True but we have a lot of options now, Coates, Mathieu, Battaglia all tall players like JJ likes. And Acuna is awesome at set pieces.
Half-time, 3-0, great performance. Need to keep our composure and concentration in the 2nd half, as last year we were up 3-0 and tied 3-3.
That first half was better than anything I saw from sporting last season Bruno Fernandes is a excellent addition , acuna also is very good especially on dead balls and crosses which is something the team lacked
I like how our wingers are playing on opposite sides today and cutting inside, giving us more plays in the middle instead of 10000 crosses like last game - this allows our full backs to push up and stretch the play.
Iuri on for Acuna, who looks totally gassed, time to start conserving our energy for Champions league
Does Bruno Fernandes know how to play badly? Almost a hat-trick there with an amazing piece of skill and chip shot
JJ flash interview said the only thing that was bad today was Mathieu's injury - he was subbed off late in the second half and it seems he might be out
Mathieu is way better than what he showed in pre season. What a unit. Hopefully injury isn't too serious.
BTW, this is our biggest win ever in Guimaraes. Also, 4th official game with a clean sheet, JJ has been obviously working on improving our defense and it seems to be paying off. As for today's performances: Rui Patricio - Good performance, had one mistake where he dropped the ball after catching it but grabbed it on the 2nd attempt before any further danger. 7/10 Piccini - Better game from him today, had a couple of good runs forward, had one costly mistake though which could've cost a goal. 7/10 Coates - Boss as usual. 8/10 Mathieu - His speed when trying to recover a ball is impressive, and his experience is invaluable, hopefully his injury is not severe but from the coach's words, he may be out of the next game. 8.5/10 Coentrao - His best game, provided the assist for the 2nd and very involved going forward, secure when defending. 8.5/10 Battaglia - Another excellent performance, a rock that provides stability to the defense, and his pass to Coentrao for the 3rd goal was - dare I say - William like. The more he plays as a DM the better he'll get. 8.5/10 Adrien - Much better game today from the captain, still not his best but much more hustle and was there for the 5th goal. 7.5/10 Gelson - Kudos to JJ for playing him on the left, Having Gelson / Acuna playing opposite flanks got them more involved in play down the middle and cut down a lot on the "cross-to-death" issue we've been having. 8/10 Acuna - Sublime set piece for the crucial 2nd goal, hopefully he takes all our set pieces from now on, rightly subbed off though in the 60th as he was totally worn out. 7.5/10 Bruno Fernandes - Man. Of. The. Match. 2 wonder-goals, dictating the play, vision, determination. This time he seemed to play deeper instead of a "second striker" and it paid off big time. 10/10 Dost - Did what he does best, 2 goals for the main man up front to kill the game off. 9/10 Subs: Iuri - Came on for Acuna and played on the left, had a few interesting passes and came in well, contributed for the 5th goal nicely. A good player but will be hard to get into this team as a starter. 7/10 Jonathan Silva - Came on for Coentrao who had a great game, did his part to see out the game, not much else to say. 6.5/10 Andre Pinto - Subbed for the injured Mathieu, didn't have much to do. 6.5/10