"We played an excellent game and controlled from the start," he said. "We achieved what we didn't manage to do in the Taça de Portugal, which was to score in the first half, and we had several opportunities to extend that advantage. In the second half we stepped off a little, which is normal, and CS Marítimo had more of the ball than in the first half, but then we had chances and we could have scored more goals."

"We were very solid off dead balls and we were very careful with the transitions from CS Marítimo, which was an aspect in which they can create danger. The win is completely down to the players, who once again did an excellent job.”

Amorim noted the achievement of a Club record for most points at the halfway mark of the season, and put it down to a result of hard work.

“It is always a good thing, because this is not just any club, but this record doesn't come with a title. These are goals that the team can have while on our journey, but our main goal is to make the club strong and be prepared to be candidates for the title, as Sporting CP always have been. That is the main objective and we are moving towards that”, he stated.

The coach had words of praise for the performance of Antunes, a player who returned to the starting lineup and put in an excellent showing.

“I think he had needed this type of game for some time. I am very proud to be Antunes' coach for the game he played today, without boasting match fitness and replacing a player like Nuno Mendes. Antunes is the image of our group, and I want to highlight his work today."

Finally, the coach played down the fact that the team now have a 6-point lead over FC Porto and 11 more than SL Benfica.