Alverca figure: André Gomes (6)
Goalkeeper on loan from Benfica was one of Custódio Castro’s changes for the League game and returned to the starting line-up at Alverca to replace Matheus Mendes in goal. The 21-year-old had a good performance at Alvalade with some important saves, although he could do nothing with the goals from Ioannidis and Pedro Gonçalves.
After the defeat suffered in the League Cup (1-5), Custódio Castro returned some starters to the starting eleven and these changes proved to be quite important, despite another defeat (0-2), but with much less expressive numbers. Rui Borges had warned that this Friday’s game would be quite different from Tuesday’s and so it was. Alverca entered in a very defensive manner and were in fact very solid in that sense, allowing Sporting very few opportunities in the first half.
The first goal only came in the second half, at the tenth corner, and little could be done to prevent Ioannidis’ header in the 68th minute. However, until then, André Gomes, accompanied by the defenders, were avoiding the goal and the goalkeeper loaned by Benfica made some good interventions, including before the goal, but he could do nothing about Pedro Gonçalves’ great goal, in the 74th minute. Highlight is a moment in the first half, in which Meupiyou took the goal from Luis Suárez in the 35th minute, right on the line. The central defender made another great cut into an opponent’s corner, just before the break, and Sabit also avoided João Simões’ dangerous shot, proof of this defensive cohesion.
One of the big differences between the other game and this one was the presence of captain Sergi Gómez at the center of the defense and his leadership on the field was essential to discuss the result. The Spaniard was also marked by losing the aerial duel with Inácio, also on a corner, but Luis Suárez’s goal ended up being disallowed for offside, in the 50th minute. In attack, Nuozzi was the main figure, but the truth is that his team didn’t make any shots. The winger had a good individual play in the first half, he assisted Marezi, who didn’t finish well. In the second half, he had a brilliant opportunity to equalize, after again gaining several meters on the field, but at the moment of the decision he failed and allowed Diomande to be intercepted. Until the 81st minute, Custódio Castro only changed the game twice and they added little.
Notes from Alverca players: André Gomes (6); Naves (5), Gómez (6) and Meupiou (6); Touaizi (6), Sabit (5), Amorim (5) and Chissumba (4); Lincoln (5), Marezzi (4) and Nuozzi (5); Sandro Lima (4), Gui (4), Tiago Leite (-) and Kauan (-)
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