[ad_1]
And after several months of orphan talent, pale displays, meager results, distrust, discouragement, closed faces, Sporting has a new commander in chief. Bruno Fernandes, the titular protagonist, can finally be forgotten, left to rest in the beautiful books of history – Pedro Gonçalves is there, and if I want to, I will continue to call him Pedro Gonçalves, because that is how I met him.
Pedro Gonçalves, Governor of Wolverhampton, Senator from Famalicão, now elected by the Electoral College as president of the finally United States of Sporting Clube de Portugal, the return of hope to Alvalade after dark times. Yes they can, perhaps nobody expected, but they can, they seem to have recovered the soul of Sporting, which at the end of this day 7 will be the leader of the championship with an absolute majority, after another expressive victory in numbers and form. , against Vitória, in Guimarães, 4-0.
Two goals and one assist came from the feet of Pedro Gonçalves, the third encore in three games, but between Pedro Gonçalves and Bruno Fernandes a year ago there will be a fundamental difference: in the last days of Sporting, Bruno was a lone star in a squad exhausted, decaf, made of casting mistakes, discouraged people. On the contrary, Pedro Gonçalves has João Mário and João Palhinha by his side. You can combine with Pedro Porro and Nuno Mendes. And it could be for Sporar, who won’t be the most talented striker on the planet, but he seems to be taking advantage of his limitations, playing more for the happiness of the team than himself.
And that is making a difference in this Sporting.
Intractable in the pressure and in the transitions, Sporting also seems to finally play more in the image of Rúben Amorim, who arrived in the middle of last season, but already thinking about this one. The meager but apparently surgical market seems to have been the necessary glue to unite the technician’s ideas, that without good people he would not go there either.
In Guimarães, Sporting took off at full speed and there was not a minute left on the clock and João Mário was already sending a ball to the crossbar. At 7 ‘, Sporar was centimeters from the goal and at 11’ the first would appear, which started with a recovery by Pedro Gonçalves in midfield and with a pass to the area where Nuno Santos barely dominated, but still managed to find a position to shoot. to the goal.
In those first minutes, the field belonged to the trio João Palhinha, João Mário and Pedro Gonçalves, in balance, in the connection between sectors, in driving, in the rapid reaction to the loss of the ball. Only when these three fell asleep momentarily, Vitória had her moment, balancing herself without creating much danger, except for a shot from Suliman to the figure of a sure Adam, after a direct free kick.
Quality Sports / Getty Images
Perhaps it was at Vitória’s best moment when Sporting made it 2-0, three minutes before the break. João Mário led, released for Sporar (tireless in support) and the Slovenian combined well on the right with Pedro Porro. The Spanish crossed pass found Pedro Gonçalves, who shot wide for Bruno Varela’s goal; the ball would still be deflected by Suliman before entering.
In the 2nd part, the film was repeated a bit at the end of the 1st. Vitória started well and even scored in the 50th minute, in a play canceled by André André’s offside. Five minutes later, Pedro Gonçalves appeared isolated in front of Bruno Varela after a goal kick from Adán and made it 3-0, with Suliman again bad in the play, completely missing the time to catch the long ball from Adán.
From then on only Sporting. Even with the substitutions, the lions dominated, with strong transitions and constant recoveries, reaching 4-0 within 15 minutes of the final whistle. A goal from the bench: Mateus Nunes drove and Jovane did the rest, leaving Pepelu with his kidneys on the ground along the way.
It seems that everything is going well with this Sporting, from which we expected little, but also expectations. Even with a short squad, the lions seem to have hit the mark on the market and in the anticipation they made for the new season, making Pedro Gonçalves, who already had a place in Famalicão, shine on a higher level. For now, they are leaders, with victories and convincing football.
