'It smells good, it smells like Lisbon' as Amália Rodrigues used to say. This fado portrays the city of Lisbon and it could very well portray what is happening around the Alvalade Stadium. Sunday night brought Sporting one step closer to feeling the title of champion. In the face of yet another obstacle towards the final goal, Sporting debuted a new kit that pays homage to the 60th anniversary of winning the European Cup Winners' Cup against MTK Budapest. With the usual mastery to which we have become accustomed, the Lions passed the difficult test in the reception to Vitória SC and defeated the Guimarães team by 3-0. The triumph in this 30th round of the I League left the green and whites two victories away from returning to Marquês de Pombal. Under a climate of euphoria and a crowd like we haven't seen in Alvalade for a long time, the Lions began to build the victory in the first half, but not without first having to 'dismantle' the opponent. Pedro Gonçalves took on the role of the most decisive player in this match, being linked to the Lions' three goals. Just after the 30th minute, the Portuguese international opened the scoring in Alvalade, before serving Gyokeres for the Swede's return to goals after five games of 'drought'. In the second half, the midfielder made a fantastic pass in the play of the 3-0, scored by Viktor Gyokeres. It was another 'Pote' of smoke to add to a party that seems written. Between changes on one side and the other, the match was losing reasons for interest in the final stretch. Alvalade leaves a triumph that leaves Sporting 'smelling' the final victory in the championship. Four matches from the end of the season, the Alvalade club is only two victories away from a title that it last won in 2020/21.

But let's go to the notes of the match:

Figure

Pedro Gonçalves was linked to the three moments that decided the match. He scored, made the assist and had a fantastic pass in the play of the 3-0. He was a bit lucky in the rebound that led to his goal, but he made sure to justify having his name on the list of scorers.

Surprise

Gyokeres' drought ended, and with a double dose. He made his usual acceleration the weapon to 'destroy' his rivals, leaving his strong mark in this game by scoring at two crucial moments of the match.

Disappointment

It only took one mistake by Manu Silva to open the door to Vitória SC's defeat in Alvalade. Although he was not the main culprit for the defeat, the defender failed to clear the ball away from the Vitória area and Pedro Gonçalves called him a 'fig'.

Coaches

Rúben Amorim:

Another great performance by Sporting. Forced to make a change in the starting eleven due to Diomande's suspension, the coach saw his team respond with a fair triumph. Although they took a while to open the scoring, the Lions did not allow last night's rival to create many dangerous chances. Scoring at the end of the first half and at the beginning of the second half proved to be essential to secure this easy triumph.

Álvaro Pacheco:

Leaving Jota Silva on the bench was a risky bet. The forward is, without a doubt, a cornerstone of the Minho team's attack and putting him on the bench in a match of this magnitude proved to be a wrong idea on the part of the coach. Without the Portuguese international, Vitória SC created little danger and ended up conceding three goals before the substitution.

Refereeing

Nothing to point out in the work of the refereeing team led by Cláudio Pereira. They were right in the move of the goal disallowed to Marcus Edwards and in detecting the offside to Afonso Freitas, in a move that could have ended in a penalty for the Minho team. 

Leia Também: Entre tiki-taka e regressos, Sporting vence Vitória e 'acaricia' o título (Portuguese version)