Beating Man City eases pressure for Arsenal game: new Sporting coach

The Portuguese side has won three and drawn the other of its first four European matches and Pereira said that gave them freedom ahead of his first Champions League match in charge.

Sportings coach Joao Pereira gives a press conference on the eve of their UEFA Champions League football match against Arsenal FC at Alvalade stadium in Lisbon, on November 25, 2024. | Photo Credit: AFP

New Sporting Lisbon coach Joao Pereira said his side’s thrashing of Manchester City eased the pressure on it ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League visit on Tuesday.

With Ruben Amorim at the helm before he left to take over at Manchester United, Sporting hammered Man City 4-1 and moved second in the standings, behind only Liverpool.

The Portuguese side has won three and drawn the other of its first four European matches and Pereira said that gave them freedom ahead of his first Champions League match in charge.

“It takes the pressure off us a bit, because we won, we got three more points, we go into this game with 10 points and, therefore, we have a margin,” Pereira told a news conference Monday. “We will play our games and in the end we will do the maths.”

Pereira’s side thrashed third-tier Amarante 6-0 in his first game on Friday in the Portuguese Cup.

The coach said he had spoken with predecessor Amorim before the game.

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“I spoke to Amorim before (my) debut, he sent me a message wishing me good luck and hoping that I can have a great career,” continued Pereira, 40, who played as a right-back under Amorim as Sporting won the league in 2021. “I said that if I can do a lot of what he did, it won’t be a bad start.”

Pereira accepted that facing Arsenal would be a vastly different challenge than minnow Amarante.

“With all due respect to Amarante, Arsenal is on another level,” said the coach. “But I prepared Arsenal in the same way I prepared for the Amarante game, with the same professionalism and the same objective, which is to try to win the game.”

The Portuguese National Association of Football Coaches (ANTF) disputes whether Pereira is qualified to manage Sporting, but he said he was not concerned about the complaint.

“We have little time to train and the little time we have is to think about how to put together a team to face opponents, aspects that we need to improve -- that’s where my focus is,” said Pereira. “Sporting’s legal department is here to answer the rest.”