Jorge Jesus praises his players' attitude

Jorge Jesus proved understandably happy with his side's fighting spirit in Monday's last-gasp 1-0 win over Belenenses this Monday night.

“We scored right at the end, but we had done more than enough to deserve it. We suffered, but that makes it taste that little bit sweeter", said the Alvalade boss in a flash interview at the final whistle, adding: "We played almost the entire match in the opposition half and they didn't cause us any problems. Rui Patrício didn't make a single save. In the second-half, tiredness and the substitutions brought a different dynamic, but we went looking for the win and we were rewarded with a clear penalty."

William highlights his team's battling spirit

William Carvalho netted a decisive penalty in Sporting's hard-earned win over Belenenses this Monday evening. Speaking with the press at the final whistle, the Alvalade midfielder highlighted his team's persistence.

“It was a hard game, because Belenenses defended well. When you play against eleven players who all pack into their own half it is tough, but we did well and Belenenses didn't have any chances", opened William, going on to comment on the penalty decision: "From what I saw, it looked like Tonel touched the ball with his hand."

While Sporting have tallied 29 from a possible 33 points so far this season, William was keen to keep his side's feet firmly on the ground. "There is still a lot of football to play and we just have to focus on ourselves. FC Porto and Benfica have great sides", added the stand-in skipper, before finishing on how his contract talks are progressing: "I have spoken with the president and I hope to see everything sorted as soon as possible. It will be easy."

Sporting battle to victory over Belenenses with a late penalty

Sporting battled to another three points this Monday night, beating Belenenses 1-0 on Liga NOS matchday 11. Jorge Jesus' side dominated from start to finish, but it took a penalty in added-time to finally define to the result.

Bouyed by a thunderous performance in the Europa Leauge in Moscow last Thursday and encouraged by an enthusiastic crowd, the team from Alvalade soon had Belenenses on the back foot. After just four minutes Montero picked out Bryan Ruiz high up the pitch for the Costa Rican to find a yard of space and put a ball across the edge of the box, but Adrien's shot was blocked by the visiting defence. Montero was again the instigator in the next move forward, this time finding Slimani, but the Algerian was beaten to the ball by the on rushing Hugo Ventura.

Belenenses could do little but bunker down under the Alvalade attacking display and on 18 minutes Montero came close to opening the scoring, when the Colombian broke away from his marker at the edge of the box to fire a shot towards goal that Hugo Ventura turned away with an outstretched save.

Although surely an emotional return to Alvalade for Ricardo Sá Pinto, the Sporting legend did a fine job of setting his team out defensively. While Jesus' side continued to move the ball around freely, a penetrating pass in the final third was lacking and it wasn't long before efforts from range began to gain a certain appeal. William Carvalho fired one over in the 36th minute, before Bryan Ruiz's genius saw the Alvalade forward ghost past various defenders and get a shot away that was turned for a corner by the Belenenses keeper.

The second-half got underway with another Sporting attempt on goal, this time with Slimani uncharacteristically missing the target with a header. The Alvalade stands were craving a goal, but neither Montero or Jonathan Silva were able to find the back of the net. With impatience starting to creep in, Hugo Ventura was finally shown a yellow card for taking an excessive amount of time to put the ball back into play.

Again Montero and Jonathan Silva created chances to take a lead, this time with the Argentinean picking out Montero with a spraying pass that the Colombian was unable to convert on .

Jesus introduced Gelson Martins and Matheus Pereira into the action and the game continued one-way, but a goal was proving near impossible to come by. Beneneses were completely unable to materialise any sort of danger for Rui Patrício's goal, but their well organised defensive style kept them in with a chance of some unlikely points as the clock ticked over. On 75 minutes Matheus Pereira burst into the box, but his shot ended up in the wrong side of the side netting.

On 82 minutes Belenenses had possibly their best chance of the ninety, when Luís Leal instigated a counter-attacking move, but the final product ended up wide of Rui Patrício's goal. Two minutes later the recently introduced Tanaka found Slimani, but the Algerian's header lacked power and was smothered by Hugo Ventura.

With dropped points looking all but inevitable, the evening's referee found time to show yellow to Slimani and see him suspended as a result from the next match. However, the best certainly was kept until last, when Tonel bafflingly cut out a ball with his hand to award Sporting a penalty that William Carvalho calmly slotted to seal the win.

Jorge Jesus' thoughts ahead of Sporting's hosting of Beleneness

Speaking ahead of Sporting's Monday night hosting of Belenenses, Jorge Jesus alerted to the danger of any Liga NOS encounter, with this week's fixture also having the extra emotion of being a Lisbon derby.

“Sporting-Belenenses is a derby, so it is never easy. Belenenses are a quality side with good payers and they are having a good start to the season, like us. We are ready for the problems they can cause us, especially with how they will probably set out in defence. We will have to be creative to break down their defence, which is normal when teams visit us. It really won't be that different to things we have already faced this season", commented the Alvalade boss, going on to speak about his time with the club so far.

“Six months? Well it has only been four months of competition. In terms of our performances, things have been happening quicker than we expected, but that is down to the players, their quality and their passion for Sporting. We are doing well, but we still haven't played a third of the season yet and the only thing we have won is the Super Cup. We have built a sense of pride for the fans and we want that to keep growing", said Jesus, before revealing that Naldo, Bruno Paulista and William have recovered and could be available tomorrow, while Schelotto “is still finding his physical and tactical form”.

With a tricky fixture also awaiting one of Sporting's direct rivals, Jesus proved keen to keep the focus on his own side's task: "We have to focus on our match. What matters is that we do better than our opposition, so we have to keep our focus and just worry about ourselves."

Sporting-Belenenses will kick off at 19h00 on Monday the 30th of November, in Estádio José Alvalade.

Artur Soares Dias named for Liga NOS matchday 11

Artur Soares Dias, 36, from the Porto Football Association, has been named to take charge of the Liga NOS matchday 11 encounter between Sporting and Belenenses.

Rui Licínio and Bruno Rodrigues will act as linesmen.

This will be the second time Soares Dias officiates over a Sporting match this season, following the matchday 6 draw against Boavista.

Sporting-Belenenses will kick-off at 19h00 on Monday the 30th of November, in Estádio José Alvalade.

João de Deus on his side's draw with Gil Vicente and the injury to Seejou King

The serious injury picked up by Seejou King unsurprisingly overshadowed João de Deus' post-match press conference on Saturday afternoon, after his side's draw with Gil Vicente.

"We aren't happy, especially because we have lost another player to a serious injury. Even if we had have won, it wouldn't be the same with what has happened", opened the Sporting B coach, adding: "In relation to the match, it was split between both teams. When they had a player sent off, Gil Vicente fell back and we dominated. However, we let in another goal from a deadball situation. We knew Gil Vicente are dangerous from that kind of thing and we didn't do well enough to stop them."

Speaking specifically on the injury to Seejou King, João de Deus said: "I don't think anything more has to be said. The way everyone is feeling right now is enough. It is a tough time for us all and we have to get through it. Something similar had already happened with Mauro Riquicho. We hope the two recover as quickly as possible and can start helping the team again."

Afternoon marked by serious injury for King

Sporting B were held to a 1-1 draw by Gil Vicente this Saturday in a match marked by a serious injury picked up by King just before half-time.

The encounter got off to a balanced start, with the ball largely bogged down in midfield. As a result, the first chance on goal didn't come until after quarter of an hour, when Rafael game close after taking advantage of a defensive slip. Five minutes later, Labyad pulled a fine save out of the home keeper, before Rafael Barbosa also saw another effort denied by the Gil Vicente shotstopper.

The afternoon looked to be heading for half-time incident free, before a tackle from Goba saw Seejou King come away with a serious injury and the Gil Vicente player sent off.

Sporting B tried to make the most of the extra man and on 58 minutes Ryan Gauld followed up on a rebound shot by Viola to open the scoring. However, the lead only lasted for seven minutes, as Djamal leveled for the hosts.

The result keeps Sporting B in second place with 29 points.

João de Deus on the weekend's trip to Barcelos

Sporting B will travel to Barcelos tomorrow to face Gil Vicente, on II Liga matchday 17. Speaking with the press in a pre-match press conference, João de Deus affirmed the encounter as a chance to put right last Wednesday's loss in Chaves.

“We will be looking to do what we tried to do in our last game: to win. That is always our intention, no matter who we play against. Unfortunately that didn't happen in Chaves. We were close, but an error cost us", opened the Sporting B coach, before looking more specifically at Gil Vicente: "Gil Vicente still haven't lost at home in the league, but we are ready. Quick counter-attacks have been our best weapon, but it isn't our only way of getting a teams. We want to dominate as much as possible and of course we know that we will do that more sometimes than other, but we are ready."

To finish, João de Deus congratulated Gelson Martins and Matheus for their performance with the senior squad in the Europa League on Thursday night: "With every game this season, more and more examples are coming out that help to motivate the lads and to show them that they are really close to reaching the top level. We are really happy for Gelson, Matheus and Daniel, who are all earning their place. That makes us work even harder to get more players through."

Gil Vicente-Sporting B will kick off at 16h00 on Saturday the 28th of November, in Estádio Cidade de Barcelos.

Colombian named Europa League Player of the Week

Fredy Montero has been named as the Europa League Player of the Week for his fantastic showing in Sporting's 4-2 win against Lokomotiv Moscow.

Setting up both Bryan Ruiz and Gelson Martins, as well as scoring goal of his own, the Colombian received 31% of voted cast on the UEFA Official Website.

The other players in the running for the nomination were Cenk Tosun (Besiktas), Fernandão (Fenerbahçe), Oumaru (Anderlecht), Benteke (Liverpool), Aduriz (Athl. Bilbao), Sané (Schalke 04) and Bernardeschi (Fiorentina).

Alvalade attacking duo named after clinical showing in Russia

Gelson Martins and Montero both feature in the UEFA Team of the Week for Europa League Matchday 5, after helping Sporting to a 4-2 win against Lokomotiv Moscow.

The Colombian also scooped the Player of the Week award for his goal and two assists in the Russian capital.

Team of the Week in full:

Goalkeeper: Dykan (Krasnodar)

Defenders: Brabec (Sparta Prague), Chriches (Napoli) and Mbodji (Anderlecht)

Midfielders: Gelson Martins (Sporting), Sané (Schalke 04), Candreva (Lazio) and Bernardeschi (Fiorentina)

Forwards: Fredy Montero (Sporting), Aduriz (Athl. Bilbao) and Tosun (Besiktas)