. I think I did enough for at least a dozen people or more combined during the previous title run in and some of us simply aren’t getting any younger and to be fair I have a diagnosed anxiety order so you know.

The mathematics of the situation though suffering or not is that Sporting need three wins from their remaining games and for the sake of my nerves and general health I’d like them on the spin please even if there’s a smidgen of suffering having to be involved in each. Despite the celebrations of Sportinguista’s to mark the return of the players into Lisboa in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the race is far from done even with a 7 point advantage. I’ll do my celebrating when it's mathematically certain so as to not try jinx things. Viktor if you're reading this son – time to break the goal drought!

This game marks the first of two back to back against clubs occupying places in the top five, coming in the space of seven days with the Clássico to follow. At the time of writing on Saturday night, Porto occupy the Europa Conference League qualification spot so they’re not going to roll over next Sunday and have their bellies tickled with the possibility of a season in the third tier of European football hanging over their heads. At least the players will be able to physically and mentally recharge between games with no midweek game to worry about and we saw last time out on Tuesday night that we’re starting to look a little jaded. Vitória have had a days less rest than Sporting having lost 3-1 Wednesday (4-1 on aggregate) in the Taça de Portugal to Porto which now confirms our opponents for the final itself on May the 26th. They go to the Alvalade looking to become the only club to do the double over Sporting this season having secured a 3-2 home victory. That result was a coin toss following a game played in horrendous conditions and cannot really be used as a performance indicator of what we’ll expect tonight. For now Sporting remain the only club in Europe with a 100% home record and will look to make it a 15th straight home win for the season. It won’t be an easy task with the visitors having won 7 on the road in this campaign. In fairness they looked poor last weekend at home to Farense and needed a 96^th minute equaliser to secure a point, however it should be noted that might have owed much to having one eye on the Taça semi final on the Wednesday and having played Porto back to back in league and cup games in which in the league at least they came away 2-1 winners at the Dragão. To surmise Sporting won’t be underestimating them, or at least you hope they won’t.

Diomande and Esgaio are both suspended following their fifth yellow cards of the season which one presumes will see Quaresma and St Juste battle it out for the position in the right of the back 3 and either Geny or Fresneda to start wide right.

Every day is a school day as they say, although I’m not sure who ‘they’ are exactly so maybe I should have paid more attention at school. Today I’ve learned Vitória de Guimarães isn’t the actual club name of tonight’s opponents, that’s Vitória Sport Clube. The former translates according to Google at least as ‘Victory of Guimarães.’ That’s some fucking club name that isn’t it. Pisses all over Sheffield Wednesday. The club is owned by the same people as Aston Villa, so maybe that explains why Jota Silva thinks he’s Jack Grealish, secretly hoping they’ll take him over to the Midlands on the strength of his appearance. He’ll need to be watching Peaky Blinders for his English homework. Apart from his sycophantic appearance I have to say I’d not complain if he turned up on the books of Sporting in the summer and on Nuno Santos’ form this season I’d happily see him depart the other way in a cash / player exchange deal.

Sporting are now 1/12 to lift the title with the neighbours 7/1. They come into their game Monday night away to Farense having had extra time away to Marseille on Thursday night eventually losing on penalties so everything is crossed that our fellow Lions from Faro can do the pride a favour and feast on some pigeons following last season’s promotion to the top flight.

The money markets

Sporting CP 2/7 = 77.77% probability chance of winning
Vitória 9/1 = 10% probability chance of winning 

Team News

One change to the starting XI from Tuesday as St Juste gets the nod for the suspended Diomande. Interestingly Alvaro Pacheco has benched their top scorer Jota Silva. I feel like I’m being lulled into a false sense of security.

First Half

Blessed be the gods of football for choosing to remind me early that the beautiful game can be utterly cruel and brutal as Gyökeres ex-Coventry team mates crashed out of the FA Cup to Bruno Fernandes’ Manchester United. I don’t need a second reminder tonight – I got the message loud and clear.

VSC get the game underway. Sporting will attack right to left

10 One way traffic in the opening minutes of the game. Sporting have had two corners and two balls fired from the flanks into the six yard box which have failed to find a target. VSC are prepared to sit back and defend deep and will look to counter attack but so far they’ve barely made it across the halfway line

16 Kaio fires in a shot from 22 yards following a misplaced header from Santos which gave away possession. Easily saved by Israel. Sporting complacent at the back there

20 So close to being 1-0. Geny with a first touch like a trampoline inside the box but fortunately for him he was in acres of space. Despite the poor touch he retained possession, beats two defenders and fires in a shot from 12 yards stopped by a defender on the line

25 Sporting corner flicked on by Hjulmand has the keeper scrambling back and he tips it over the bar. Not sure that was a deliberate attempt on goal from the Dane

29 GOAL Sporting CP 1 VSC 0. Defender fails to clear a ball into the box and passes it straight to Gonçalves who scores for the second straight game with an effort from 12 yards which nestles into the bottom left hand corner

32 Offside flag gets Israel off the hook as he flattens Afonso in the box for what would have been a clear penalty. 70cm offside on the maths replay. Both players ended up injured – that’s what happens when you’re told to keep your flag down. The Uruguayan would have been off there. He’s done his ostrich impression again trying to take flight. Utter liability

36 Thankfully Afonso is back on the pitch looking none the worse for that collision

Plus three shown

+2 GOAL Gyökeres breaks his drought to make it Sporting CP 2 VSC 0. Runs onto a through ball and puts it past the keeper from 8 yards. Never has a second goal come at a better time. OK maybe it has but recency bias has me in a choke hold

Half time

Sporting CP 2 Vitória SC 0

I had it in my head with five to play the word ‘nervy.’ Passes have been going astray all half and for all Sporting’s possession the opposition were still fully in the game just one goal down. Now going into the break two down they’ll have to change their game plan totally and take the fight to Sporting if they want to come away with anything. Hopefully that means more space at the back to run into which will suit Sporting and we’ve seen them punish teams time and time again throughout this season chasing a game in the second half of matches.

Had the offside flag not been raised just after the half hour mark Sporting would have been in a whole heap of trouble down to ten men and facing a penalty to make it 1-1. It was the correct decision, he was clearly offside and a more experienced keeper would have stood his ground and waited for the decision to be given. You don’t always get the rub of the green. Another week and that could have been us fucked. Thankfully we’re not.

Second half

No substitutions half time but Morita was warming up with something on his wrist that made him look like he’s going to a fancy dress party as a Transformer come full time. Sporting get us underway.

46 Gonçalves latches onto a misplaced pass and tries a lob from 20 yards but was off target and ambitious to say the least

48 GOAL Sporting CP 3 VSC 0. The big Swede has definitely remembered where the net is as he taps in from two yards for his brace. Trincão with go-go gadget legs brought the ball under control beautifully just outside of the six yard box and squared it across for what is probably Gyökeres easiest goal of the season

54 Keeper rushes out to clear the ball 30 yards from goal off the toe of Gyökeres to save his defenders blushes. You feel there’s more goals in this game. Manu gives him a thumbs up. You imagine the keeper if in shot showed his middle finger back

57 Bragança with a wildly ambitious shot from 26 yards goes sailing wide of the left hand upright

58 Jack Grealish is on for VSC. Still seems a very strange decision to have your top scorer sat on the bench for an hour

60 Sporting close again. Bragança fires straight at the keeper inside the area. Good work from Gyökeres wide right. Cut back eventually found it’s way to Santos who then tried to find the Swede. Eventually the ball found it’s way to the young midfielder via a poor punch from the keeper

62 First attempt for Jota Silva as he heads wide from a corner on the edge of the six yard box. I want this kid in a Sporting shirt

65 Mexican wave goes around the ground which traditionally was a sign of a lack of action on the pitch. I’ll say it’s over exuberance at a potential three points

68 Unusually for Amorim we’ve still not seen any substitutions which seems all the more odd with the Clássico awaiting. Gonçalves I think is a booking away from a possible suspension and we’ve another sat on four yellow cards but which player it escapes me right now

69 Yellow shown to Trincão for a traditional forwards tackle – by which I of course mean late

70 Nuno Santos – the other one – tries a bending shot from 20 yards which wasn’t far off beating Israel in the top right hand corner

71 Gyökeres penalised for a foul. Second time you can see him shouting ‘Oh my God’ to the referee. Clearly spent too much time in England

76 Finally signs of life on the sides as Paulinho and Edwards being readied to come on. Gonçalves and Trincão make way. Oh Bragança also coming off for Morita complete with his wrist protector

76 Let off for Sporting as Jota Silva beats the offside trap but can only fire wide from 8 yards

79 Almost an inspired substitution as Edwards finds the net but offside in the build up. Keeper saved his initial effort but the fired in the rebound. Said there’s more goals to come. Didn’t say they’d count mind you

81 Edwards clearly has a point to prove as he darts in between two defenders and flashes a shot low wide of the right post

82 St Juste off for Quaresma

85 Geny off for Fresneda

Three minutes shown

Full time

Sporting CP 3 Vitória SC 0

The Final Word

FIFTEEN straight home wins for this special, special side. In truth they benefitted from Silva not starting and VSC playing in the first half in a deep 5-3-2 formation but do we give a Jota? No we don’t. With the neighbours playing tomorrow night the win sends us ten points clear at the summit. Two more wins needed from the final four games; the Clássico next Sunday, Portimonense home, Estoril away or Chaves at home. If Farense, Braga, Famalicão or Arouca can do us a favour at some point all the better because if it came down to needing Rio Ave to do us a favour and we’ve some how contrived to blow this lead at the top of the table they’ll need to declare a ten mile safety zone around me for when I lose my shit.

The defence was superlative again and Coates is becoming the grand elder statesman at the back. I’ve always joked about him looking like he’s pulling a caravan when he runs but I’ve not seen him break a sweat in the past three games. Somehow Israel has his third clean sheet on the bounce which I didn’t think I’d ever write but that’s owed to the players in front of him more than any moments of brilliance from the youngster. If someone put a bid in for him during the summer I’ll give him a piggy back to wherever in the world it is he needs to go. At some point in the next four games he’s going to drop a bollock.

I don’t know what’s happened to Edwards the past few weeks, whether it’s an injury or something happening we don’t know about behind the scenes, but he looked a real threat when he came on and Trincão and Geny have looked under par last two games. He surely has to start in the Clássico next Sunday. It’s great to see St Juste with a large chunk of game time under his belt. If he’s fit I don’t think there are many better defenders in this league and that includes Diomande who has benefitted hugely from his injury problems because if he hadn’t got them he’d be in a similar position to Quaresma waiting for that chance. Football is a funny old game. You merely have to take your chances with both hands no matter how they’re presented to you. Similarly it’s lovely to see Fresneda add to his minutes but we’ve only really seen him fully prior to the injury which kept him out for months and that wasn’t great to be fair. The club clearly see something in him and the same with Koindredi. Poor old Rafael – he’s been sold a pup. I’d be amazed if he’s not on his way again just six months after his signing.

Man of the match – been a few weeks since I last gave it to him and I could continue my ongoing bromance with Coates but I’ll give it to Gyökeres. Two vital goals either side of half time killed the game off. That’s what you want from your striker – Bas Dost-Esque levels of finishing. Wham, bam thank you very much mam. Will he finish with the golden boot? Well he’s got four games to win it for himself. No better game than the Clássico to add to his tally next Sunday.

I started with a discussion about suffering. Maybe we had a little in the opening 45 but post game with three points in the bag we’re all smiles again. Something tells me we’ll be back to suffering again next Sunday against Porto so enjoy it while it lasts readers!