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Former West Ham United winger Luis Guilherme had come under fire at Sporting Lisbon late last month, but the Brazilian clearly had no plans to let an early drizzle of doubts turn into a downpour.
Guilherme’s rather sluggish start was the subject of much analysis in the Portuguese press.
A Bola, one of the most influential publications in the country, complained that consistency has been lacking, as has the instant impact Sporting Lisbon were hoping for. Luis Guilherme, they added, had not even ‘had a single decisive goalscoring opportunity’ in his first ten Primeira Liga appearances.
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So, how’s this for a response? Not only did the £17 million January signing from West Ham United finally get himself in a position to find the net, he took it too.
Luis Guilherme channels his former West Ham United captain Jarrod Bowen
Much has been made of West Ham’s tactical missteps with a winger who joined for an eye-watering £25 million from Brazilian giants Palmeiras.
Guilherme, many have pointed out, was far better suited to a right-sided role rather than the left-wing spot he tended to occupy on rare Premier League outings for the Hammers.
Photo by Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images
Guilherme’s first top-flight goal in the green-and-white of Sporting, at the eleventh time of asking, only adds to the argument. Racing onto a through ball slid down the right flank, the 20-year-old displayed an extraordinary burst of acceleration. He cut across his marker and clipped a sub-zero finish into the corner.
It was genuinely Jarrod Bowen-esque. Both in terms of where on the pitch the goal came about, and in terms of the fearsome combination of pace and precision. Certainly not a piece of individual quality you might expect from someone coming under fire for a lack of end product.
“Very happy to score another goal in this shirt,” a relieved Guilherme told reporters; shrugging off those jumping on his back. “I thank God and my wife, who is always with me.
“It was a somewhat difficult moment. I was gaining confidence, playing more and more. And at an important moment, before the Bodo/Glimt game [in the Champions League], I ended up getting injured.
“But it was a moment when I could think a little more. What I went through wasn’t easy, but now I’m doing what I love most and helping Sporting.”
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Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images Guilherme was feeling the pressure at Sporting Lisbon
For Guilherme, this was a real exorcising of the ghosts moment. He had squandered a similar opportunity in the cup against newly-crowned champions Porto as recently as April 22nd. No wonder he was feeling the pressure as he burst through again.
“It was a moment that, I confess, I was a little nervous about. In the game against Porto, I ended up not scoring. But thank God I was able to have that confidence now.
“That pressure exists every day, both in training and in games.”
A graduate of the fabled Sporting academy, West Ham’s own Mateus Fernandes talked up the idea of Guilherme reviving his still-fledgling career when the third-most successful club in Portugal came calling.
The irony hardly needs explaining, meanwhile, when comparing Guilherme’s first league goal for Sporting to the second-most prolific Premier League marksman in West Ham’s history. Guilherme was never going to nail down a regular role in his favourite right-wing role as long as Bowen was around.
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