Sporting CP 3 AVS Futebol SAD 0

Sporting CP v AVS
Sunday September 22nd, 2024
Estádio José Alvalade 
Matchday 5 

The warm up

If you're a fan of AVS Futebol SAD then please accept my sincere apologies in advance. Firstly, I'd never heard of your club before last month. Secondly, having now heard of your club I still don't know how the AVS part is said. It could be like the answer a Cockney would give you if you said 'describe for us in your own words the difference between poor and rich people' and they answer 'Well guvnor it's all ahbaaat the 'avs and the 'av nots innit.' Innit indeed. Or I'm guessing it could be A V S as initials spelt out one by one. Frankly I could have saved you all the hassle of reading that intro and just said - Sporting welcome newly promoted AVS to the Alvalde for the first ever competitive game between the two sides. Maybe you'd never heard of them either and are also now thinking, actually how do you say it? But I'm going to go with you're all actually thinking just get on with it. 

AVS hail from the town of Vila das Aves which if you're reading this with Google Translate activated as many of you may well do from around the world, you are probably now reading that as AVS hail from the town of Bird Village and are maybe wondering why I've written Bird Village - well three times now although for some it's in two different languages. Hang on, wait a minute - So If Vila das Aves means bird village, Rio Ave means what then? River Bird? Or would it be Bird River in Portuguese? See I personally think I sounded quite clever if you read the Lille post midweek when I knew their French goalkeeper's surname of Chevalier translates to English as Knight. Today it probably reads like I'm drunk, high or a combination of both. Really I'm just murdering the Portuguese language and showing I've zero understanding of how grammar works with it either. Anyone reading this in Portugal's immigration control Centre may well now be going 'get me the name of the idiot who writes this shit - he's banned from our country for life,' and who could blame them. I'm willing to bet good money that no other pre-match build up that you'll read for the game is as good and informative as this one. As to why you'd read another build up is beyond me anyway and exactly why the Athletic hasn't yet made me their correspondent for Sporting CP I've no genuinely no idea. Sorry what was that you said? You think you may know? Well you can keep that answer to yourself. A man has to have some ambitions in his life. Some of you reading this have clearly adjusted to my sense of humour. Some of you may just be sat bewildered wondering what the fuck is going on and that's OK you won't be the first or the last on that particular front. If AVS is like the 'avs and 'av nots then it would be apt as a description between the two clubs only that would make Sporting the 'avs in that equation and that's probably now even more confusing for you all I'm sure. 

Hailing from Bird Village (Fuck it I'm just running with it now) they achieved promotion to the top flight of Portuguese football for the first time finishing 3rd and overcoming Portimonense 4-2 on aggregate to ensure promotion. So far this season they're averaging 1.4 points per game which if they kept that type of form up throughout this, would have had them as high as 7th place in last season's end table. Two wins, one draw and two losses so far for Vitor Campelos' men including a 1-0 home win against Vitória SC who going into this weekend sit 3rd in the table with four wins from five games. Playing away from home seems to be their Achilles heel having lost both games so far; Gil Vicente 4-2 and Santa Clara 2-1. They'll be under no illusions that playing Sporting in the Alvalade will be a huge step up in quality from where they've come from but every dog has its day and Campelos will I'm sure be telling his players to go out and punch Sporting on the nose. In seasons gone by I think most fans might actually be wary of playing a newly promoted team off the back of a Champions League victory. One of those -  wouldn't it be typical if we drew or lost this game type scenarios, but in the league especially there is a growing expectation this side will win, which is let's be fair dangerous in itself but a nicer place to be as a fan whilst it lasts. Sporting of course won the title off the back of winning every home game last time out. The difference this season being they're winning every game both home and away if you discount the Supertaça defeat to Porto in the Portuguese equivalent of the Charity Shield. Sporting's management have clearly seen something within the AVS side and their style of play that they've allowed youngster Rodrigo Ribeiro to join them on loan for the campaign. Newly promoted Nacional put up a really good performance in the opening 45 against Sporting before the Champions left them with bloodied noses in the second half running out 6-1 winners. They've also put 5 past Farense this season and going into this game their record stands at 5 played, goals for 19, goals against 2. AVS will quite frankly have to play out of their skins to get a result here, but everything is possible in football. I certainly don't want to be elitist and say that their fans will just be coming to experience watching their team play football in one of Portugal's largest stadiums but there is always an element of truth in those types of statements. If you ship 4 goals away to Gil Vicente then having to face the likes of Gyökeres, Trincão and Gonçalves* all in great form and scoring for fun is a massive ask and if their heads go then they could really find themselves in trouble. I'm not saying it's going to be a scoreline from last season where they put 8 past Casa Pia and Dumiense but Gyökeres will surely be thinking I could add another match ball to my collection here. Sporting average 3.8 goals per game and that includes just the 2 goals against Porto which of course brings it down significantly. 

Big shout to Nene who at 41 years young has scored 2 in 3 games for AVS including the winner in that 1-0 win at home to Vitória. Sebastián Coates might be tuning in wishing he was still at Sporting because finally there's an opposition forward he might have beaten in a foot race. The Brazilian is going to have to go some if he was to beat either of the Double D's in a foot race at the back. I'm going with that term for Debast and Diomande and see if I can make it stick.

Transfer Speculation corner 

We're still over three months away from the winter transfer window opening and yet every day there's a different spin from English media outlets on the future of Viktor Gyökeres. It's full on clickbait - 'Sporting prepared to sell forward for knock down price.' Can I just go on record for anyone reading those types of articles and say for the record early doors - Are they fuck. All summer long the club went - if you want him the price is €100m. Gyökeres' termination clause of €100m is only active in the summer transfer window. So even if a club does come in for him in January and goes OK we'll now pay you the €100m you want, well guess what? The club can now turn around and say fuck off. If you're still challenging for the title, in a position in the Champions League where you could qualify for the knockout rounds, why would you sell the best footballer in Portugal? You're going to have to put a massive offer on the table way above that €100m figure to get him out the club in January. Let's not forget paying the termination clause meant exactly that. Any club is going to have to pay those funds in full. You can amortise it over five years sure, but that actual payment, unless you pay over the odds in January is going to be due in one. That makes a huge difference I'm telling you now despite what other writers might have you believe. PSG can do it. We've seen it with Neymar coming in from Barcelona. There is talk they might be interested too. Personally, unless your motivation is money I don't see why you'd swap Portugal for France but there are worst places to live than Paris around the world. Sporting want back to back title wins and when all is said and done Gyökeres is the talisman that could potentially make it a reality. He's a player that wants to play every minute of every game. I don't think he gets that luxury at an Arsenal or a Chelsea. Gyökeres is clearly enjoying the ride in Lisbon and that's not a reference to his reported relationship with Inês Aguiar I hasten to add. We'll see but in the here and now writing in September I'm not in the least bit worried about any club being able to prise him away in January. Time will tell. 

In the markets 

Sporting 1/14

Draw 11/1

AVS 20/1

Team News

Sporting haven't played the best football in the last two games against Lille and Arouca, but they've won both and were never troubled by the opposition in either. The Champions League doesn't return until the game after Estoril so it will be interesting to see Amorim's starting XI for this game. I imagine Reis will start at the left of the back three deputising for Inácio who came off injured against Lille early doors and hasn't trained. Quaresma is out for four weeks with his ankle injury and following on from his wonder strike against Lille, Debast will surely continue his integration into becoming a full time starter. Kovačević** was set to be out for two games with his injury meaning he could be in line for a return to the starting line up but Israel has played well and kept two clean sheets deputising so that's not a given by any stretch of the imagination.

* Since this post went online it's been announced that Gonçalves will miss the game through injury.

** Kovačević is still sidelined with his injury.

Further news from the Amorim press conference that Marcus Edward's is also sidelined through injury.

Starting XI

Israel, Debast, Diomande, Reis, Quenda, Hjulmand, Bragança, Nuno Santos, Trincão, Gyökeres and Harder.

Substitutes

Callai, Ramos, Alves, Morita, Geny, Fresneda, Esgaio, Simões and Araújo.

Full league debut for Conrad Harder as he replaces the injured Gonçalves. Reis deputises for Inácio as expected. Nuno Santos and Bragança replacing Geny and Morita respectively. Joao Simões, Miguel Alves and Bruno Ramos all called up from Sporting B to bolster the substitutes bench. I think I'm right in saying none of them have been in a match day squad before.

First half

A win would be the 20th straight for Ruben Amorim's men at the Alvalade.

Hjulmand and the opposing captain are dressed in red and yellow tops which looks like they've been stolen from the Portuguese mountain rescue service. Do they have mountains in Portugal? Oh there's me joking about it and there's a minute's silence with people on the side saluting. Oh and the referee has a helmet which he's taken to the side.

AVS get us underway as Sporting will attack right to left this first half.

1 Seconds on the clock as Quenda finds Gyökeres from the right in the area but he's swarmed by AVS defenders who clear the ball.

2 Long punt upfield from the AVS goalkeeper Ochoa from the goal kick. I can't actually remember the last time I saw that in a game.

3 AVS defending in banks of 5-4-1. Space is going to be at a premium again tonight in the opposition half.

4 Whistles again as Ochoa takes his time. Never a good sign when your time wasting starts in minute two of the game with the place kick.

5 Free kick to AVS as Harder makes contact on the back of the Fonseca. Harder puffs out his cheeks and then gives a look as if to say you've got to be kidding me. More time wasted and clearly suffering no ill effects post treatment as he ran off.

6 Gyökeres pass from left of the area seems to go in slow motion as Trincão goes from being in an acre of space to none by the time it finally arrives. His shot from the edge of the box is blocked.

9 Clever ball from Trincão into Gyökeres is cleared by the onrushing Ochoa.

11 From the right hand corner of the 18 yard box Trincão whips an effort in punched clear for a corner

12 Corner cleared falls to Quenda who puts his laces through it and sends it well over the bar from 20 yards

13 Tunde takes a chunk out of Quenda as AVS at least make it into the Sporting half. This is likely to be another half where the oppositions XG is zero

14 GOAL Wow what a way to mark your debut as Conrad Harder smashes the ball into the net from 13 yards. That was a goal made in Denmark. Hjulmand with a clever ball into the edge of the area, one touch to set himself onwards and the second to smash it into the net. Brilliant goal. Sporting CP 1 AVS 0. I'd deliberately not watched any footage of the youngster so I get to judge him on his merits. He came close with a header onto the bar in midweek when he came on as a late substitute and that goal was from memory pretty close to Gyökeres debut goal against Vizela although that may have been on the other side.

18 Quenda free kick finds the head of Gyökeres whose effort brings a great save from Ochoa to keep the score 1-0. I've seen this guy before… Salernitana. Thank you Fotmob. He would have been a busy boy last season then. I don't think that's going to change this season either to be fair.

21 Trincão found by a long ball from Harder on the left unmarked 12 yards out but can't get his foot high enough to make a food connection and send it over the bar.

24 Ball breaks to Hollywood who flicks the ball over the defenders head in the 18 yard box and then slices his shot wide of the right hand post from about 15 yards.

26 Trincão is having some fun out there tonight as he cuts the ball back and loses his marker and tries to run through another two before the ball is put out for a corner kick.

28 Gyökeres shot blocked from close range and goes agonisingly wide of Harder at the far post who would have been in a great position to make it 2-0.

30 Trincão pass trying to find Gyökeres in the centre is cut out. AVS are really defending for their lives here. If Sporting get the second the floodgates could really open.

31 Ochoa with another save - Gyökeres with a disguised pass to Trincão. His first touch not the best sends him wide. He smashes a shot punched one handed to safety.

32 Shout for a penalty. VAR reviewing. Harder header at the back post hits the arm of the defender but his back was to the ball. His arm looks in a natural enough position. I didn't think he knew a lot about it but the referee is going to the monitor. On first viewing it looked harsh but from the higher side angle it may well be given.

34 I'm going by the whistles that it wasn't a penalty. I think that's fair enough. Ball to hand not hand to ball. It won't affect the result.

35 Quenda the latest player to see another chance fly over.

36. Flying clearance from Nuno Santos. Things I've learned this weekend; Nuno Santos isn't a first name and surname. Miguel Gomes dos Nuno Santos. Thank you Bet365. Added that to last season's revelation that Paulinho's name is actually João Paulo Dias Fernandes. At least Portugal finally ditched playing with first names on the back of their shirts. That confused the life out of me.

38 Yellow card for to Roux for holding Gyökeres. Going in for the kill. Oh wait, that was La Roux. Perhaps he was doing it for the thrill. I'm hoping you understand.

Additional time +4

+1 Second biggest round of applause of the half as Nuno Santos chases down a long punt but doesn't manage to get on the end of it. It's been that sort of half really. All fans love a player who puts in the effort whatever the club worldwide.

+3 Tunde comes down on the top of Debast’s foot and the Belgian looks in a lot of discomfort but tries to walk it off this close to half time.

+4 GOAL Sporting CP 2 AVS 0. Pressure from Hjulmand in the midfield won the ball back and it popped up to Harder who puts Gyökeres clear and he lifts the ball past Ochoa from 10 yards to make it 2-0 with seconds to go in the half.

Half time

Sporting CP 2 AVS 0

Well AVS's XG for that half was 0.01. I must have been busy typing and missed their 1 apparent chance in minute 23 from about 40 yards which went well wide of the left hand post. That will tell you all you need to know about the opposition from an attacking sense. The fact that Sporting only go in 2-0 up is owed to Ochoa who has made a string of fine saves. I'm not being unfair when I write that AVS have barely made it over the halfway line this half. Full disclosure I started writing this around the 40th minute and had to change 1-0 to 2-0. I'm not complaining with that late Gyökeres second goal mind you I hasten to add.

The Double D's and Reis could have set up deckchairs and been sipping on Pina coladas, they've been that busy. In fact Gonçalves, Inácio, Edwards and Quaresma watching on from the stand together have been only slightly less busy. They're just showing the Harder goal and there's a real sense of Gyökeres about that finish. He finished with the CR7 celebration just to ingratiate himself to the home faithful at that end. A goal and assist on your full league debut would ordinarily seem highly impressive from a Scandinavian but we've one with super powers who scored a brace in lightning quick time on his debut just over 12 months ago and has not stopped scoring since. That's now goals in nine straight games for the Swede at club and international level and you don't imagine he intends on stopping anytime soon either.

Sporting have dominated. AVS as discussed earlier shipped 4 to Gil Vicente. They'll try to shut up shop if they have any sense. I don't envisage them even having a shot let alone scoring based on the opening 45. That's the gap in quality when you play the really big teams following promotion.

Second half

Sporting get the game back underway. No surprise to see AVS make changes with a double substitution.

47 Debast cross finds Gyökeres unmarked but his header is straight at Ochoa. Either side and that was 3-0. I hadn't realised the Debast goal against Lille, that utter thunder bastard, was his first goal ever in men's football. When the commentator says he won't have scored any better than that they'd have been spot on.

48 Harder running away from goal manages to somehow get his shot on target but it was never going to trouble Ochoa.

49 Oh dear not sure who that was with an attempted shot for AVS but he does a Debast a la Porto and slices it wide right and not even goalwards. He won't want to see that again.

50 Yellow shown to Devenish as he went through the back of Harder. Devon of course famous for its bright yellow custard. Yes I am that bored. This needs Daniel Dubois to ask the question ‘Are you not entertained?’ He's a big lump and I'd lie and go yes of course Daniel.

56 Fotmob have their updates as AVS and Portuguese TV shows it as AFS. So to any fans of AVS / AFS I won't insult you by going it's all the same. I just don't know any better. You all most likely live in Bird Village which sounds awesome.

58 ➡️ ⬅️ I was just thinking I know Nuno Santos needs game time but as he misplaced another pass that maybe it's time for Araújo to come on and they cut to the sidelines and show him ready to come on. I'm thinking bugger me - and they take Harder off for him and not Nuno Santos. He's getting a huge round of applause having come off the far side as he walks round to the Sporting dugout.

61 Afonso with a weak shot from a yard outside the left hand of the box trickles through to Israel.

63 Gyökeres finds Araújo who with CR7 like hang time gets a header away from 7 yards but can't keep it down. After Harder’s celebration they're all channelling their inner Ronaldo tonight in honour of the former Sporting player.

64 Foul on Bragança by Assunção results in another yellow card. He can't have any complaints about that challenge. Unlike me trying to find the characters to spell his fucking name.

69 ➡️ ⬅️ Bragança comes off for Morita and Quenda for Geny. I was just trying to work out what Bragança and Nuno Santos’s contribution to this game was …

70 GOAL ...will come back to that one. Gyökeres picks the ball up in the little D. Two touches to control and make space before tucking it away from 18 yards into the bottom right hand corner to make it two for him and Sporting CP 3 AVS 0.

72 … Anyway as I was saying before rudely being interrupted by a wonder goal from Gyökeres (I forgive you Viktor), the two most telling contributions from the pair in the game were the flick over the defenders head and a sliced shot and a long ball chased down which wasn't picked up. No you're right that wasn't worth waiting for was it. I'm sorry.

73 Great defending from Diomande as he blocks a Hjulmand goal bound header. There's an irony there that his best defending tonight had been against his own captain in the opposition box.

74 POST Araújo smashed in a low shot from wide left which flew past the keeper and back out to safety.

75 ➡️ ⬅️ Fresneda and Esgaio on for Trincão and Reis. Holy shit Esgaio just got a massive cheer. That's given me goose bumps. He won't have had many of those in his time at the club. I've no idea of the shape now. Nuno Santos and Araújo play in the same position on the left. Geny, Fresneda and Esgaio can lay claim to the same on the right.

77 Replay of the Gyökeres goal where in the stands a young kid with glasses mouth just drops wide open and his arms go up in celebration. He'll be a meme by tomorrow lunchtime.

78 Gyökeres tried an overhead kick from a cross in from Araújo and looks like a dying swan with all the grace he mustered in missing. He is human after all.

79 Diomande header into the ground only just kept out by Ochoa as it bounces up and headed towards the top left hand corner. Always seems silly to say a keeper has been man of the match when he's let in three goals and I don't think Gyökeres or Sporting have finished yet. I said in the build up he'll want a match ball tonight and I've not changed my mind.

83 Just showing a replay of that Diomande header. If he doesn't get save of the week in Portugal for at least one of his efforts tonight I'd be amazed. He'll be the reason AVS have stayed up come the end of the season because he'll be the difference maker in those close games at home against similiar smaller teams in Portugal.

85 Whistles as Gyökeres goes down in the box. He didn't look happy as he remonstrated with the match official. Nothing given.

Additional time +4

Full time

Sporting CP 3 AVS 0

The final word

Twenty straight home league wins. I don't know if Sporting have ever done that before in their history but that's one hell of an achievement in my books. I can't say it was the most entertaining of games. I can say with certainty that the man of the match was Ochoa who kept the score respectable. It was as one sided a match as Sporting will play all season. I thought AVS had a shot on goal in the 61st minute but Fotmob haven't got it registered as such. So let's say they're right, I'm wrong and no shots on target for the visitors who leave with an XG of 0.09 and just 5 touches recorded in the Sporting box. Ochoa credited with six saves in total. Gyökeres given the official man of the match award as coverage cuts off for me.

Nuno Santos and Bragança offered very little for me against an incredibly poor side and that's frustrating. The passing at times left a lot to be desired throughout the team as was some of the finishing. They were like a new born puppy too excited just bouncing all over the place. It was too easy for them in fairness and really and truthfully with more clinical decision making and a better final ball that should have been 5 or 6. It seems stupid to write that really but I can only give my honest opinion on what I see. Imagine having something to really moan about like in seasons gone past when this was the type of game we'd have drawn or lost. Point made to myself, point noted, point conceded.

Israel, Diomande, Debast and Reis won't have an easier game all season. Hjulmand played well and lead by example. Fantastic debut for Harder and he was rightly given a fantastic reception when he came off just after the hour mark. I don't know what the Greek was like they spent all summer chasing but Harder certainly shares Gyökeres characteristics in his style of play based on that performance and perhaps they got their right man after all. A goal and an assist will be the sort of debut performance he dreamed about before he went to bed last night.

Quenda was quiet again out right. I'll stop writing it's time to rest him now because every time I've done it they've kept with him starting and maybe if I stop they'll actually do it. Trincão was brilliant in the first half but dropped off in the second. Araújo showed in flashes that he has some talent. He hit the post and was unfortunate that his headed chance was just too high for him to make a proper connection with the ball. Lovely to see the reception for Esgaio coming on. Yes I'm a soft touch really. I guess all that leaves is to award the man of the match. Had Harder stayed on for longer than an hour he'd have been in with a shout. Hjulmand will land in the top four performances and Trincão for his first half display, but as always the biggest threat came from Gyökeres and he'll be disappointed he didn't get another match ball for his growing collection. I don't know how many times I've given him my man of the match now but it must be easily 30 plus. He doesn't owe Sporting a single Euro in the €20m plus bonuses they've paid for him. He is a joy to watch. Every week on the Guardian podcast they try find new ways to talk about Haaland at Manchester City and I've the same problem with our star player. He is now officially the best player I've seen play for Sporting. I'm not sure anyone else comes close.

Footnote; 24th September and Ochoa's save from Gyökeres' header was made save of the week in Portugal's top flight