The revamped cup competition features the team in Group B

Sporting Clube de Portugal join the Taça da Liga in the group stage of the competition, and this Thursday their opponents were revealed.

Os Leões, winners of the competition in 2020/2021, are included in Group B together with FC Famalicão and FC Penafiel.

Sporting CP were exempt from the First Round, and will host FC Famalicão on the provisional date of October 27th. They will then meet FC Penafiel on December 15th.

The group winner goes into the final four of the Taça da Liga, which is scheduled for January 25th and 26th (semifinals) and January 29th (final), in Leiria.

The Sporting CP coach reviews the 1-1 draw with FC Famalicão

Rúben Amorim reflected on Sporting CP's 1-1 draw with FC Famalicão (1-1) in his post-match press conference, lamenting that his side “did not manage to impose our game."

“FC Famalicão dropped back a lot and took some depth away from us, whilst we put the ball where they wanted it and where we shouldn't have. We played a lot of balls inside and they made transitions there. The fact that the block was lower and we were making passes inside, without the defense being too high, meant that there was space between the lines that created a lot of problems for us, but the defensive problems came more from the offensive side, when we had the ball. Even so, we had opportunities, and FC Famalicão also had transitions. Obviously we believed we could win until the end, but it wasn't to be. Now it's about moving forward,” the coach began by saying.

After praising Antonio Adán, whom he said “had a great performance,” Amorim also spoke about João Palhinha and the yellow card that the midfielder saw in the 14th minute: “This always affects Palhinha a lot, and he then has to be careful because he picks up yellows easily, but nevertheless he had a good game."
The Sporting CP boss also took responsibility for the draw.

“When the whole team doesn't understand where we have to attack, it's the coach's fault and not so much the players' fault. Maybe they didn't get the information in the best way, but, even so, we were the team that always had the most of the ball. Then, with our transitions, when we don't make good decisions we make things more complicated."

“In football, everything changes very quickly. Now we have the international break, and when we return we will be very motivated for the game against FC Porto. It's a very long season. We have to look on the bright side: Last year we also drew here and, therefore, we are on the right path,” he concluded.

Sporting CP draw 1-1 away

Sporting Clube de Portugal were held to a 1-1 draw at home to FC Famalicão on Liga Portugal Matchday 4, dropping their first points of the season.

Rúben Amorim made three changes to his starting XI, fielding Antonio Adán, Gonçalo Inácio, Sebastián Coates, Zouhair Feddal, Ricardo Esgaio, Matheus Nunes, João Palhinha, Nunes Mendes, Pedro Gonçalves, Paulinho and Jovane Cabral.

With three victories to start the season, Sporting CP were looking for a fourth win against a side that they had yet to beat since FC Famalicão's return to the top flight.

A good opportunity to score presented itself after two minutes through Jovane Cabral, but he, Pedro Gonçalves and Paulinho were all thwarted in their early attempts. The first half also saw the home side enjoy chances, with Antonio Adán called into action twice.

The score remained 0-0 at halftime, and Amorim decided to make his first substitutions, bringing Nuno Santos and Pedro Porro on for Cabral and Ricardo Esgaio. They combined soon thereafter, the full-back crossing for the winger to shoot against the post.

Sporting CP found themselves chasing the game when, after Adán blocked a shot, Gonçalo Inácio tried to take the ball out of Ivo Rodrigues' reach and it ended up going in off Nuno Mendes, handing FC Famalicão the lead.

Amorim made further changes, with Matheus Nunes and Zouhair Feddal making way for Daniel Bragança and Tiago Tomás. The equaliser came ten minutes later, when following a corner, Gonçalo Inácio's ball found João Palhinha at the back post to score.

Sporting CP attempted to find a winner, but shots from Paulinho, Tiago Tomás and Pedro Gonçalves were kept out by goalkeeper Luiz Júnior, whilst Sebastián Coates saw a header deflected away.

Adán made a late save of his own from André Ricardo, as FC Famalicão and Sporting CP shared the points.

Following the international break, the team have a big game against FC Porto at the Estádio José Alvalade, with both teams level on points in the table.

A setback against FC Famalicão will not dampen Sporting CP's spirits, believes the coach

Rúben Amorim reacted to the 1-1 draw with FC Famalicão at the Estádio José Alvalade in his post-match press conference on Sunday night, analysing the performance by his side.

"We started the game playing very hastily. Then we settled down, created opportunities and scored our goal. We conceded the equaliser straight afterwards, which took some of the confidence out of the team", said the Sporting CP coach. "We finished the first half well, and in the second half we had several opportunities. We didn't score, however, and we were punished for that", he added.

Amorim would refuse to blame the draw on the officiating by referee Rui Costa and his assistants, despite several penalty appeals being waved away. "We could have won the game. We have a good league here and good things to talk about. We have a league full of artists. We know that and we have to give merit to the players", he remarked, although he admitted that he did not agree with the sending off he received after the final whistle. "It was the lineman who sent me off. I wasn't talking to the referee at the time", he said.

The season is heading into its final stages and Sporting CP remain in the driving seat, although he admits that "it will not be easy for anyone - either Sporting CP or other teams." "We focus on things game by game, and we don't think about the title. We are very confident. We played well against Moreirense FC and we should have won there. Today was more of the same: FC Famalicão had two shots. That's football."

"We have to think about SC Farense now. I have a lot of confidence in my players. Today we had a lot of shots and we didn't score from them. Last week we missed out on scoring by two centimetres. We are ok, we are confident and we knew that this was a possibility."

"This remains Sporting CP's best ever run of results, with a lot of young players in our squad."

Amorim was asked about Pedro Gonçalves' position in the game, and explained that 'Pote' "is a central midfielder," and thus his move from the wing to the middle of the park should not come as a surprise to anyone. "We thought that he would be more effective there and it is clearly his position. He doesn't score as many goals in that role, but he has more fun playing."

As for his decision to bring in Daniel Bragança, Matheus Reis and Eduardo Quaresma for João Palhinha, Zouhair Feddal and Luís Neto, respectively, the coach said: "When he is on a yellow card, it is sometimes not worth risking Palhinha, because he is a very aggressive player. His game came to an end with the first move, and he began to be more tentative. Feddal had a difficult week, and didn't train much, but he's a Lion. We wanted to bring in Matheus, who is faster. We also have to highlight [Eduardo] Quaresma, who is coming back from injury."

"We have a six-point advantage. If we win our next game, we will maintain our position. That is the focus," stated the Sporting CP boss. "We are paying the price in a way for the success we had before, and we have to put that in perspective. Sporting CP are a big club fighting for trophies, but we know where we started out from and where we want to go. We want to win against SC Farense."

Sporting CP are held by FC Famalicão at the Estádio José Alvalade

Sporting Clube de Portugal were held to a 1-1 draw by FC Famalicão on matchday 26 of the Liga NOS season, in a game in which attacking dominance and complete control of possession went unrewarded for Rubén Amorim's side. Pedro Gonçalves scored the opening goal, but Os Leões were forced to settle for a point at the Estádio José Alvalade.

Two changes were made to the starting lineup that had featured against Moreirense FC, with Luís Neto and Tiago Tomás coming in for the injured Gonçalo Inácio and for Daniel Bragança (used as a substitute), respectively. João Mário began on the left of the attack, with Gonçalves in midfield.

Up against the side 14th in the league, Sporting CP began in insistent fashion, playing with a high line and pushing hard to prevent FC Famalicão from moving the ball out from the back. On 13 minutes, João Mário and Nuno Mendes both had shots blocked by the opposition, and the latter would send in a cross that Tiago Tomás headed wide shortly after. At the other end, a rare chance for the visitors went just off target, but offside had already been called.

An excellent move by Sporting CP began with Sebastián Coates, received a skilful touch by Tiago Tomás and ended with Pedro Gonçalves striking wide off a defender, and off the following corner goalkeeper Luiz Júnior grabbed João Mário's dangerous cross.

Whilst the chances kept on coming, it was not until 20 minutes before the break that Sporting CP would break the deadlock. Pedro Gonçalves stole the ball high up the pitch, releasing for Paulinho. The striker, all calm and class, brought Luiz Júnior across and returned the pass to Gonçalves, who finished into an empty net and went back to the Liga NOS top goalscorer chart with 16 goals.

The advantage, however, was short-lived. In the 27th minute, Rúben Vinagre advanced down the left wing, delivering a pass to Iván Jaime that was played on for Anderson Oliveira to beat Antonio Adán for the equaliser. Although Sporting CP had been the only side threatening the opposition goal, FC Famalicão pulled level with their only shot of the first half.

Efforts for Pedro Porro and Tiago Tomás before the break were all kept out by the visitors, and the contest went into halftime with the score level at 1-1.

Rúben Amorim made two substitutions at the interval, introducing Matheus Reis and Daniel Bragança for Zouhair Feddal and João Palhinha.

The second half got underway with Sporting CP driving upfield frequently. João Mário struck a powerful effort over the top, and also sent in a corner that Coates headed towards goal. When that attack was saved by the goalkeeper, Coates found Tomás off the rebound, but he squandered the chance.

Luiz Júnior was by far the busier of the two goalkeepers, and had to face further attempts on goal from Tomás and Luis Neto. Adán was limited to keeping out Iván Jaime's chance with an improvised save using his head.

The final changes came 15 minutes from the end, when Luís Neto and Tiago Tomás made way for Eduardo Quaresma and Nuno Santos.

Coates, Bragança and Jovane Cabral all had close chances in the final moments of the game, taking Sporting CP up to 15 shots to FC Famalicão's 2, but the score remained unchanged. A 1-1 result earned another point for the league leaders, who will look to return to winning ways against SC Farense.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GK], Luís Neto (Eduardo Quaresma, 76'), Sebastián Coates [C], Zouhair Feddal (Matheus Reis, 45'), Pedro Porro, Pedro Gonçalves, João Palhinha (Daniel Bragança, 45'), Nuno Mendes, Tiago Tomás (Nuno Santos, 76'), João Mário (Jovane Cabral, 62') and Paulinho.

The coach feels his side can return to winning ways against FC Famalicão

Sporting Clube de Portugal host FC Famalicão on Sunday, on Matchday 26th of the Liga NOS season. Ahead of the game at the Estádio José Alvalade (8pm local time), coach Rúben Amorim gave a press conference in which he commented on the opposition's positive recent form.

"We are starting to get used to welcoming teams in good form. They have been getting good results and having good performances. The coach has had a great impact on the team. They have young players of great quality who just came out of a bad run, and they have built up a lot of confidence. It is up to us to make the game more to our way of playing. We are at home and we want and need to win -which is what we will try to do", he told journalists at the Artur Agostinho Auditorium.

Regarding the possible pressure that comes with playing after Sporting CP's direct title rivals, Amorim played down any concern.

"The important thing, for me, is to play. It doesn't matter whether it is after or before the other teams. With this game, we can reach the important milestone of the club's longest unbeaten streak. We want to win the game. We are having an excellent season and we are still improving. Whether you agree or not, my understanding is that the team are improving. Now we have to win again. Our fate is in our own hands, and that is our focus", he said.

For the coach, Sporting CP have been doing very well in several phases of play, but need to get better at creating opportunities on goal.

"The players are very strict in everything they do. We are a young team and we may not be as sharp as we were before, but the opposing teams have had almost no chances against us. At the beginning of the season, the other teams used to give us more space at the back -and we used that space a lot. Now we don’t have it. Now we control the games very well. We need to improve our creation of opportunities, but the control of the game is there. We dominate the games, and the rest will come with time", continued the coach, who talked about his squad selection for Sunday.

"Nuno Mendes, who was injured in the last match at Moreirense FC, is ready and is part of the squad. Gonçalo Inácio and Bruno Tabata took a couple of knocks and will not be available for the game, but will be back next week."

As for the role of title favourites, Amorim closed by saying that "Sporting CP's squad must keep calm. The responsibility lies with the coach. Sporting CP are doing things the way they need to be. Thus is a very big club, taking its project forward. We have to win our games and we don’t have to worry about anything else", he explained.

The team takes on their ninth league game of the season this weekend

Sporting CP look to keep their unbeaten league run going with another victory this weekend, as they take on Famalicão on Saturday night at 6pm local time. Rúben Amorim's side come into the game top of the Liga NOS table, their only dropped points so far having come in the 2-2 home draw against FC Porto back in October.

CURRENT FORM
Last time out, Sporting CP beat Moreirense 2-1 at the Estádio José Alvalade, recovering from an early own goal as the league’s top scorer Pedro Gonçalves equalised and completed the turnaround with a brace.

Famalicão are currently 10th in the standings, with 9 points to their name, and enter the contest off the back of a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Paços de Ferreira on Matchday 8. The home side have had since last Friday to prepare for the visit of Os Leões.

LAST SEASON
Sporting CP were beaten by Famalicão in both of the fixtures played between them last season. The first, at the José Alvalade, began in promising fashion with a goal from Luciano Vietto on 25 minutes, but a second half goal from Rúben Lameiras leveled for the visitors and an unfortunate own goal by Sebastián Coates in the closing moments handed Famalicão the victory.

In the reverse clash, held back in March at the Estádio Municipal 22 de Junho, Coates provided the consolation goal in a 3-1 loss.

A RETURN FOR ‘POTE’
Pedro Gonçalves joined Sporting from Famalicão in the summer, after a season in which he played 33 league games and scored 5 goals for the club.

‘Pote’ is now the Liga NOS’ top marksman, with an astonishing record of 9 goals from 7 appearances so far this term. 

FAMALICÃO’S DEFENSIVE WOES
Gonçalves will be confident of his chances of scoring against his former club, as ‘Fama’ have conceded 16 goals from their opening eight matches in the Primeira Liga.