Just weeks ago, you could argue that Sporting CP were one of the games most in-form teams.
With a 4-1 thrashing of Manchester City in the Champions League and a resolute 4-2 comeback victory over Braga in the Primeira Liga, Ruben Amorim’s Sporting side had all the momentum you could ask for.
But then Amorim left for Manchester United.
While the Portuguese manager has begun the acclimation phase to the Premier League, Sporting have found themselves in a small crisis.
Their Primeira Liga lead was slashed, and they fell from second to 17th in the Champions League.
After an initial victory in the Taça de Portugal, new manager and former Sporting player João Pereira endured a tumultuous first few weeks on the job.
A victory yesterday over Boavista has brought some relief to the Portuguese capital, but results must continue to flow.
This tactical analysis will look at the data to distinguish between the two managers and then some of the underlying tactics leading to the loss in form.
The primary focus of this scout report is to look at the issues Sporting’s prolific attack has encountered in recent weeks and one area that can help reverse their offensive woes.
Sporting CPs Data Under Rúben Amorim & Joao Pereira
Sporting’s data is fascinating.
A team that looked like world-beaters prior to the international break, Sporting was on a run of four consecutive losses across the Primeira Liga and Champions League before Saturday’s win.
Extracting the data from those two competitions, we can see just how stark a difference there is in Sporting’s form during that four-match downturn.
Under Rúben Amorims tactics, we had a side averaging 2.38 xG P90 and even outperforming that lofty figure with approximately 2.68 goals P90.
It seemed as though everything was falling Sportings way.
Sporting Goals And xG Rúben Amorim Vs Joao Pereira
Once Amorim left for Manchester United, the results and production fell off a cliff.
Under Joao Pereiras style of play, xG dropped to 1.4, but the bigger issue was how far below that mark Sporting’s goal production fell.
They simply looked like a different team
