Statements after the victory against CD Tondela

After Sporting Clube de Portugal's 0-3 victory over CD Tondela, coach Rui Borges analysed the performance at the Estádio João Cardoso.

Analysis of the game
"It was a great performance from our team, from start to finish. We started the game very well, created several goalscoring opportunities, and the 0-1 scoreline at halftime was not enough compared to what we had created or to the team's energy. The team were fully engaged and switched on, and that was clear. CD Tondela still had faith even when it was 0-1 at halftime, and the challenge was maintaining that energy for the second half. The team showed that until the end. We have several players with the technical ability to make good decisions, and we managed to make it 0-3. We could have scored more goals.

End of the "bad run" talk
"The team delivered. For me, it's not even a topic for discussion. The answer was for ourselves, no one else, for what we weren't able to do against SC Braga."

Sporting CP fans in Tondela
"I also want to give a special thanks to our fans, who once again made us feel as if we were playing at home. This connection we continue to have is important; there's a mutual belief that allows us to have more good performances like this."

The team’s performance
"The Olympique de Marseille match was important for the players' confidence. We have a team with several players who have won everything at Sporting CP, and sometimes there can be a complacency here and there that leads us to not be as dynamic as we want. They want to do better, and we saw that against Olympique de Marseille. If it weren't for that, we wouldn't have given this response today. We didn't stop with the ball and we were always very dynamic. The challenge is to always be like that, and the performance we gave today was the same performance we gave in the first few games of the season.”

Managing exertion for the match against FC Alverca
"Twenty players came here to Tondela. Only Hidemasa Morita didn’t travel, because he had a problem, and I believe he'll be available for Tuesday. The team that started are completely exhausted, but I'm sure we'll be competitive on Tuesday. It's important, and I urge Sporting CP fans to come out in full force. Whoever plays must feel the support from the stands so we can reach the Taça da Liga final four."

The new pitch in Tondela
"It was ok. It was a bit soft here and there, but it was up to the standard of the game. It's good and will definitely get better in the coming weeks. I wish every ground was like this, because it benefits the show."

Scoring early
"We wanted to show that we were here to win and that we want to be league champions again. The team did that from the first minute to the last."

Pedro Gonçalves, Francisco Trincão and Morten Hjulmand
Pedro Gonçalves is performing better than last season with fewer games under his belt. Trincão is in the best form of his career, and Morten responded fantastically today. They are important players, I don't shy away from that. They feel this responsibility and embrace it, which is what makes great players. I'm happy to have them on my team."