Chapter 123 I choose both!
Sporting Lisbon reversed again!!
Why say again? Because this is not their first comeback in the European competition this season.
Sporting Lisbon won a 4-0 home win over Thessaloniki and advanced smoothly with a total score of 4-1, which won them applause after the game. And unlike the previous reversal, this time everyone simply ignored the away game.
Everyone knows that long journeys to away games in European competitions are extremely exhausting for the players and seriously affect the team’s playing form.
Therefore, the outside world basically maintained an objective attitude towards Sporting Lisbon's 0-1 loss in the first leg of the match between the two sides.
But after returning to their home court, they won 4-0, which was amazing enough.
Especially Su Dong's two shots and one assist.
In the previous match against Slavia Prague, Su Dong made two assists and one goal, playing a key role. Now, facing Thessaloniki, Su Dong once again performed brilliantly, making two shots and one assist, and once again won the man of the match award.
Both times they lost in the first leg away from home, and both times they reversed the opponent after returning to their home court. In the two key reversal battles, Su Dong contributed three goals and three assists, played a key role, and made the entire Portuguese football world aware of his growth and progress.
At the same time, everyone began to realize that Su Dong, who was only 18 years old, had become the core combat force of Sporting Lisbon.
Portugal's Morning Post commented in its newspaper the next day that Su Dong was relying on his outstanding performance to gradually grab the starting position. "At least now, no one will question whether Su Dong deserves the starting center position of Sporting Lisbon."
The Morning Post reporter also interviewed the top management of Sporting Lisbon. According to this senior executive who did not want to reveal his name, Su Dong's performance is attracting the attention of many European football teams, especially those from the four major leagues.
"There are no secrets in European football. As long as you show some talent, you will immediately appear on the scout list of other teams. As early as the end of last season, Su Dong's performance had attracted a lot of attention."
"Since the beginning of this season, Su Dong has performed well on both fronts. So far in the Portuguese Super League, he has scored six goals and provided four assists, and in the UEFA Cup, he has scored five goals and provided three assists. Such statistics reflect Su Dong's comprehensiveness."
"He not only scores goals, but he also assists. He not only has a strong body, but also lightning speed and delicate footwork. His movements are also very fast."
"Some people say that his shooting is very similar to Batistuta, for which he has earned the reputation of the Little God of War. But some people also say that he is very similar to Kluivert and his tactical role is very obvious. Some people even say that his sense of position and grasp of opportunities are very similar to Romario, the wolf of the penalty area. Now, some people are beginning to say that when he charges, he is like the Italian tank Vieri..."
"No one can clearly summarize Su Dong's characteristics, because he is so comprehensive."
"He is like a type of player that has never been seen in European football before. No one knows what he will become in the future, but everyone is full of expectations and curiosity about him."
…
Sporting Lisbon head coach Boloni also mentioned Su Dong publicly for the first time when he was interviewed by media reporters at the post-match press conference. He said he was satisfied and surprised with Su Dong's performance this season.
"He doesn't look like an 18-year-old rookie at all."
Boloni said that there are a group of outstanding young players in Sporting Lisbon, such as Quaresma and Ronaldo, but no one is like Su Dong. "His growth rate is amazing. He is improving in almost every game. This is the most incredible. He seems to have endless potential."
Regarding the competition between Sudong and Nikulai for the starting position, Boloni made his first statement, saying that he believed he had no prejudice against Sudong.
"As a head coach, I can't just consider one player, I need to consider the whole team. Sudon is excellent, but Nikulai is also an important young player of the team. Both of them are the ones I need to focus on."
But Boloni also admitted that Nikulai is facing problems now and his form is at a low point, and he needs time to adjust.
"I will give Su Dong more playing time."
After reversing the game against Thessaloniki, Sudong scored two goals and assisted one, fulfilling his pre-match boast, and Boloni was satisfied.
"This is the Su Dong we are familiar with. He seems to never get tired. He is always running hard and always creating surprises and accidents. No one will reject such a player."
But Boloni also reminded the players of Sporting Lisbon that after reaching the round of 16 of the UEFA Cup, every subsequent opponent will be stronger and the game will be more difficult.
There is also the Portuguese Super League.
"We are currently in an awkward position after 13 games in the Portuguese Super League. We are five points behind Porto and two points ahead of Benfica. We need to invest more and go further to win more games, catch up with Porto and leave the pursuers behind us behind."
Boloni also said that Porto does have a certain advantage in the race for the Portuguese Super League title, but Sporting Lisbon still has a chance, provided that the team unites and plays well in every subsequent game.
"I need the support of every player."
…
The locker room reacted positively to Boloni's interview.
Especially on the morning of the next day after playing against Thessalonia, before training, Boloni had a brief conversation with Su Dong outside the training ground for a few minutes.
The main topic is still the timing of appearance.
Boloni said that the reason why he reduced Su Dong's playing time was mainly due to the advice of the team doctor. Considering Su Dong's age, he did not want to give him too much game pressure and burden, so as not to cause long-term irreversible physical damage to him.
But Su Dong’s answer was, “I think my body is very good, I need more competition training!”
He is very, very serious.
Mendes suggested that Su Dong should focus on the UEFA Cup, but Su Dong did not see it that way.
The UEFA Cup is important and he will definitely pay attention to it, but the Portuguese Super League is equally important.
"Whether it's the UEFA Cup, the Portuguese Super League, or the Portuguese Cup, as long as it's a competition, I can play!"
Su Dong doesn’t care how others choose, he wants both!
For the first time, Boloni felt a strong possessiveness and aggressiveness from Su Dong.
Obviously, as the games accumulated, his experience gradually grew, and his self-confidence gradually built up, Su Dong became more and more like a wolf that had been hungry for who knows how many days, drooling and staring at his prey with bloodshot eyes.
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This weekend, in the 14th round of the Portuguese Super League, Sporting Lisbon will challenge Leiria away.
Because he played in the League Cup in the middle of the week, Su Dong was a substitute in this game.
In the 24th minute of the first half, Leiria scored the first goal. Central defender Miorolo used a corner kick to open the scoring.
Six minutes later, Joao Pinto equalized for Sporting Lisbon.
In the second half, in the 64th minute, striker Doyala scored another goal for Leiria, and five minutes later, midfielder Anguia scored with a long shot, increasing the score to 3-1.
Three minutes later, Su Dong came on as a substitute, replacing veteran Barbosa to strengthen the attack.
In the 80th minute, Pepe, who had previously performed poorly and made a series of mistakes, finally made amends. He took advantage of a corner kick opportunity, received a pass from Albertini, and scored a goal for Sporting Lisbon, making it 2-3.
In the final stage of the game, a pass from Su Dong allowed Sa Pinto, who had just recovered from a serious injury and had played very few games this season, to break into the penalty area and equalize the score for Sporting Lisbon, 3-3.
This score remained until the end of the game.
Sporting Lisbon drew hard against Leiria away from home.
…
After this round of games, Benfica successfully reversed Sporting Lisbon and ranked second in the Portuguese Super League with the double advantages of head-to-head record and goal difference. Porto narrowly defeated its opponent and continued to lead the way, with its lead expanded to seven points.
This is undoubtedly a rather desperate gap.
The problem exposed by Sporting Lisbon is obvious. That is, in the multi-line operations, the team's lineup seems a bit too thin, and the conditions of several rotation players arranged by Boloni are not ideal.
For example, Joao Pinto and Sa Pinto, both of whom were main players last season, have become substitutes this season and their form is very unstable, especially Sa Pinto, who has basically not been able to regain his best form after surgery.
As for the defense, after Phil Babb left the team, Pepe's arrival filled this position, but Pepe is young after all, sometimes too rash and prone to making mistakes.
Fortunately, Sporting Lisbon kept Andre Cruz before the season, otherwise the situation would have been even worse.
According to the evaluation of the public newspaper, Sporting Lisbon's substitute lineup can barely cope with the Portuguese Cup.
…………
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Midweek, the fourth round of the Portuguese Cup.
Lisbon will host Oliveira at home.
Nicolaj performed brilliantly in this game, performing a hat trick and helping the team to an 8-0 win over their opponents.
Substitute Ricardo Fernandez and veteran Barbosa both scored twice.
It's a good thing to win big at home and advance, but no one will take such a game too seriously.
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This weekend, it is the 15th round of the Portuguese Super League, which is also the last game before the winter break.
Sporting Lisbon will host Nacional at home.
This team is Ronnie's former club. He had been receiving youth training in this team before joining Sporting Lisbon's youth training camp at the age of twelve. But in the game, Ronnie played particularly excitedly.
Quaresma and Ronaldo's two wings have more and more tacit understanding, and their performances are getting more and more brave, so much so that most of the time, Su Dong only needs to be responsible for flanking and scoring in the penalty area.
In the 20th and 58th minutes, Sudong made two outflanking passes in front of the goal, sending the crosses from Ronaldo and Quaresma into the goal of the Portuguese National Team, scoring two goals for Sporting Lisbon.
2-0! Sporting Lisbon finally defeated Nacional thanks to Su Dong's double goal and took all three points.
In this round, Benfica drew 0-0 with Boavista away from home and gave up the second place in the league.
But Mourinho's Porto defeated Wazim 2-0 away, taking all three points and still leading the league.
After this game, UEFA held the draw for the UEFA Cup round of 16 in Nyon, Switzerland.
(End of this chapter)
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