Adrien on his side's 3-2 win against Académica

Adrien put in yet another man of the match performance this Saturday night, inspiring his side to a 3-2 win against Académica in a night that will be remembered largely for its refereeing.

“The most important thing is that we got the win. It could have been more comfortable, but some things happened that we can't control. However, we reacted well. All we have to focus on is applying what we are doing in training", opened the Portuguese international in a flash interview at the final whistle, before responding to a question about Académica's second goal: "I haven't seen it properly, all I saw was the linesman raise his flag. I didn't know what had happened and I went to talk to the referee about it. We really want to say thank you to the fans, because they have been fantastic. There support is really important in this kind of match."

To finish, Adrien reflected on his current form: "I am trying to improve as much as I can and with this coach I can. It is up to you to say if this is the best Adrien or not, all I can do is my best to help the team."

Sporting earn battling three points on Liga NOS matchday 20

Sporting CP beat Académica 3-2 on Saturday night, in a baffling encounter that saw referee Cosme Machado allow for a goal from a clear off-side position, send Jorge Jesus and Nélson to the stands and show a string of baffling yellow cards.

The match got off as expected, with Jorge Jesus' side dominating. However, it was Académica who had the first opportunity of the evening with a corner in the 7th minute and a well rehearsed move picked out Rafa, who fired past Rui Patrício to give the visitors an unlikely early lead.

The goal did little to unsettle Sporting and Académica were soon picked back into their defensive third, but stubborn defending from the visitors and some highly debatable refereeing were not going to make for an easy night's work. Mané looked to have found a way through on goal in the 13th minute, but was brought down by an obvious push by Hugo Seco that the referee waved away.

Short passing down the wings and a midfield anchored by William sitting deep kept Sporting in possession for long spells, but opportunities on goal were in short supply, until Bryan Ruiz controlled well and unleashed a stinging effort that Pedro Trigueira could only parry away to Adrien at the edge of the box for a shot that ended up the wrong side of the bar. The in-form Alvalade skipper's attempt proved to be a warning shot for the equaliser and just before the half-hour mark he burst his way into the box and put an unstoppable shot across goal and into the back.

Although with a make do pairing of Ewerton and Rúben Semedo at the back, after Naldo was forced off with an injury, it looked to be only a matter of time before Académica again broke. Justice to the scoreline came two minutes before the break, when Carlos Mané tricked his way into the 18-yard box and fed a ball across the box that Bryan Ruiz edged in from close range. In all honesty, the goal was almost greeted with a sense of anger towards the evening's official rather than celebration, as two minutes earlier Cosme Machado had brandished an extremely harsh yellow card to Adrien for taking a free-kick quickly. Not only that, but Machado also gave Jorge Jesus his marching orders for supposed protests at the decision.

Gelson Martins was introduced to the action in place of William after the break (moving João Mário into the middle) and the pressure was cranked up again on the visitors. Despite Sporting's complete domination, it was the visitors who were next to 'score', when Ricardo Ricardo Nascimento flicked a ball on that João Real and Ewerton contested in the air. Although the Brazilian actually ended up putting the ball into the back of his own net, João Real was clearly off-side and the linesmen obliged with the respective raise of his flag. However, the referee saw fit to overrule his assistant and validated the goal.

Sporting had half an hour to claim the more than deserved three points and Jesus responded with the introduction of Montero for Mané. Gelson Martins was next to try his luck with a shot that was well stopped by Pedro Trigueira, before Slimani floated a chip onto the roof of the net and Ruiz was also denied by the Académica keeper. The breaking point for the visitors finally came when Aderlan was shown a second yellow card for bringing down Gelson, allowing Sporting to pen the visitors in for the rest of the encounter. After two decent opportunities for Montero (81’) and Adrien (84’), the Colombian finally restored the lead with a brilliant first touch and a calculated shot past Pedro Trigueira.

The evening's drama looked to be over, but there was still time for Cosme Machado to send off Nélson from the substitutes' bench.

Jorge Jesus included 18 for Liga NOS matchday 20

Jorge Jesus has announced his squad list for Liga NOS matchday 20 against Académica:

Squad list in full:

Guarda-redes: Rui Patrício and Azbe Jug

Defenders: João Pereira, Ricardo Esgaio, Ewerton, Naldo, Ruben Semedo and Marvin Zeegelaar

Midfielders: Aquilani, William, Adrien and João Mário

Forwards: Mané, Gelson Martins, Matheus Pereira, Bryan Ruiz, Slimani and Montero

Sporting CP-Académica will kick off at 20h45 on Saturday, in Estádio José Alvalade.

Jorge Jesus ahead of his side's hosting of Académica

"Of course Académica will want to win points in Alvalade, it is normal. We will face a team that will play the way they can and we will try to find as much space as we can", Affirmed Jorge Jesus in his pre-match press conference this Friday afternoon, ahead of what he expects to be a tricky hosting of Académica.

"It will be a hard game, but hopefully we will have the capacity to open up the Académica defence, which is our main objective on the way to getting the win", added the Sporting boss, going ton to draw similarities with results against Boavista, U. Madeira and Tondela: "You can find some reasons there, but nothing is that certain. If we look at each game individually and each team for where they are in the league, then it would be harder to face teams that are higher up the table, but that isn't the case in practice."

Accepting that Jefferson will miss out through injury, Jesus went on to speak about the recent arrivals of Sebastián Coates and Ruben Semedo, as well as the possible signing of a goalkeeper: "Coates has a few games under his belt with Sunderland, which means he is in shape. From that point of view there is no problem, but knowing how we play is different. He might take a while to adapt, but it will come with training. If everything is normal with Ruben in training tomorrow then he will be in the the squad. We really liked him in the pre-season and he has been developing well, which is why he is back. Marcelo is close to playing somewhere else, but nothing is true until he signs a contract. We aren't looking for a goalkeeper now, but who knows what can come up."

To finish, Jesus spoke about the possible suspension of Slimani: "It is something I won't say a lot about today, because he is focused on scoring and I don't want him reading something said by his coach. What I will say is that he is an excellent player who is fundamental for the team. He has developed a lot and he is in great form right now."

Sporting CP-Académica will get underway at 20h45 on Saturday, in Estádio José Alvalade.

Sporting win but finish second in League Cup Group C

Sporting claimed the win in Arouca this Tuesday night, but were left to settle for 2nd place in League Cup Group C after Portimonense 3-2 in in Paços de Ferreira. Marvin was on target for the team from Alvalade, with 10 minutes left on the clock.

As promised in his pre-match press conference, Jorge Jesus rang the changes for the encounter and also handed a debut to Azbe Jug in the Sporting goal.

With less playing time together, Arouca were able to establish a foothold early on and Walter was able to get a shot off after beating Paulo Oliveira at the sprint, but the final product ended up wide of the post. Another chance quickly followed for the hosts, this time with Gegé heading over the target following a corner. Some insecurity in the passing game also saw Arouca claw back possession and break forward on occasions and Sporting's first clean chance on goal was made to wait until the quarter of an hour mark, when Paulo Oliveira turned a Nildo free-kick wide.

The anticipated reaction from Jorge Jesus' side really clicked into gear in the 19th minute, when a deep cross from Tanaka picked out André Martins at the far post, but the stand-in captain was unable to find the back of the net. The attack was the signal for a spell of pressing football from the visitors and brilliant bit of play saw Matheus Pereira spray a pass long to Tanaka, who controlled well and set up Montero, but the Colombian was off target. With 30 minutes on the clock the deadlock persisted, while Paços de Ferreira took the lead in Mata Real to begin to tip goal difference in Sporting's favour.

With Arouca mathematically unable to secure a place in the next round of the League Cup and Sporting looking uninspired, 0-0 persisted at the break, while Paços de Ferreira were leading Portimonense 2-1.

Jorge Jesus brough Gelson Martins and Carlos Mané into the action at the start of the second-half for André Martins and Matheus Pereira and it seemed to inject new urgency into the Sporting attack. Chances soon began to follow, first from Montero with a stinging effort that ended up wide, before Carlos Mané followed suit. The pressure on the Arouca goal began to build and on 58 minutes Aquilani had what was arguably Sporting's best chance of the night, but the Italian was also off target.

Sporting had done more than enough to take the lead, but while opportunities were in good supply, clinical finishing was lacking. Paulo Oliveira skimmed the paint off the outside of the post with a header in the 65th minute and on five minutes later the Alvalade defender again game close. Aquilani followed with a free-kick over the bar and Mané saw a shot deflected wide with a last ditch challenge, before Marvin finally opened the scoring ten minutes from time with a rebound after Rui Sacramento had denied Monteero.

Despite the win, Sporting's League Cup campaign comes to an end this season, with Portimonense topping the group with three wins out of three.

Sales already underway

Tickets for Liga NOS matchday 20, which sees Sporting host Académica, are on sale as follows:

STAND A

Central – 20€ for Members and 30€ for fans
Lateral – 15€ for Members and 25€ for fans
Goal End – 10€ for Members and 20€ for fans
Under-23/Senior – 10€ for Members

STAND B

Central – 15€ for Members and 20€ for fans
Lateral – 10€ for Members and 15€ for fans
Goal End – 7€ for Members and 12€ for fans
Under-23/ Senior – 7€ for Members
Anti-Crisis – 5€ for Members
Under-11 – 3,5€ for Members

SALES POINTS

ESTÁDIO JOSÉ ALVALADE TICKET OFFICES

- 25th to 29th of January: 10h to 20h

- 30th of January: from 10h until half-time

OFFICIAL WEBSITE
- Payment methods: Multibanco, VISA and Mastercard
- Multibanco option only available up until 24 hours before kick off
- PDF ticket: delivered to your email address (can be printed in black and white on A4)

STADIUM REGULATIONS

- Entry prohibited to children under the age of 3

- Children over the age of 3 (inclusive) require a ticket

- Under-11 Member ticket: age of 3 (inclusive) up to the age of 11 and valid for any sector of the stand

- Under-23 Member ticket: age of 11 (inclusive) up to the age of 23 and with different prices for stand A and B

- Senior Member ticket: from the age of 65 (inclusive) with different prices for stand A and B

- Non-renewed Special Seats have preference up to 72 hours before kick off

- Fan tickets purchase on matchday subject to a €3 tax

- Match included in all 2015/2016 Gamebox packages

- Member fee applicable: December 2015
 

FAMILY TICKET

- Available for all sectors in North Goal End - Stand A and B

- Family of 3 (Member + Adult + Under-11): 21€

- Family of 4 (Member + Adult + Under-23 + Under-11): 25€

- Additional tickets for Family of 4 (maximum of 2): Adult (10€) and Under-23 (5€)

- Members with a Gamebox can make use of this promotion (replacing their normal seats)

- Category B Members can only purchase this product for North Goal End - Stand B

ANTI-CRISIS TICKET

- Sector A9 + A11 (limited to 723 seats) special price of 5€

- Exclusive for Members with fees up to date

Jorge Jesus on his side's showing in Paços de Ferreira

Speaking with the press at the final whistle on Saturday night, Jorge Jesus highlighted the quality of his side's performance in securing an expectedly tough three points.

“The match was as we expected it to be. We thought it would be hard and it was. We only came away winners tonight because we played really well against a well disciplined team. We were winning at half-time and I thought we really started to dominate in the last fifteen minutes of the first-half. In the second-half we tried to do pretty much the same thing and we scored a second. Paços pulled one back, but we responded and steadied the ship. You only win here if you play quality football", said Jesus, adding that he was unaware of Benfica's result at kick off: "I didn't know and I didn't want to know. When I go to play all I think about is my team. That is what we all did and we don't take decisions based on what our rivals are doing."

The Sporting boss went on to highlight the performances of the in-form Slimani, Adrien and João Mário: "Slimani had a good game and he is coming along really well in terms of individual technical quality. I have worked a lot with him individually and he believes in himself. He is a great character to work with. He always believes we can win and he really has a champion's mentality. As for Adrien, I took him off because he was holding his thigh a bit, but it looks like it was just a knock. He hardly trained at all this week, but I used him and he carried the team forward in the first-half. He is having a great season. João Mário has adapted really well to oru playing style. He isn't a player who covers a lot of ground, but he plays like Bryan Ruiz and that allows us to use two players who can defend and attack really well. That gives a lot of freedom to players around him and makes it hard to mark us up."

Jorge Jesus includes 19 for Liga NOS matchday 19

Jorge Jesus has included a total fo 19 players in his squad for the trip to Paços de Ferreira, on Liga NOS matchday 19.

Squad list in full:

Goalkeepers: Rui Patrício and Marcelo Boeck

Defenders: João Pereira, Ricardo Esgaio, Schelotto, Paulo Oliveira, Ewerton, Naldo and Jefferson

Midfielders: William Carvalho, Adrien, Aquilani, João Mário and Bruno César

Forwards: Gelson Martins, Bryan Ruiz, Fredy Montero, Teo Gutiérrez and Slimani

P. Ferreira-Sporting CP will kick off at 20h45 on Saturday, in Estádio Capital do Móvel, Paços de Ferreira.

Jorge Jesus on his side's current form head of visit to Paços de Ferreira

Jorge Jesus sat down with the press this Friday afternoon to share his thoughts in the build up to Liga NOS matchday 19, which will see Sporting travel to Paços de Ferreira.

“Playing in Mata Real is never easy, it is always complicated here. We will be facing a good team who are set up well and who are having a good season. We are in first and we want to defend that. We are starting the second half of the season now and we want to win. We are capable of doing that, but we have to be humble about it and recognise that Paços are a good team", opened the Sporting coach, before revealing that while Gelson Martins and Adrien did not train during the week, they could still feature.

“We are in first and our two main rivals are behind us, one by five points and the other by two. We don't know how the second half of the season will go, but we know that we only few two and lost one in the first half. We won 86% of the points that we could have", added Jesus, before answering to a question about his team having conceded the least number of goals in the league: "It is a safety net for us and I hope that carries on. We have confidence in our defence and the numbers show that we are on the right track. The whole team is responsible for defending and we have been organising ourselves well."

The Alvalade boss went on to speak about William's current form, as well as the January transfer market: "William was out for three months. He is looking to find his way and we are happy with what he has been doing. Maybe he hasn't shown what he is capable of yet, but he helps out in defence as well. This is a tough time for a lot of teams, Sporting included, because players are moving around. However we are used to being connected with a lot of players. Some names are being brought up that everybody knows we don't have the capacity to bring in. We know who we want and we already have them."

P. Ferreira-Sporting will get underway at 20h45 on Saturday, in Estádio Capital do Móvel, Paços de Ferreira.

Algerian with 27.96% of votes cast

Islam Slimani has been named as Liga NOS player of the month in voting by the league's coaches and users of Samsung's 'Partilhamos Futebol' website.

The Algerian forward tallied 27.96% of the vote for December, ahead of Adrien with 13.86%.