Europa League: Amorim on Juventus-Sporting Lisbon

“It would be prestigious for us to win the trophy, for Juve it would be much more important to access the next Champions League”. Rubén Amorim, the Sporting coach, tries to put pressure on the Bianconeri on the eve of the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals.

“We know how much quality there is in Juventus, we have seen several of their matches, there is a coach with a lot of experience. It would be nice for us to win in Turin but we must also think that qualification can be resolved between two legs”.

GIVE UP

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Having eliminated Arsenal from the competition has given the Portuguese an edge. “But tomorrow will be a completely different game – warns Amorim -. Juventus have more responsibility than us in this match: they are the ones who have to win. We must use every minute as an opportunity. By winning tomorrow we could become a strong candidate to win this trophy, but we have to live everything with serenity. We know what we have to do because we have studied the game well.” On the strengths of Allegri’s team: “Juve are very compact, more solid and suffer less than at the beginning of the season. Their game system changes more frequently than ours and according to the interpreters the way of playing also changes, therefore it is more unpredictable. We have seen the number of assists from Kostic, who makes the crosses and the numbers that Milik and Vlahovic have”. On the comparison: “We will need a perfect Sporting, hoping that perhaps Juve will keep a lower level than usual. Both we and they come from some frustrating results, it’s true, but we have to play our game, keep the ball and play with maximum concentration. They definitely have more experience and move the lines well.”

ESGAIO

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The thought of the team is entrusted to Ricardo Esgaio: “We are aware that we can play against anyone. We won with Arsenal but that belongs to the past. Now we have to think about Juventus. We know our worth and we have to think only of this game – explains the right winger -. We know that Juve have great players, but we have to think about ourselves. It’s true that the team has lost some confidence for a few games, due to some negative results, but the important thing is that they have found their way back. We did our analysis and understood what we were missing. Confidence can only be recovered thanks to the daily work: now our thoughts are with Juve, we know what we have to do to try to win”.