Penalty given by Rui Oliveira ends Sporting CP's CTT Cup campaign

Sporting CP missed out to Vitória de Setúbal (2-1) this Wednesday, in a match which saw referee Rui Oliveira attract the limelight for the wrong reasons, gifting a penalty with seconds left on the clock. Television replays show that the fault in the 18-yard box indicated by the referee was non-existent, but the decision stood all the same, eliminating Sporting CP from CTT Cup Group A.

Jorge Jesus' faced an uphill battle for the duration, after Frederico Venâncio opened the scoring for the hosts in the 19th minute. It wasn't until the second-half that the team from Alvalade pulled level, with a 79th minute strike from Elias. However it was the last-minute penalty that eventually decided it.

Jorge Jesus announces squad for CTT Cup matchday 3

Jorge Jesus has announced his squad list for Wednesday night's visit to Estádio do Bonfim, to take on V. Setúbal on CTT Cup Group A matchday 3:

26-Azbe Jug
34-Beto
3-Markovic
4-Jefferson
7-Campbell
10-Bryan Ruiz
11-Bruno César
13-Coates
14-William Carvalho
15-Paulo Oliveira
16-André Felipe
19-Douglas
20-Castaignos
22-Elias
23-Adrien
28-Bas Dost
47-Ricardo Esgaio
77-Gelson Martins

Jorge Jesus on Wednesday's CTT Cup showdown with Setúbal

Speaking with the press before Wednesday's final CTT Cup Group A encounter, Jorge Jesus relayed his confidence in securing the result needed to get into the semi-finals.

"We need the result to get into the final four and well all know that. We have two wins and we need another result on the way to the final, which is what we have been working on in training. We are feeling confident and the lads have been responding well during the week. It will be a hard game, but we feel we will get over this hurdle", affirmed the Sporting coach, adding: "Vitória de Setúbal also have a chance of qualifying, although it depends on the other match, but we have everything we need to get a good result. This is an important phase for us and we are battling on all fronts, but that is exactly where we want to be."

Squad list for CTT Cup Group A matchday 2

Jorge Jesus has announced his squad for CTT Cup Group A matchday 2, getting underway at 21h15 on Friday the 30th of December:

26 – Azbe Jug
34 – Beto Pimparel

3 – Lazar Markovic
4 – Jefferson Moreira
7 – Joel Campbell
10 – Bryan Ruiz
11 – Bruno César
13 – Sebastian Coates
14 – William Carvalho
15 – Paulo Oliveira
16 – André Felipe
19 – Douglas Teixeira
20 – Luc Castaignos
22 – Elias Trindade
23 – Adrien Silva
28 – Bas Dost
47 – Ricardo Esgaio
77 – Gelson Martins

Jorge Jesus looks ahead to Friday's CTT Cup encounter

Tickets offered to Gamebox holders for CTT matchday 2

Friday (30th of December) will see Sporting host Varzim on CTT Cup matchday 2.

2016 was the new Estádio José Alvalade's best year, with an average of 43,281 fans attending 19 Liga NOS matches. A fantastic 87% of capacity!

The year will also be remembered for some other fantastic achievements:

OLYMPIC ATHLETES | Biggest ever participation, with 32 athletes in 9 sports in Rio de Janeiro

CLUB MEMBERS |more than 152,000, which is in the world top 5

SPECTATORS FOR A SINGLE MATCH | 50,046 for Real Madrid CF (new stadium record)

TRANSFERS | Sales of João Mário to Inter Milan for 45M€ (5M€ in objectives)

To thank the fans, especially those who bring life to Alvalade and are Gamebox holders, we are offering tickets for CTT Cup matchday 2 to Gamebox holders. All you need to do is collect your invitation from the club's official website or ticket offices. Tickets are also available for Club Members from 6€ and from 9€ for fans.

. Only Stand A will be open
. Children under the age of 3 are prohibited
. Children over the age of 3 (inclusive) require a ticket)
. Member Fee applicable: November 2016
. Gates open: 19h45

Estádio José Alvalade ticket offices will be open from 10h to 20h.

League Cup Group A matchday 2 tickets on sale

Tickets for League Cup Group A matchday 2, which will see Sporting CP host Varzim in the last match in Estádio José Alvalade in 2016, will be on sale from the 26th to the 29th of December from 10h00 to 20h00.

Tickets will also be available on matchday (30th of December) from 10h00 until half-time.

Kick-off is scheduled for 21h15 on Friday the 30th of December and this match is not included in Gamebox packages.

Tickers start from 3€ for Club Members with a Gamebox, 6€ for Club Members and 9€ for fans.

Jorge Jesus pleased with the three points from his must changed side

Jorge Jesus proved happy with his side's 1-0 CTT Cup win against Arouca this Wednesday night, in a match which saw the Alvalade coach ring the changes.

"Every player in the squad is important and that is why we made the decision to give the lads a run out tonight. We achieved our objectives for this match and it was a really positive night for us. The intensity dropped off in the last 15 minutes and you could see that both sides were tired. We could have done better collectively at times, but that is part if the growth of any squad", opened the Sporting CP coach, adding a further analysis on his rotation: "When you have a squad of 25 players and you are in various competitions, you have to give the everyone a chance or risk losing motivation. We have never won the League Cup and honestly this competition should have a Europa League place for the winner, which would make it more competative."

Speaking about the apparently injury to Luc Castaignos, Jesus prefers to wait for the results of scans before commenting: "It was a shock with the goalkeeper and he hit his knee. Frederico Varandas, who is a great doctor, will look at him tomorrow. Castaignos looked like he was trying to avoid contact a bit an unfortunately and it resulted in not scoring and getting injured."

Jesus announces squad for CTT Cup matchday 1

Jorge Jesus has announced his squad list for CTT Cup matchday 1, which will see Sporting CP host Arouca in Alvalade at 18h15 on Wednesday.

Squad list in full:

34 – Beto Pimparel
26 – Azbe Jug

3 – Lazar Markovic
4 – Jefferson
7 – Joel Campbell
8 – Petrovic
11 – Bruno César
13 – Sebastian Coates
15 – Paulo Oliveira
16 – André Felipe
19 – Douglas Teixeira
20 – Luc Castaignos
21 – João Pereira
22 – Elias Trindade
25 – Marcelo Meli
47 – Ricardo Esgaio
73 – Matheus Pereira
99 – Alan Ruiz

Jorge Jesus looking to set the pace in CTT Cup opener

Three games stand in between Sporting CP and a place in the CTT Cup knock-out stages. In Jorge Jesus' way are Varzim, Arouca and V. Setúbal and the Alvalade coach is looking to start off on the right foot this week against Lito Vidigal's team.