Rui Borges's Sporting CP travel to Vitoria Guimaraes on Tuesday, chasing Porto. They need a win to avoid falling eight points behind the leaders, which would give the 'Dragons' a clear run at the title, though much of the season remains. They also need the best from Luis Suarez, their new attacking focal point, to compete in the Portuguese league and in Europe.

The Colombian has enjoyed a highly impressive season. It seemed the elite level had eluded him, as each step up left him in limbo. This was the case at Granada, after he had been among the top scorers in the Spanish second tier, though he performed better away from goal there. It also happened at Olympique Marseille, a significant step up, before he ended up at Almeria, where he exploded with 31 goals last season in Spain's second tier.

Following the sale of Viktor Gyokeres, Sporting Lisbon's decision to sign Luis Suarez came as a surprise. The Lisbon club paid 22 million euros for the striker from Santa Marta, and he now helps them battle Benfica and Porto, while they hold Champions League play-off positions, level on points with Barcelona, Chelsea, and Newcastle. He stands as their top scorer with 15 goals from 24 appearances.

Of course, this doesn't match Gyokeres's incredible output. He operates at a different level, though his return to England with Arsenal has not been as promising. At this point last season, after 25 official matches for Sporting Lisbon, the Swede had already registered 27 goals and five assists, generating 32 goal contributions. Suarez has added three assists, contributing to 18 offensive actions for his team. Behind him, the top five scorers were Conrad Harder (7), Francisco Trincao (6), Pedro Goncalves (5), and Daniel Braganca (4). Together, they added 22 more goals.

Currently, the goal distribution is more collective. Beyond Suarez's 15 goals, Trincao and especially Goncalves have stepped up with eight and ten goals respectively, in addition to five goals from new arrival Fotis Ioannidis in a substitute striker role, and another five from promising young winger Geovany Quenda, who is sidelined until January due to injury. In total, these four players have contributed 28 goals.

In fact, these figures show that this Sporting Lisbon side is scoring even more than last season. The 'Lions' current goal average stands at 2.56 goals per game, compared to 2.31 last campaign. While last season's temporary slump after Ruben Amorim's departure to Manchester United played a role, Rui Borges no longer has a player who can deliver 54 goals like the prolific Gyokeres. The team as a whole will need to push forward, much like Luis Enrique's PSG – albeit on a different economic scale – did after Kylian Mbappe's exit.

Luis Suárez

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