Sporting won 6-1 at Ferreira do Zêzere in the 15th round of the League and closed the gap to leaders Benfica, who face Quinta dos Lombos on Monday. The home team tried to circulate the ball and surprise the Lions, but errors in concentration in the first phase of construction proved costly.
Bruno Pinto’s high pressure had an effect and the ball fell to Alex Merlin, who opened the scoring in the 5th minute. The Lions had difficulty extending their lead, given the quality of the performance put in by goalkeeper Pedro Martinho, but everything changed in the 15th minute. The Italian winger stole the ball from Chico Oliveira and, face to face with Martinho, scored twice in the match.
Ferreira do Zêzere was very close to capitalizing on a sober first half, but with just a few seconds to go, Chapinha shot wide, with the goal wide open. The home team’s mistakes were taken advantage of by the Lions, who had a numerical advantage at 22′.
Vítor Barreto received his second yellow card in forty seconds, after stopping Bruno Maior’s attack, and received an expulsion order, at 22′. Even though they lost 0-2, Ferreira do Zêzere remained faithful to the principles worked on by Cristiano Coelho, but could not handle the numerical disadvantage.
Tomás Paçó took advantage of another loss of the ball by Ferreira do Zêzere in his own midfield and, after recovering it, launched a missile with no chance at Martinho. Sporting’s facilities increased as the clock ticked down and not even Martinho was able to neutralize the Leonines’ offensive power.
If at 26′, Diogo Santos appeared in the heart of the area to increase the advantage, following a corner kick, a few minutes later, Allan Guilherme took advantage of another ball recovery in an uphill area to score the green and white manita. Nuno Dias’ men rarely created danger from clever plays, given the opponent’s carelessness to build.
The expanded result allowed Nuno Dias to manage the squad and provide another opportunity for 18-year-old winger Tiago Rodrigues. The European under-19 champion for Portugal needed just a few seconds on the field to score the sixth and final Leonine goal of the match in the 32nd minute, after a deflection by Diogo Santos.
Ferrreira do Zêzere didn’t give up, went 5×4 and managed to score the goal of honor two minutes from the end, through Chico Oliveira.
