UCL: Sporting coach, Rui Borges names best player during defeat to Arsenal

Sporting CP head coach, Rui Borges, has named Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya as ‘the best player on the pitch’ during both sides’ UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg tie on Tuesday.

Despite Kai Havertz’s dramatic stoppage-time winner in Lisbon, Borges insisted that Arsenal’s goalkeeper, David Raya, was the real game-changer.

The Spanish shot-stopper produced a string of outstanding saves to deny Sporting, earning UEFA’s official Player of the Match award.

In a post-match interview with Prime Video, Borges explained: “Yes, I’d say David Raya was the best player on the pitch tonight because we had some really, really good chances to score, but he made some superb saves.”

He added with a touch of irony: “On the other end, our keeper Rui Silva was not overly troubled, and it was a pretty equal game.”