Sporting CP lost one of their best performers, Bruno Fernandes, in 2020, and there was doubt whether the team would be able to find a suitable replacement who could support the team’s attacking actions successfully.
Months after reaching an agreement with Manchester United for Fernandes, the club secured the signature of Pedro Gonçalves – ‘Pote’ from Famalicão.
The then 22-year-old attacking midfielder didn’t falter under the high expectations and had a perfect start to his career with the Leões, scoring 23 goals and assisting five more in his first season with them, which led them to the league title.
The following year was equally as successful, although he was used more consistently as a winger, which resulted in him providing 14 assists and scoring 15 goals.
In 2022/23, Pote has already established himself as one of their best performers, although the team had a rough start to the campaign and is currently fifth in the Primeira Liga, struggling defensively and being knocked out of the UEFA Champions League where Tottenham topped the group.
His versatility has allowed the manager, Rúben Amorim, to use him in different roles and positions in his favoured 3-4-3 formation.
The player’s technical abilities and movement are the main creative force for the team in the opposition’s half, and his actions often result in creating goalscoring opportunities.
In this Pedro Gonçalves scout report, we use tactical analysis to examine Pote’s contribution to Sporting’s tactics and explain how he replaced his predecessor.
Sporting CP attacking strategy
Sporting are an attack-minded team that likes to control the game in the opposition half and expose their opponents through a lot of movement, especially on the flanks.
The team rely on having more possession (63.8%) and dominating the opposing teams.
And while they do try to create as many goalscoring opportunities as possible, their overcommitment to crossing sometimes makes it difficult for them to use their creativity.
The team highly relies on gaining control in wide areas, where they often opt for link-up play to progress the ball, which later results in a high number of crossing attempts (19.73 per 90).
They manage to balance out both flanks by bombarding the box with crosses from both sides, although their completion rate is far from satisfactory, which detracts from their attacking explosiveness.
Their ability to score from different methods makes them successful upfront, having scored with headers, from corners, and from outside the box on multiple occasions.
Sporting’s successful ball progression is a result of the players’ individual skills and their dribbling abilities in particular.
Many of them use their composure to take on opposing players and distribute the ball to the advanced areas.
Amorim’s side are actually first in terms of dribbling frequency and their success in 1v1 situations allows them to hold on to the ball for longer, which respectively results in their high possession rate.
The players’ ability to retain possession in the opposition half is impressive, and it directly affects their defensive performance.
The team generates the fewest ball losses per 90, resulting in an average of 6.96 shots conceded.
However, the areas from which these shots are allowed, as well as some individual errors, often make the difference despite the overall solid performance.
Pedro Gonçalves Style Of Play
With his ever-changing position, Pote demonstrates his versatility and supports the team in various aspects.
This season, he has been used as a left central midfielder (LCMF) and left-wing forward (LWF), as well as a central forward.
Amorim is trying to use him to his strengths and employ him wherever he feels he can be most dangerous.
That’s why Gonçalves covers quite wide areas and, despite his left-sided position, can be found all over the opposition half, trying to link up play and expose their opponents through his movement.
Pedro Gonçalves Heat Map
Pote’s heatmap above shows his constant movement all over the opposing half, as well as his tendency to drop back behind the central line to pick up the ball and support the build-up play.
His strong positional sense sets him apart and allows his teammates to find him in a goalscoring position no matter how they have decided to attack.
Pedro Gonçalves’ movement, combined with his creativity and dribbling result in him having a great impact in the box.
Despite his attacking role, the 24-year-old is often crucial in ball progression and contributes with his progressive runs and dribbling, which help him to break through defences.
Then, he can equally successfully support his teammates’ movement through smart passing and crossing, while also being a direct threat to the goal.
The 24-year-old’s ability to deliver the ball into the box is crucial for the team, as it enables them to shoot from high-quality positions.
Pote’s dribbling often enables him to penetrate the final third and create goalscoring opportunities.
Pedro Gonçalves Penetrating Carries Map
As his “penetrating carries” map below underlines, the Portuguese constantly aim to exploit the penalty area and create havoc.
His composure and control of the ball make him a key player in the team’s build-up strategy.
Pote continues his predecessor Fernandes’ job of making runs to the box and threatening the goal directly.
He is good at finding pockets and exploiting them, thereby increasing the Sporting’s explosiveness in attack.
Even when he plays as a winger, he moves more into the half-spaces to help the team overload the penalty area and use link-up-play to expose the goal.
This strategy is successful thanks to his positional awareness and constant aim to disposition defenders and create free spaces.
He can smartly position between the opposition’s lines and use his anticipation skills to pick the right time to attack.
Pote’s connection with his teammates and their constant movement around each other allow Sporting to disorganise defences and expose them properly.
Pedro Gonçalves defensive impact
As mentioned, one of Pote’s key strengths is his ability to hold onto the ball.
He manages to escape pressing situations through his dribbling, which helps the team retain possession and not lose control over the game.
The former Famalicão player often moves the ball out of dangerous areas with his progressive movement, giving the team the chance to move out of their own half.
Despite his attacking role, his contribution to the team’s ball-recovery efforts is impressive.
The player contributes to Sporting’s pressing strategy and often aims to recover possession in the advanced areas.
Pote averages 4.7 recoveries per 90, which helps the Leões block the opposition attacks and stay in the advanced areas.
Pedro Gonçaves High Regains Map
Pote’s anticipation skills and composure make him successful in his direct interventions as well, and he averages a 62.7% success rate in his defensive duels, making him a good addition to the team’s first line of defence.
Conclusion
As our analysis shows, Pedro Gonçalves possesses the necessary qualities to lead Sporting CP in attack and support his teammates with effective passing while also directly threatening the goal.
His positioning and movement off the ball give the team different options in attack and his runs to the box disposition defenders to gain an advantage for his team.
This makes Pote a key for Sporting’s ambitions in the Portuguese League and Europe as well.
