2024/25 champions Sporting drew with Belgian side Saint-Gilloise on Wednesday in their latest pre-season test. Ruben Amorim’s side were winning 2-0 when (natural) fatigue got the better of them in the second half. Against the second-placed Belgians, who are much more advanced, Sporting started slowly but gradually improved their position. The usual high pressure that distinguishes Ruben Amorim’s team was present even with the arrival of newcomers Mateus Fernandes and Raphael Nel (19). Morita, Nuno Santos and Trincao have shown good progress at this stage of pre-season, and this was a decisive factor for the Belgian team, which was able to overcome the difficulties. To finish the first half, Morita assisted Nel in a small area, and the 19-year-old was the easiest to do so. After the rest, nothing changed: Amorim used the starting eleven almost all the time. The 2-0 score was the result of the inevitable Pedro Gonçalves after good work by Mateus Fernandes. After that, the players were overcome by fatigue, aggravated by the perceptible heat. Saint-Gilloise pulled the ball back with a superb goal from Sadiki (it looked like it was preceded by an offside shot). Towards the end, the Belgians took advantage of Leo’s mistake to level the score.