The coach talks about a complete performance against GD Chaves

Reflecting on his side's 0-3 win over GD Chaves in the last game of the first half of the Liga Portugal season, Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim highlighted his players' ability to adapt to the adverse conditions of the pitch, which due to the heavy rain created an unpredictable surface far from ideal for playing along the ground.

“When we managed to play well, we took the ball forward. After that we adapted, especially in the second half with long balls. We managed to control the game and created several chances, despite having missed some opportunities at the beginning of the game. Those misses could have made things more difficult because the result was always up for grabs," he began by saying at the press conference after the match.

“It's completely different going into halftime in the lead, compared to it being level. From the moment we scored, we felt more confident in changing our way of playing, taking into account the characteristics of the pitch. The impact of that goal was very big, not only mentally but also physically and, mainly, strategic.”

“We almost didn't allow GD Chaves to create chances, because we were always too far from areas where they could cross. We always pushed and pressured the opposition, because we knew they were dangerous. I'm very satisfied with the commitment and cleverness of the players in blocking the runners to prevent them from crossing. They followed the plan and I'm very pleased that we didn't concede goals, but mainly that we didn't allow them any opportunities. We were competent in that aspect, and it was a complete game played according to the conditions."

Amorim then justified his replacing Eduardo Quaresma with captain Sebastián Coates at halftime.

“It was a difficult choice to make. We started to see at halftime that it was difficult for the ball to move around fluidly, and we were losing some second balls in Quaresma's area of the pitch, despite him being the best central defender to hit passes to Esgaio and Trincão. He was doing very well, but then strategy comes in. We wanted to put Seba and the best players for headers on: Inácio is very good with his head and so is Seba. We already had an advantage and, as the game was going to turn into us playing long balls, even with pressure we could get more balls into the air. That's why Luís Neto came on, because he's also stronger off long balls. Quaresma was having an excellent game, but was sacrificed to protect the team. He will be ready for the next game,” he assured.