On Tuesday, as part of Matchday 7 of the 2025-2026 Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain faced Sporting Lisbon at the Estádio José Alvalade. Rui Borges, the Portuguese team’s coach, spoke to SporTV after PSG’s 2-1 defeat. He discussed the keys to their victory.
Borges: “The words I said before the match.”
“The secret lay in the words I said before the match. A simple speech. We needed a lot of cohesion and passion in our play, and they had it. It was impossible not to have it. We had to understand what was on the other side, a great team. A first half where we were better able to absorb the blows.”
In the first half, if we had had Trincão in top form, we could have created danger against PSG, a very intense and competitive team. But we struggled to force PSG to play defensively. In the second half, we improved. We were more daring, we managed to push Catamo further forward.
Borges: “I have no words to describe this group and these lads, who deserved this victory.”
“For all the commitment shown, I have no words to describe this group and these lads, who deserved this victory and truly deserve to go down in Sporting’s history,” remarks reported by Foot Mercato.
A little pride is important. Pride for its players, combative and united from start to finish, too. It must be acknowledged that Sporting never gave up, no matter how difficult the situation. The victory is there, and it’s important. We should savor it.
However, one might have expected Rui Borges to also mention a bit of luck, with two goals scored from deflected or parried shots that rebounded to a Portuguese player, or some clumsy finishing from the Parisians. Paris largely dominated and should have finished stronger. Good for Sporting, but the turning point of the match doesn’t seem to have been in the pre-game talk.
It may have served to ensure the players were determined every minute, but it’s also a good way to overlook the fact that the team was completely outclassed in the first half. A word of thanks for an ineffective PSG wouldn’t have been out of place.
