There was a 'downpour' of goals in Barcelos. Sporting traveled to the north of the country and thrashed Gil Vicente 4-0 on Friday, in the opening match of the 29th round of the I League. A brace by Trincão, another by Diomandé and an own goal by Andrew gave the Lions a significant advantage at the break and a step closer to the national championship title. The match was settled in the first half and allowed Amorim to save players for the next league match.

Match report:

For this first match of the week in Minho - followed by a duel with Famalicão next Tuesday - Rúben Amorim made several changes to the starting team that won the derby against Benfica. In defense, St. Juste and Coates were on the bench and were replaced by Eduardo Quaresma and Diomande. Daniel Bragança took the place of the suspended Hjulmand, while Ricardo Esgaio came in for the injured Matheus Reis.

And it didn't take ten minutes for the scoreboard to work for the first time at the Estádio Cidade de Barcelos. After a shot on the post by Morita, Gil Vicente's defense cleared the ball. Francisco Trincão recovered the ball and, with a shot from outside the area, scored the first goal of the match after eight minutes.

Without mercy, Sporting completely dominated the first half in Barcelos and reached the second of the match after 12 minutes. Following a short corner kick, Pedro Gonçalves crossed into the area and Diomande headed home. And as there are no two without three, there was a new Lisbon celebration in Barcelos.

After Andrew, who played even after learning of his mother's death, defended a powerful shot by Pedro Gonçalves, Daniel Bragança, who was promoted to team captain in the absence of Coates, was at the origin of the third goal in Barcelos. The midfielder set up Trincão, who took the Gil goalkeeper out of the way and scored a brace in the match (31').

But there are no three without four and the rout came after 38 minutes. After a cross from the left by Pote, Gyokeres headed in the small area. The ball hit the crossbar and then Andrew's back. Unlucky, the Brazilian ended up putting the ball in his own goal.

Needing to 'stop' this bleeding of Sporting goals, Carlos Cunha made a triple change at half-time and, in all fairness, Gil Vicente looked more stable in the second half. In fact, the first dangerous chance of the second half came from the Barcelos team. Félix Correia made a 'tearing' pass, but Depú arrived late for the final deflection. Shortly after, the same Angolan headed for a good save by Franco Israel.

In the middle of this match, and in the 65th minute, a small fire in an area of the east stand forced fans to be evacuated from the area for about 15 minutes. Firefighters were called in to put out the flames and the fans returned to their places.

Rúben Amorim also took the opportunity to rotate the squad with a view to Tuesday's visit to Famalicão and called on Spaniard Fresneda, who had not played in the I League since September 3, when Sporting drew in Braga. As expected, the Lions slowed down the pace of the game and hardly created any chances. Only a move in the 76th minute stood out, when Gyokres, with Paulinho completely free, went for the individual move and ended up being disarmed by Gabriel Pereira.

Sporting controlled the match until the final whistle by Manuel Oliveira and calmly secured their sixth consecutive victory in the I League. Gil Vicente, on the other hand, recorded their fourth consecutive defeat in the competition - and seventh consecutive game without a win - and took home a heavy defeat that occurred under the watchful eye of the new coach.

With this result, Sporting secured the lead of the I League with 74 points, now provisionally with a seven-point advantage over second-placed Benfica. Gil Vicente is 14th with 28 points.

Moment of the match: If there were any doubts about the final result, Francisco Trincão put an end to them with a brace just before the half-hour mark.

Starting teams

Gil Vicente: Andrew, Zé Carlos, Gabriel Pereira, Rúben Fernandes, Kiko Pereira, Mory Gbane, Pedro Tiba, Murilo Souza, Martim Neto, Dominguez and Depú.

Substitutes: Brian, Alipour, Fujimoto, Roan, Buta, Buatu, Alex Pinto, Félix Correia and Miro.

Sporting: Franco Israel, Eduardo Quaresma, Diomande, Gonçalo Inácio, Ricardo Esgaio, Hidemasa Morita, Daniel Bragança, Geny Catamo, Francisco Trincão, Viktor Gyökeres, Pedro Gonçalves.

Substitutes: Diogo Pinto, St. Juste, Coates, Edwards, Luís Neto, Paulinho, Fresneda, Rafael Pontelo and Koendredi.

Preview

Sporting can take a giant step towards the national championship title if they win on Friday night when they visit 'troubled' Gil Vicente, in the opening match of the 29th round of the I League. In case of victory, the Lions will add their sixth consecutive victory.
 
After the late victory in the derby against Benfica in the last round, the Lions increased their advantage over champions Benfica, who are in second place in the competition, to four points, and still have a game in hand, against Famalicão.

The Alvalade team, which in two days could have a seven-point advantage over their closest pursuer, will face a team in a delicate position, in 14th place, two points above the 'red zone' of the standings. The 'roosters' have not won in the competition for six games and have lost the last three.

The bad phase of the Barcelos team led the club's board to fire coach Vítor Campelos. Carlos Cunha, a coach who was with the under-23s, took over the team on an interim basis, before the more than likely arrival of Tozé Marreco.

Despite their 100 percent winning record at Alvalade, the green and whites have shown some difficulties away from home, where they have already dropped 10 points. It will therefore be a difficult duel for Rúben Amorim's team.

The duel between Gil Vicente and Sporting is scheduled to start at 8:15 pm this Friday at the Estádio Cidade de Barcel