Sporting CP coach Ruben Amorim remains confident of their Europa League chances after the 1-0 defeat to Juventus and stood up for under-fire goalkeeper Antonio Adan.
The Portuguese side had more shots on goal and more possession at the Allianz Juventus Stadium in Turin, yet emerged empty-handed thanks to saves from both Wojciech Szczesny and his replacement Mattia Perin.
Federico Gatti bundled over the line after Adan flapped at a corner and Dusan Vlahovic’s header was cleared off the line, yet another howler from the goalkeeper who has already made several costly errors in the tournament this season.
“Without Adan, we would not be here tonight, that is the thing you ought to remember,” said Amorim in his press conference.
“Whenever there is an error, we have all made a mistake together. Adan knows he got it wrong, but we all make mistakes. I know what a great goalkeeper Adan is and he has my full confidence. The important thing is to go forward, knowing we only lost because we conceded a goal that was avoidable.”
The 1-0 result leaves everything fairly open going into the second leg in Lisbon next Thursday evening, especially due to the change of rules in UEFA competitions over the last two seasons.
“There are still strong prospects of progress, because the margin is so slim. Without the away goals rule, everything is far more open and we must have faith. It’s a good sign that we feel so angry after this defeat.”
Manuel Ugarte was suspended today and will be available for the second leg, but Amorim warned reporters in the press conference that it is very unlikely Paulinho will recover in time to feature.