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Photo by José Lorvão

Amorim: "Congratulations to the players"

By Sporting CP
06 May, 2021

A solid win earned a positive reaction from the Sporting CP coach

Following the 0-2 victory at Rio Ave FC on Wednesday night, Rúben Amorim gave a press conference to review the game and a result that means the club will play in the group stage of the Champions League in 2021/2022.

"It was an objective for the club. We knew it was going to be very difficult", he told journalists.

"We are going to play in the best and biggest competition in Europe. We are going to suffer a lot. If we have already suffered in the league, it is important to be aware of that and not change our ideas. We have to keep training and improving our players".

On the game itself, the coach said he was not surprised by the way the action developed.

"We started very strong. We knew what Rio Ave FC were going to do. The players were able to withstand the difficult moments and the great pressing that Rio Ave FC did. We missed a lot of chances again, and it took a while to score our first, but the players did well. We even had more transitions than Rio Ave FC, so congratulations to the players".

"We know the anxiety that the fans have right now, as they have been waiting (for a league title) for a long time. Now we have a very difficult game coming up, and we are going to focus on that", he said of the reception received by the players at the stadium.

Sporting CP have gone 31 consecutive games unbeaten in Liga NOS - the first team ever to achieve such a feat.

"Congratulations to the players, but I have a feeling that, at the moment, this milestone still doesn't give us anything. It has to be completed by something else", he commented.

Regarding Paulinho, who scored a great goal in Vila do Conde, Amorim explained that he is "the same player he was before the game".

"I'm happy about his goal. I look at his face and I can see the relief he is feeling. I'm happy for him, but he's the same player. I have been looking more at how he gets free from his marking and the way he works at tracking back. Goals give value to a forward's performance, but I believe in him in the same way that I did before".

Sportinguistas will be paying close attention to Thursday's match between SL Benfica and FC FC Porto -the latter second in the table, 9 points behind Sporting CP and with 12 points to play for (courtesy of a game in hand).

"Obviously, if the second placed side drops points, it is better for us -because the third placed team can no longer catch us. But we have to win our games", added Amorim.