João de Deus looks ahead to Sunday's Ledman LigaPro encounter

Sporting CP B got a tight list of three consecutive fixtures off to a start against Freamunde during the week and Leixões are next up, kicking off at 16h00 at the Sporting Academy.

Coach João de Deus sat down with the press on Saturday to share his thoughts on the encounter: "We will look to play our kind of football. If we do that, we will be closer to getting the win. If we don't, then it will be a hard afternoon against a solid team who have a lot of pace. The lads are more used to playing together now and we know a lot more about what each player can bring to the squad.."

Sporting CP held to draw in Alvalade

Sporting CP were held to a draw this Saturday evening by Tonela (1-1), on Liga NOS matchday 8.

The game was in many ways a reflection of the midweek Champions League hosting of Borussia Dortmund, with Jorge Jesus's side struggling to get a foothold in the first-half against a team that looked happy to sap away time.

The usual suspect Gelson Martins looked the most likely to score in the early exchanges and actually hammered a shot against the post after just four minutes. The next opportunity was made to wait until the 21st minute, when a cross from Schelotto ended with a header high over the bar from Bas Dost. One minute before the break Schelotto carved out another chance, this time with Bryan Ruiz arriving just a second to late to convert.

With Bruno César introduced at the restart, there was a clear improvement from Sporting CP and chances soon began to follow. A goal looked likely, but it was Tondela who struck, when Jaílson put in a hopeful cross that ended up with Jhon Murillo for a simple finish (74').

With the fans feeling disgruntled with Tondela's far from deserved goal, Jesus introduced Campbell to the action four minutes later and the Costa Rican soon pulled a stop out of Cláudio with a header. Tondela dropped back in an effort to defend what would have been a precious three points and time wasting became the theme of the evening, with a touch of facilitation from referee Rui Costa. Five minutes into added time Campbell struck to avoid what would have been an extremely harsh defeat.

Jorge Jesus on Saturday's draw against Tondela

Jorge Jesus was far from sparing at the final whistle on Saturday when reflecting on the evening's refereeing, before dismissing a potential gap of five points between his side and Benfica.

“We had a tough match and we came into it on the back of a very intense week. We lacked pace and our dynamic in attack in the first-half and Tondela did well in defence. In the second-half we started putting the pressure on and created a lot of chances. We reacted well despite some tired legs, but that is no excuse. There were a lot of interruptions and Tondela did what they had to do, while the referee let them. Obviously we would prefer to have the same amount of points as Benfica or to be ahead of them, but we are fighting to close the difference. It could be five points, but there is still a lot of football to play", said Jesus.

Bruno César reflects on Saturday's Liga NOS draw

"We did everything we could, but Tondela closed ranks", said Bruno César after his side's draw in Saturday evening.

For the Brazilian, there is still plenty of time to close the gap on the league leaders: "In the first-half we didn't play like we have been. In the second-half we took control, but we let a goal in from a counter attack and then they just kept stopping play like Borussia Dortmund did. We just have to focus on our football now."

Jorge Jesus on Liga NOS matchday 8

The opposition might be different, but Jorge Jesus has the same idea: three points.

"The players are only thinking about getting the win. We had an experience against Tondela last year which didn't go well for us. They are the image of their coach [Petit], meaning they are aggressive", opened Jesus ahead of the weekend's Liga NOS encounter, going on to answer a question his recent changes out wide in defence: "We are learning and that isn't something that happens in a couple of months. If being the most consistent team is what is needed to win the league, then we want to be more consistent."

Bas Dost looks ahead to the weekend's hosting of Tondela

Bas Dost was picked to accompany Jorge Jesus in looking ahead to the weekend's hosting of Tondela this Friday. While analysing the game, the Dutchman also couldn't turn down the chance to share his thoughts on refereeing: "We are expecting a win. We are playing really good football and with the exception of the match in Guimarães we have been doing well. I scored against Sweden in the last minute, but the referee said I had pushed a defender, which didn't happen. The game thing happened in the Champions League with Coates's goal, which also wasn't a foul. In the Santiago Bernabéu, with Ronaldo's goal, that wasn't a foul either. This is nothing to do with Portuguese football of course, because that all happened in the Champions League and with the Dutch national team."

Also sharing his thoughts on his time in Portugal so far, Bas Dost has already fell in love with Alvalade: "I am learning Portuguese, but it will take a while until I am comfortable. I love the people, the stadium and the weather. I was playing for Wolfsburg, who would get around 30,000 people in the stadium. In Alvalade we always have between 40 and 45 thousand. The fans sing for the whole match and we want to pay them back with goals."

Beto guarantees that Tuesday's loss is a thing of the past

The Sporting squad have well and truly put Tuesday's defeat to Dormund behind them and Beto is convinced that Saturday's hosting of Tondela is the perfect way to brush off the dust.

"It will be a hard game like they all are and Tondela will try and play to their strengths, but we will be playing at home again with the fans motivating us. We are confident that we will get the three points", said Beto in an interview with Sporting TV, adding: "The squad is feeling really together right now. We have a good group and we will push through the highs and the lows. We want to trigger a good run of wins now."

Portugal to hold training camp in Rio Maior

Sporting CP will provide a massive 8 players for the national under-19 squad's coming training camp, from the 24th to the 26th of October in Rio Maior.

The 8 are: Abdu Conte, Bruno Paz, Gonçalo Vieira, Luis Maximiano, Miguel Luis, Pedro Ferreira, Pedro Marques and Rafael Leão.

Estádio José Alvalade on the verge of yet another mega crowd

Sporting is set to fill Alvalade with over 40,000 fans for the 12th consecutive official match this weekend, with the hosting of Tondela. The average crowd over the last 11 matches was 44,868 which is 90% of full capacity.

2015/2016 SEASON

SL Benfica | 49,699 spectators

Arouca | 46,014 spectators

Marítimo | 44,230 spectators

União da Madeira | 44,719 spectators

Vitória de Setúbal | 43,827 spectators

2016/2017 SEASON

Marítimo | 42,577 spectators

FC Porto | 49,399 spectators

Moreirense | 44,393 spectators

Estoril Praia | 41,994 spectators

Legia Varsóvia | 40,094 spectators

Borussia Dortmund | 46,609 spectators

The average crowd for Liga NOS encounter this season has been 44,591 so far, making Alvalade the most packed stadium in Portugal:

SPORTING CP | average crowd of 89.09% of capacity

SL BENFICA | average crowd of 86.20% of capacity

FC PORTO | average crowd of 71.64% of capacity

Sporting CP B claim three points on the road with last minute strike

Sporting CP B claimed a battling win against Freamunde (3-2) this week, on Ledman LigaPro matchday 11. It was the hosts who opened the scoring, courtesy of a 19th minute strike from Leandro Pimenta, before Pedro Delgado (27') and Bilel (33') put Sporting into the lead. Just before the break, Rui Rainho levelled.

João de Deus's side showed a real patience after half-time and finally snatched the victory with just one minute of regulation time remaining.