Amorim Reflects on Tactical Balance After Gritty Performance

Sporting CP head coach Rúben Amorim shared his tactical reasoning following his side’s latest match, highlighting the importance of balance over aggressive substitutions.

Speaking after the game, Amorim noted, “Sometimes, if you put more strikers on, I don’t feel we are going to play better.” He referenced how right-back Diogo Dalot often opted to cut inside rather than exploit wide spaces, and explained that Patrick Dorgu, though similar in style, would have benefited more from delivering crosses from wide areas where space was available.

Despite having a deep bench with quality options, Amorim admitted he resisted the urge to make constant changes in the attacking third. “I had the feeling that if I stop the game all the time, I’m going to break something,” he said. “We were improving during the second half. My feeling was: I’m not changing anything in the guys in front — we have the talent there.”

Reflecting on the team’s growth, Amorim highlighted a shift in mentality. “In the past, if we had a bad five minutes and suffered two goals, we didn’t recover. Today is different. We could not win this game, but we were not going to lose.”