Sporting CP's ratings from another damaging night at Alvalade put Nestory Irankunda in the centre of the discussion. He finished with a 7.2 rating in the defeat, and his influence was visible from the start, even as much of the side struggled to hold its shape.
Irankunda's threat from the right
He was already causing problems in the 6th minute, when he sent a shot wide with real danger. In the 31st minute, he tried again and put another effort over the bar. A Bola's verdict was that from his feet came Sporting's most dangerous moves, and the sequence of dangerous passes matched that view. Irankunda found Gonçalo Inácio, Kaique and Ibrahima Ba with through balls, while his deliveries also sent Maximiliano Araújo away in the 76th and 81st minutes.
The wider reading is straightforward enough. Irankunda has a 6.62 average rating across his last 5 matches for Sporting, and that run fits the idea that he has been one of the few players still offering consistent threat. His 7 league appearances this season are not a huge base, but the output against Alvalade was strong enough to stand out anyway.
Suárez and Fresneda among the bright spots
Iván Fresneda was the other player A Bola singled out positively. He won a decisive tackle on João Guilherme in the 29th minute and kept supplying measured crosses, including the one that led to Suárez's goal. His 6.87 season rating and 9 league appearances back up the sense that he has been one of Sporting's steadier options.
Suárez also kept his scoring run going, with A Bola describing it as his 10th consecutive goal. He then went close again in stoppage time, hitting the post after a chance created by Jesse Derry in the 90+2' minute. For Sporting, that left a familiar pattern on a bad night, with a few individual performances holding up while the rest of the performance dropped away.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
