Sporting struggled to find the goals at Estádio José Alvalade, but managed to beat Varzim by 2-1 this Thursday and went through the fourth round of knockouts of the Portuguese Cup.
The hosts stayed with the ball more in the first stage, but they found it difficult to overcome Varzim’s marking and, even with seven shots on goal, went to the break with the score zero. The visitors bet on quick plays and counterattacks, but they weren’t happy in the final moments either.
Coach Ruben Amorim looked for options on the Sporting bench to change the course of the match in the second half and bet on Pedro Gonçalves. The shirt 28 needed eleven minutes on the field to open the scoring, taking advantage of a cross from the left of the attack. Varzim did not surrender and found the tie in the 33rd minute, with Eli.
Even with the coup, the night in Lisbon belonged to Pedro Gonçalves. The young striker was chosen to take a penalty in the 42nd minute and defined his team’s classification for the next phase of the competition.
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