Kai Havertz’s tactical brilliance leaves Sporting CP in awe after Arsenal’s dominant 5-1 Champions League victory.
In the wake of Arsenal’s resounding 5-1 win against Sporting CP in the UEFA Champions League, the Portuguese side have been left in awe of Kai Havertz. Speaking after the match, manager Joao Pereira and captain Morten Hjulmand both praised the tactical flexibility the German offered Mikel Arteta’s side.
Speaking in the post-match press conference (via TBR Football), captain Hjulmand explained what Sporting felt like playing against Arsenal. He said,
“I think we gave too many chances away and they are very efficient, so it was a tough night. It was not good enough.
“When they put their striker more as a number 10 and sometimes like a number eight, they will have more players in midfield. And we could feel that on the pitch.”
The Dane was referring to Kai Havertz’s role as the German disrupted the Portuguese side’s plans of containing him with his intelligent movement.
Kai Havertz receives high praise from Sporting manager Joao Pereira
Having taken over the reins at Sporting just over a week ago, Pereira has already suffered a heavy defeat in the post-Amorim era. However, the manager admitted in his press conference that the team was not prepared for how and where Havertz would play. He said, “We were expecting Havertz to be higher up, and he started to drop a lot into midfield.
“We changed at half-time, responded well, and the penalty made it worse. We conceded a goal very early which caused some unrest. Then, the players felt it a bit when it was 3-0 at the end of the first half. At the start of the second half, we reacted excellently until the penalty.
“We could have made it 3-2 but we didn’t. And we were penalised for the poor start to the game.”
Joao Pereira’s tenure as Sporting manager got off to a flyer with a 6-0 win against Amarante, but was brought crashing down to reality after a humbling defeat against Arsenal. Next up for the Portuguese side is a game against Santa Clara.
