Os Leões beat FC Porto 2-1 with two late Cabral goals

Sporting Clube de Portugal football team claimed a 2-1 win against FC Porto to secure a place in the Taça da Liga final, coming back from behind thanks to two Jovane Cabral goals in the closing minutes.

Coach Rúben Amorim made several changes to his starting XI for ‘O Clássico’, bringing in Zouhair Feddal, Gonçalo Inácio and Vitorino Antunes in place of Cristián Borja, Eduardo Quaresma and Gonzalo Plata. The strategy remained focused on a hard press and trying to establish their game in the offensive areas of the midfield, but initially FC Porto had the better of possession.

Pedro Gonçalves tried his luck from a direct free kick, saved by Diogo Costa, but the opening warning shot was provided by Marko Grujic, who struck just wide of Antonio Adán’s goal.

In the 16th minute it was Zaidu's turn to shoot off target, but soon after Tiago Tomás came close to setting up Nuno Santos in a dangerous position, without success.

Following a shot over the top by Corona on 20 minutes, Sporting CP got more into the game. Close to the end of the first half, Gonçalves and Santos were near to breaking the deadlock, but were not able to finish their chances. FC Porto hit the post through Marega, but the first period concluded goalless.

When the teams came back out onto the pitch, Gonçalves hit an effort from distance and Antunes had a shot deflect out off a defender, as Sporting CP stated their intentions early. Counterattacks allowed Gonçalves to play to Santos, who in turn forced a save from Diogo Costa.

Amorim made his first substitutions, bringing on Matheus Nunes in place of João Mário.

Os Leões were very close to an opener, when Nuno Santos was faster than Costa and sent the ball towards the net, only denied by Felipe Anderson on the line.

The introduction of Jovane Cabral - replacing Tiago Tomás - would eventually prove to be a masterstroke, but before his goal heroics Sporting CP found themselves behind. FC Porto made it 0-1 through a curling strike from Marega that swerved awkwardly away from Adán.

Sporting CP immediately introduced Gonzalo Plata and Daniel Bragança, withdrawing Antunes and João Palhinha.

With the final whistle approaching, the team were in need of a goal, and it came in the 86th minute. After a direct free kick, the ball fell to Jovane Cabral, who levelled from outside the area with a superb hit.

The game appeared to be headed to a penalty shootout, but Sporting CP continued to believe that it was possible to complete the turnaround in regular time. That conviction proved to be correct, to the delight of Os Leões: On 94 minutes, Sebastián Coates sent the ball to Pedro Gonçalves, and he found Jovane Cabral with space on the left. The winger, one-on-one with Diogo Costa, kept his cool and slotted home the winning goal, as the players and bench celebrated wildly.

After their momentous win, Sporting CP will face the winner of SC Braga vs. SL Benfica in the final on Saturday.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GR], Pedro Porro, Gonçalo Inácio, Sebastián Coates [C], Zouhair Feddal, Vitorino Antunes (Gonzalo Plata, 85 '), João Palhinha (Daniel Bragança, 85'), João Mário (Matheus Nunes, 69 '), Pedro Gonçalves, Nuno Santos and Tiago Tomás (Jovane Cabral, 77').

Sporting CP coach previews Taça da Liga 'Clássico'

A 'Clássico' between Sporting CP and FC Porto takes place this Tuesday in the semifinals of the Taça da Liga, kicking off at 7:45pm local time at the Estádio Municipal de Leiria. Coach Rúben Amorim addressed the media before the Final Four of the competition got underway, stating that his team are ready for the challenge ahead.

"The last two games saw two results that we were not used to. The team are very committed and focused in training. I haven’t seen the same joy from them, which is a good sign, but the team continue to believe in the process and are confident. They are ready for the next game, which is important because it is the semi-final of the Taça da Liga," he told journalists at the Auditório Artur Agostinho.

"In terms of experience and maturity, at this moment in time we are clearly behind FC Porto, but youth can compensate in other aspects," he stated. "We have a confident team despite the last two results, and we are in first place in the league, so the players are ready for this game."

Asked about positive COVID-19 cases in the FC Porto team, Amorim insisted that the opposition will be as strong as ever.

"We had cases just last week. The clubs are prepared for this. FC Porto will always field a great team, with a lot of experience and international players. Only those who don’t know the coach, the players and the club would think that it will be easier because one player or the other isn't available", he said.

"They will be a great side. The players already know each other. Sérgio Oliveira has a lot of influence in the game, but reducing FC Porto to Sérgio Olvieira would be a mistake. I expect a strong and aggressive team, strong in space and between the lines, with Corona creating problems in that regard. Uribe will be pushing to get into the area and the wingers will be attacking. Pepe must have played more Champions League finals than Inácio has games as a starter in the Primeira Liga. We will have to suffer, play hard and try to win the game. It is very important to face a game with FC Porto with the maximum aggressiveness."

Amorim continued by saying that "We want to bring the Taça da Liga back to Alvalade. The group needs these games to understand that the DNA of Sporting CP is about winning trophies. I want to win a trophy as a coach of Sporting CP, as do the players."

Before the press conference, João Pedro Araújo, director of the Sporting CP medical department, explained to journalists that Andraž Šporar and Nuno Mendes’ positive Covid-19 tests had in fact been false positives.

"Both tested positive for COVID-19 last Wednesday, January 13th, through a PCR test. Sporting CP have always complied -and will always strictly comply- with the protocol plans, having implemented measures such as daily internal screening," he said.

"Two more PCR tests were performed in two other different laboratories: One on Friday 15th, and the other on Saturday 16th. Both results were negative, so it can be concluded that the results that preceded the match against Rio Ave FC were false positives."

"The Sporting CP medical department wish to make it very clear that we recognise the immense value of these tests in combating the pandemic. The probability that the test is positive and the person is not infected is less than 1%. It is quite rare."

"It is with regret that we registered this error because, as everyone knows, it was a mistake that meant the coaching staff missed two members of the squad for the match against Rio Ave FC. Finally, I thank the health authorities and the laboratories for their collaboration and quick response, and hope that the players will be available for tomorrow's game," stated the doctor.

'O Clássico' starts the Final Four stage of the competition

Sporting Clube de Portugal will face FC Porto in the semifinals of the Taça da Liga on January 19th, 2021, as the competition hits the Final Four stage.

The draw took place this Monday at the Liga Portugal headquarters in Porto. Rúben Amorim's side will take on FC Porto for the second time this season, after their previous meeting in the 2-2 Liga NOS stalemate at the Estádio José Alvalade. The other semifinal, between SC Braga and SL Benfica, takes place on January 20th, with the final on the 23rd.

Sporting CP and FC Porto have played one another in the Taça da Liga on four occasions; Os Leões winning 4-1 back in 2008/09, with the other three games ending in draws (Sporting CP triumphing on penalties). They were the two finalists in the 2018/19 edition of the competition, won by Sporting CP.

Reacting to the announcement, club representative Manuel Fernandes said that "The expectations are always the same. The four best teams in the country are playing in the competition, so it would be similarly hard whether we drew FC Porto, SL Benfica or SC Braga. Sporting CP have expectations for this cup and will try, with dignity , to overcome the brilliant team FC Porto have. That is our objective." 

The Final Four of the 2020/2021 Taça da Liga will take place at the Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa Stadium in Leiria.

The Sporting CP coach was pleased by the cup performance by his side

Rúben Amorim reviewed the 2-0 win over CD Mafra in the Taça da Liga in his post-match press conference, praising the performance of some of the less frequently used members of his squad.

"I made life difficult for them, but they responded very well. Some did better than the others, but they all gave everything they had", he told the media.

"Everyone had positive points and should be congratulated, and in the future they will do even better," said the coach, emphasising that he was "satisfied with the result and the performance". "We played with some Junior players, and that comes with a price, but it's our idea. That means that the blame for the goalless first half is on the coach."

"The players weren't affected by the pressure; it's just a normal thing that happens when a lot of players who don't usually play together are in the same lineup. They have been training together and I thought they were prepared to play in a cup tie. The others played on Friday, and did very well, so I understood that it was time for them to get into the game and they gave an excellent response."

Amorim made clear that Sporting CP has "every possibility to win both cups". "We are ready to beat any team. In the league, we are taking things game-by-game", he said.