The 2020/21 season marked a 19-year wait for Sporting Lisbon to be crowned Primeira Liga champions.
A return to the top of the Portuguese pyramid coincided with the arrival of former Benfica midfielder Rúben Amorim in the managerial dugout, who was recently linked with the vacancy at Premier League outfit Liverpool.
Although it’s not always been plain sailing since Amorim’s arrival, Sporting have established a tactical identity and secured another domestic league title last campaign.
Leões have continued to dominate this season.
Eight fixtures in, they currently sit top of the league on maximum points.
It is not only domestically, though, where teams have struggled to get the better of Amorim’s side.
At the time of writing, Sporting are unbeaten in this season’s Champions League with one victory and one draw.
With an unbeaten start, having played roughly a quarter of the season, is there any stopping this Sporting side?
This tactical analysis will provide an overview of Ruben Amorim’s team and determine how opponents could challenge the current Portuguese leaders in open-play scenarios.
We will analyse the tactics deployed at the Éstadio José Alvalade and provide solutions to combat such tactics, showcasing how Sporting’s dominance could end.
Ruben Amorim’s Coaching Style
Ruben Amorim has imposed an offensive and controlling style of play since his arrival in Lisbon.
Sporting tend to line up in a 3-4-3 formation, which facilitates controlling different areas of the pitch.
The wider of the back three will disperse to allow the wider options in the four-man midfield to push up into the final third.
This ensures that in the attacking third, Sporting are able to commit at least five men, often creating a numerical advantage against their opponents.
Moreover, the wider of the front three inverts towards the half-spaces to ensure that when Sporting occupies space in the final third, they are using the absolute width of the pitch.
The wider of the front three are also important figures in Sporting’s attacking transitions as they often look to provide passing options for the deeper-lying double pivot in midfield, as demonstrated in the image below.
As the above shows, the Lisbon outfit utilises a box midfield, which is effective in congesting the central areas of the pitch.
Such congestion allows Sporting greater dominance in possession as the passing options cover shorter distances and will enable them to retain the ball with quick passing exchanges.
