ALCOCHETE. Sporting CP prevails over Rio Ave with a 2-0 win with a goal from Paulinho (10′) and a goal from M. Edwards (26′).

The match was played at the CGD Stadium Aurélio Pereira stadium in Alcochete on Monday and it started at 8:15 pm local time. The referee was Cláudio Filipe Ruivo Pereira with the help of André Cabral Almeida and Luís Carlos Lopes da Costa. The 4th official was Pedro Miguel Torres Ramalho. The weather was sky is clear. The temperature was hot at 26.63 degrees Celsius or 79.93 Fahrenheit. The humidity was 32%.​

Match Statistics​

Ball possession

No teams had a vastly superior advantage in terms of ball possession. Sporting CP was in possession of the ball for 53% of the time vs. Rio Ave that controlled the ball for 47% of the time.

Attitude and shots

Sporting CP was putting more pressure with 46 dangerous attacks and 12 shots of which 7 were on target. This is one of the reasons why Sporting CP won the match​.

Sporting CP shot 12 times, 7 on target, 3 off target. On the other side, Rio Ave shot 9 times, 1 on target, 5 off target.

Cards

Sporting CP received 1 yellow card (Sebastián Coates). Talking about the opposition, Rio Ave received 5 yellow cards (Leonardo Ruiz, Bruno Ventura, Fábio Ronaldo, Ukra and Aderllan Santos).

Standings

After this encounter, Sporting CP will have 16 points like Porto to sit in the 1st place. On the opposite side, Rio Ave will stay with 5 points like Vizela, Estrela Amadora and Portimonense to sit in the 15th place.

Next matches

In the next match in the Liga Portugal, Sporting CP will host Chaves on the 19th of May with a 6-2 head to head record in favor of Sporting CP (1 draw).

Rio Ave will host Vitória SC on the 5th of May with a 17-7 head to head stats in favor of Vitória SC (10 draws).

Sporting CP – Formation

Sporting CP adopted the extremely aggressive line-up (3-4-3).

The manager Ruben Filipe Marques Amorim decided to play with the following team: Antonio Adán (7.5), Ousmane Diomande (6.4), Sebastián Coates (7.7), Gonçalo Inácio (7.0), Ricardo Esgaio (6.8), M. Hjulmand (7.3), Hidemasa Morita (7.9), Nuno Santos (7.3), Marcus Edwards (8.1), Paulinho (8.7) and Pedro Gonçalves (6.6).

The home team had on the bench: Viktor Gyökeres, Geny Catamo  (6.4), Daniel Bragança  (6.8), Matheus Reis (6.8), Franco Israel, Luís Neto, Dário Essugo, Francisco Trincão (6.3) and Iván Fresneda.

Substitutions

Sporting CP made 5 changes: Nuno Santos for Matheus Reis (78′), Marcus Edwards for Francisco Trincão (67′), M. Hjulmand for Daniel Bragança  (67′), Sávio for Luís Neto (90′) and Ricardo Esgaio for Geny Catamo  (77′).

Best player: Paulinho​

The most impressive player for Sporting CP was Paulinho.

His rating is (8.7) with 1 goal, 26 passes (85% accurate) and 2 key passes. He was won 7 duels out of 13.

Rio Ave – Formation

Also Rio Ave adopted the extremely aggressive line-up (3-4-3).

Luís Carlos Batalha Freire played with: André Pereira, Magrão (7.3), Renato Pantalon (6.7), Aderllan Santos (6.6), Patrick William (6.7), Costinha (6.4), Amine (7.0), Guga (6.6), Sávio (6.8), Joca  and João Graça (6.4), Leonardo Ruiz (6.8), Fábio Ronaldo (7.3).

They had on the bench: Zé Manuel (6.7), Miguel Nóbrega (7.0), Hernâni, Vítor Gomes (6.8), Bruno Ventura (6.6), Julien Lomboto, Ukra (6.6) and Jhonatan.

Rio Ave could not rely on the presence of Zé Manuel (injured), Bruno Ventura (injured) and Vítor Gomes (injured).

Substitutions

Rio Ave made 5 changes: Sávio for Zé Manuel (46′), Patrick William for Miguel Nóbrega (71′), Guga for Bruno Ventura (49′), João Graça for Ukra (71′) and Amine for Vítor Gomes (85′).

Best player: Fábio Ronaldo​

The most impressive player for Rio Ave was Fábio Ronaldo.

His rating is (7.3) with 28 passes (86% accurate) and 2 key passes. He was won 8 duels out of 10. He performed 1 cross.

Results of the day

These are the results of the day in the Liga Portugal.​

• Sporting CP – Rio Ave – 2-0