Leo settles the score big time

This was the third time. After a draw in Braga in the first round of this League (1-1) and a defeat in the semi-finals of the League Cup (0-1) in Leiria, the “lion” settled the score with the Braga fans, at home, in the rain, and it was not a joke: they defeated with a score of 5:0 and repeated the results of the last two matches in Alvalade.

The final figures leave little doubt about the Lions’ superiority, but allow us to state that they are exaggerated, not that Minho’s performance in the first 45 minutes gave in to such an opinion, and especially due to the difficulties caused by the Lions from the restart to the moment when Alvaro Djalo (70′) missed from 1:2 in the face of Adan. But before this period there was much to tell.

Given the suffocation suffered in Leiria, in the League Cup, Minho’s side showed some initial courage, which is what Sporting wanted most: to have more space to exchange possession and to be able, as it turned out, to block Zalazar and Moutinho. When Victor Gomez played Trincao with the death pass, Sporting began to play the way he likes: fast, bold, with attacking triangles on both flanks, giving the ball to Viking. Then, after the second goal (Eduardo Quaresma in excellent form) many thought of defeat, but playing slower was good for the underdogs, but the lion was always in control.

In the second half, Sporting waited and this attitude led to Braga being close to a reduction. First, Adan denied Djalo a goal (with his head), and then the Spaniard did the hardest thing. But football punishes: in response to the chance, Minho Trincao (71′) gave an assist to the Swede with the score 3:0, two minutes later Braganca made it 4:0, finishing Nuno Santos’ Manita five minutes before the end.

So, the score is level, which does not negate Braga’s victory in the League Cup, but guarantees a powerful lion, hungry for victory, playing well and always having the title in their sights.