The coach is ready for a tactical encounter on Liga NOS Matchday 11

Sporting Clube de Portugal head to the Estádio Nacional in Oeiras this Sunday, to face Belenenses SAD, on Matchday 11 of the Liga NOS season. In his pre-match press conference ahead of the game, coach Rúben Amorim indicated that his side maintain the same focus as always for the contest.

"It was a normal week, with a little bit later of a start than usual due to the date. It has been such an atypical year that nothing ever changes our thinking," he told the media on Boxing Day.

"What we always want is to win our games and play well. We won our last match, against SC Farense; we didn't have the best game, but we did more than enough to win. We learned from it. That reinforced the idea that all games are difficult and that we are taking things game by game."

As for Belenenses SAD, Amorim says that the similarities between the two sides make it a tactical encounter.

"They are a team who concede few goals. They don't score as many as we do, but they will be prepared for a Sporting CP team that is strong. We play similar systems and know their formation well."

Regarding the continued objectives for 2020/2021, Amorim underlined the idea he has had since the beginning of the season.

"What Sporting CP fans expect is that the team behave in the same way as they have been, which is giving their all. What I can promise is that we will do our best in every game and that the goal is to win them all. The game against SC Farense was proof that we have to think game by game. The players have little experience and all of our games are difficult. We want to beat Belenenses SAD and, if we do, we will remain in first place," added the coach.

"As for our tactics: The formation  always looks the same, but our way of playing changes. We change players here and there, and the way of playing changes completely as a result. Plata is playing in the same position as Pedro Porro and playing with one or the other is completely different for the opposition. The base has worked, but there are teams who defend very well and with many players. We won our last game due to belief and attitude."

There have been concerns about the potential risk of contagion with COVID-19 over Christmas in Portugal, but Amorim guaranteed that all necessary preventive work was carried out by the club.

"We have been very careful with the players. We alerted the players of the danger and the club did an excellent job. We prepared everything very well, but of course there are things that we cannot control. We had an outbreak here a few months ago. I was the only one on the coaching staff that caught it. The players know the rules and I think that, like all Portuguese people, they took extra care. I hope it is not necessary, but the club are prepared to contain any situation."

Belenenses SAD vs. Sporting CP is scheduled for 8pm local time on Sunday, December 27th, at the Estádio Nacional. Zouhair Feddal will be out of the match due to a knock, as will Jovane Cabral and Luiz Phellype as they recover from injury.

Sporting CP triumph 3-0 at home to progress to Last 16

Sporting Clube de Portugal booked their place in the Last 16 of the Taça de Portugal on Friday night, beating FC Paços de Ferreira 3-0 at home through goals from Tiago Tomás, Bruno Tabata and João Palhinha.

Without Jovane Cabral through injury and Pedro Gonçalves through suspension, coach Rúben Amorim - also suspended for 15 days due to his sending off against FC Famalicão - opted to field Nuno Mendes in the starting lineup, as well as bringing in Bruno Tabata and Tiago Tomás.

Amidst light rain at the Estádio José Alvalade, the game started at a low pace, with several stoppages for fouls in the opening minutes. 

After two initial chances from Pedro Porro and then Sebastián Coates, the first goal of the match arrived on 26 minutes. Nuno Santos headed a masterful assist for Tiago Tomás to provide a precise finish past the Paços de Ferreira goalkeeper for his fourth goal of the season.

Despite a reaction from the visitors, who came close to equalising through João Amaral, Sporting CP continued to dominate, and extended their advantage just before half time. After threatening moments before, Bruno Tabata ducked into the central channel and delivered an arching shot that found its way into the net. The great goal was the first for the Brazilian in official appearances for the club.

After the break, the match became more intense and FC Paços de Ferreira came out more boldly, but it would be Sporting CP who would strike again, in the 64th minute. Following João Mário's free-kick, João Palhinha headed in to make things even more comfortable on the scoresheet.

Before the end there would be chances for Tomás and for substitute Gonzalo Plata, but at the final whistle the score remained 3-0, seeing Sporting CP through to the next round of the Taç de Portugal.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán, Luís Neto (Gonçalo Inácio, 85'), Sebastián Coates, Zouhair Feddal, Pedro Porro, João Palhinha, João Mário (Andraž Šporar, 72'), Nuno Mendes (Antunes, 68'), Bruno Tabata ( Matheus Nunes, 72'), Nuno Santos and Tiago Tomás (Gonzalo Plata, 85')

Sporting CP claim a 1-7 Taça de Portugal Third Round win

A 1-7 victory over SG Sacavanense at the Estádio Nacional opened Sporting CP’s Taça de Portugal campaign in style on Monday night. A halftime lead of 0-3 put the game firmly in their hands, and goals by Sebastián Coates (x2), Pedro Marques (x2), Nuno Santos, Jovane Cabral and Gonçalo Inácio made it an impressive showing in the third round.

Amidst rotations and the absence of Pedro Gonçalves through injury, Sporting CP gave first minutes of the season to Luís Maximiano and Cristián Borja, whilst Vitorino Antunes and Gonçalo Inácio made their starting debuts.

Just three minutes into a cold night, Jovane Cabral set up Nuno Santos to open the scoring -his fourth goal of the season.

Ten minutes later, the combination was repeated, as Cabral served another pass to Santos. This time around, the winger’s shot smashed against the post.

João Mário would also force a save from goalkeeper Tiago Mota, as Sporting CP looked for a second goal. In the 26th minute, they found it, with João Mário involved as he laid a free kick up for Santos. The resulting cross into the box was met by captain Sebastián Coates, who headed home.

Five minutes on, referee Hélder Malheiro awarded a penalty in favour of Sporting CP after Andraž Šporar was fouled, with Cabral chosen as taker. The young talent dispatched the spot kick for his third strike of the campaign.

A fourth goal before halftime would not count, as a Nuno Santos effort was disallowed for offside.

For the second half, Daniel Bragança was brought on to replace Antunes in the first change of the game.  From the get-go, Sporting CP were hungry to add to their lead, and got it early on: The first goal coming from another Coates header.

SG Sacavenense got what proved to be a consolation goal through Iaquinta, taking the score to 1-4, but there was no change in the dynamic of the contest. In the space of a few minutes, Cabral, Santos, João Mário and Bruno Tabata all enjoyed chances.

Whilst a host of further chances followed, another notable moment came with the introduction of João Palhinha, who had represented SG Sacavenense at youth level and was honoured before kickoff.

A final flurry saw another second half substitute, 22-year-old striker Pedro Marques, score his first two goals for the club -in only his second game, having debuted in 2018/19. The second was off an assist from Tabata’s cross, for which he was in the right place at the right time.

The last move of the night provided the final goal, as B team regular Gonçalo Inácio headed in a Tabata free kick.

With a 1-7 win to their name in the Third Round, Sporting CP move on in the Taça de Portugal. Next up for them is a Liga NOS game against Moreirense FC this weekend at the Estádio José Alvalade.

Sporting CP: Luís Maximiano [GR], Cristián Borja, Luís Neto, Sebastián Coates [C], Gonçalo Inácio, Vitorino Antunes (Daniel Bragança, 46'), Matheus Nunes, João Mário, Jovane Cabral (Bruno Tabata, 59'), Nuno Santos (João Palhinha, 72') and Andraž Šporar (Pedro Marques, 72').