This year's League Cup is a different format due to the tight calendar caused by the pandemic. Only eight teams will participate, The top six teams from the Primeira Liga and the top two non-reserve teams from the Liga Portugal 2 at the end of November (matchday 8 for Primeira Liga and matchday 10 for Liga Portugal 2) will be paired according to their league positions to play single-leg quarterfinal matches. (Source: Wikipedia) The winners qualify to the final-four tournament, which will be played at a neutral venue and will comprise two single-leg semi-finals and a final. We face off today in our quarter-final match against lower league side Mafra.
Starting XI with quite a lot of rotation: Maximiano; Gonçalo Inácio, Cristián Borja, Eduardo Quaresma; Gonzalo Plata , Matheus Nunes, Daniel Bragança, Antunes; Tiago Tomás, Pote, Sporar
I'd say we've been better, but the squad rotation is showing in some plays lacking a finishing touch.. But I think we have enough to win.
2-0! Tabata with his 2nd goal in as many games, after a great team press and a nice assist from Plata
Semi-final is tomorrow vs. Porto at 2:45 pm EST. I would seriously just rotate the squad, would much rather focus on the league entirely and the more important cup was the other one we got knocked out of. To top it off, another case of covid-19, with Tabata now positive.
Interesting that happened during the most pivotal game when our rivals are playing each other. And no other team has received false positives before. All according to plan I suppose
Porto are mad that Sporting had false positives. Apparently they are demanding the game be cancelled?
LMAO already making excuses. What is the deal here? If they are false positive and then tested negative, I'm sure they will do another test before the game. Literally they're so whiny, torn between who I can't stand more, them or Benfica. If anything we were the ones penalized because we were missing two key players who apparently were fine due to a lab mistake.
The drama continues leading up to the match - all this for Taça Lucilio Batista lol And of course Braga and their president decide to speak out too. They're smelling blood because we dropped points and are trying everything to destabilize us. Amorim should put a picture of J. Marques and Salvador in the dressing room as motivation for the players to leave everything on the pitch.
Starting XI Adán; Zouhair Feddal, Sebastián Coates e Gonçalo Inácio; Pedro Porro, João Mário, João Palhinha, Nuno Santos e Antunes; Tiago Tomás e Pote. The health department intervened and denied Mendes and Sporar. But you know, they can't intervene in tomorrow's match (benfica hit hard with covid) and they left it in the hands of the league authorities. Now I kinda wanna win this stupid cup.