Five things we learned this week in the Primeira Liga
September 24th, 2025by Dean Murray
Sporting CP finally find their formMarco Silva would have breathed a huge sigh of relief as the full time whistle blew at Gil Vicente's Estádio Cidade de Barcelos. Sporting CP's coach had been under increasing pressure to turn around a series of poor results which culminated in their 1-1 draw at Slovenian side Maribor in the Champions League. However, on Sunday it all came together for the 'Leoes'. Sporting put four past Gil Vicente in very decisive performance in which two players in particular starred. One was Nani, the on loan Manchester United man scored and was a nuisance all day for the Gil Vicente defence.
The other was Joao Mario, a graduate of Sporting's renowned youth academy. The 21-year-old put in an assured performance in the centre of midfield creating two goals for Islam Slimani and Andre Carillo respectively. Though after the game, Marco Silva expressed how he was not surprised with Joao Mario's performance
It was not a surprise. He had a good pre-season and in the 45 minutes he was on the field in the last game, he gave a very good contribution to the team.
Sporting took the lead after nine minutes thanks to a terrific strike from Adrien Silva. Slimani received the ball out the left wing from Argentine debutante Jonathan Silva, though there were suspicions of off side. He passed the ball to the feet of Adrien Silva who controlled it with his right foot before smashing the ball into the top left corner.
Three minutes later Sporting extended their lead. Arsenal target William Carvalho passed to Nani who controlled the ball by flicking it up and then heading to Adrien Silva who duly gave it back which allowed Nani to rifle his shot into the bottom left corner. Nani is enjoying a resurgence in form as of late, as this goal and his wonderful goal against Maribor demonstrate.
Sporting CP's third didn't come until the 69th minute. Slimani played the role of target man perfectly as he flicked a high ball down for Joao Mario who played a lovely through pass for the Algerian to place it first time into the bottom left corner. Slimani had worked incredibly hard all game and deserved his goal. Though it should have been his second as he fluffed a very similar chance in the first half.
Their final goal came as a result of a fine counter attacking move. Joao Mario picked up the ball just past the half way line before laying it off for Nani. The 21-year old though continued his run into the box to receive Nani's pass and guide the ball for Andre Carillo to slide home from six yards.
This result will surely be a confidence boost for Sporting CP's players and
Related Posts
Three things we learned this week in the Primeira Liga- Five things we learned this week in Primeira Liga
- Against All Odds: End of an era in Portugal
- Champions League roundup: Nani scores superb solo goal for Sporting
- Five things we learned in week three of the Primeira Liga
- Borussia Dortmund chaos theory