THEThe Victorians started the championship by losing, at home, against Arouca (1-0), but the coach of the Minho team stressed that “these are games of a different nature”.
“The result on the first day was obviously not at all the result we wanted, but, on an exhibition level, it shows us that we are on the right track. In this week’s preparation we focused a lot on finishing and getting things right in the last third, but we also foresee different difficulties”, he said, in a press conference in anticipation of the trip to the ‘lions’ ground.
Tiago Margarido said he expected “a more divided game”, in which Vitória will have to “have the ability to defend at one time or another in a lower block”, and assured that the team’s confidence was not shaken by the defeat in the debut, because, he considered, the Victorians had a good performance.
“The statistics were overwhelming: 24 shots, almost 60% possession of the ball, expected goals of 2.22. We measure our quality through this statistic, but of course this says little because what matters is the result. However, the technical team and the players understand, and are intelligent, that we cannot let a result shake our confidence. On the contrary, we face the next game with Sporting with great confidence”, he reinforced.
The ‘lions’ also didn’t start the championship in the best way, with a draw at Estrela da Amadora (2-2), but Tiago Margarido understands that this result does not favor Guimarães.
“We are counting on a Sporting team that is the same as in the first 70 minutes at Reboleira, very strong, overwhelming. They have reinforced themselves with eight players, more than 100 million euros invested in the squad, they are a team that plays well, already have traces of last year’s game idea and have a remarkable quality of play. This less good result will make Sporting want to give a strong response, they will want to enter the game strong, it is a result that does not play in our favor, but to our detriment”, he warned.
The coach also noted that Sporting “has many solutions and, eventually, has the luxury of having a striker like (LuÃs) Suárez on the bench”, which says well about the “difficulties” that await Vitória de Guimarães, contrasting, however, with the “illusion of being able to take points from Alvalade”.
Gustavo Silva suffered an injury to his right knee with the Arouquenses and is in doubt until the game: “If the game were today, I wouldn’t play. Let’s see.”
Patrick Ouotro’s documentation has already arrived at the Victorian club, so the Ivorian forward is available, but that of Colombian central defender Mosquera is not yet – if it arrives by Friday it could still be an option, confided Tiago Margarido.
Vitória de Guimarães and Sporting face each other at 8:15 pm on Friday, at the José Alvalade Stadium, in Lisbon, in a game that will be refereed by David Silva, from the Porto football association.
