Wilson Eduardo's 70th minute stike takes three points in Alvalade

Sporting CP slipped to a harsh defeat against Sp. Braga (0-1) this Sunday evening, on Liga NOS matchday 14.

As expected, Jorge Jesus' team took the game by the scruff of the neck early on, creating a series of chances that somehow always managed to find their way into the visiting keeper's hands. As the game progressed, it became clear that neither Bryan Ruiz or Gelson Martins were having their best night in front of goal. Meanwhile, Sp. Braga, temporarily led by the former Sporting player Abel Ferreira, managed to creep their way back into the game and strung together a handful of chances through Wilson Eduardo (6' and 15') and Rui Fonte (32').

After a frantic spell of attacking football down both ends, Gelson came agonisingly close to opening the scoring, when he drilled a shot against the post on the half-hour mark. Looking threatening on the break, Sp. Braga sat back an absorbed the pressure and neither side had found the back of the net when the half-time whistle sounded.

Gelson broke through on goal shortly after the restart and again managed to hit the woodwork. More organised, Jorge Jesus' side looked by far the most likely to score, but some sloppy finishing was punished by a shot from range from Wilson Eduardo with twenty minutes left on the clock.

Holding a slender lead, Sp. Braga bedded down in front of goal and sapped the pace out of the action, courtesy largely of some exaggerated stoppages. Sporting CP threw everything forward in an attempt to scrap a point, but as the final whistle blew the points headed back to Braga.

Jorge Jesus sits down with the press ahead of Sunday's hosting of Sp. Braga

There would be no better present for the Alvalade faithful than a win against Sp. Braga this Sunday, on Liga NOS matchday 14. However, Jorge Jesus has warned of the danger posed by the weekend's visitors from the north.

"We try to play the best football we can every week. Braga are top team though, with a long tradition. We will be facing a competent team who believe they can win points in Alvalade, so it will be a tight game", opened Jorge Jesus, before dismissing any negative impact of Braga's recent change of command: "They will be basically the same side. A new coach won't change much in a day or two. The general spirit of things were set by Peseiro, the new coach will make the spare of the moment decisions. I am expecting a strong Braga, who are just one point behind us right now."

To finish, Jesus bushed off comparisons to last season's campaign, reaffirming his side's title aspirations: "What has changed? Some played have come in and some have left and our opponents are better than they were last years. The season goes through spells and that doesn't mean it will stay like it is now. We are a much more consistent team today and our opponents recognise what we are capable of. We are competing in a league where anything can change from one second to the next. Right now we have less points than at the same period last season, but things can change."

Liga NOS matchday 15 tickets on sale on Thursday

Tickets for Liga NOS matchday 15, between Clube Futebol Os Belenenses and Sporting Clube de Portugal, will go on sale on Thursday the 15th of December, at the Estádio José Alvalade ticket offices as follows:

15TH AND 16TH OF DECEMBER | Gamebox holders 2016/2017

17TH OF DECEMBER | Club Members

18TH TO THE 21ST OF DECEMBER | General public

The first two phases, for Gamebox holders and Club Members respectively, require the presentation of a valid Gamebox or Member card (with November 2016 fees paid). Each card is valid for 1 ticket and each person may bring a maximum of four cards.

Kick-off is scheduled for 21h00 on Thrusday the 22nd of December, in Estádio do Restelo. The tickets available are for the North Goal End and are priced at 13€.

João Pereira brushes off Sunday's Lisbon derby defeat

João Pereira took a moment to speak with the press at the final whistle on Sunday, affirming that the loss will do little to shake Sporting CP's title chase.

"I thought we had a great second-half. Nothing is going to shake us, we are in the fight. Even when we were losing 2-0, we did everything we could to turn the result around. The boss looked at Benfica's weaknesses and told us how we could get at them, but unfortunately we didn't get the result", said the Portuguese international.

Jorge Jesus unhappy with the evening's refereeing

The Lisbon derby's refereeing was the obvious choice for the first round of questions in Jorge Jesus' post-match press conference on Sunday and the Alvalade boss didn't pull his punches.

“We were penalised. There were two crucial incidents that Jorge Sousa didn't see. Pizzi involuntarily controlled the ball with his hand inside the area, which led to the counter attack that Salvio scored from. Then it was another bad decision from the referee in the incident with Nélson (Semedo). We are being constantly penalised and it takes points off us. The refereeing team was not up to the standard of the big teams. We were penalised and we lost, despite being the best team. The first incident didn't give Benfica a goal, but if the play had been stopped like it should have then the attack would never have happened", said Jorge Jesus.

The Alvalade boss was also asked about his decision to bring off Bas Dost in the second-half, to which he responded: ""Dost isn't the fastest player and he was tired. We needed pace and a player who could push the intensity a bit. That was the idea behind bringing on André."

Jesus went on to analyse the evening's encounter in greater depth, considering his side the most dominant after the break: "For me, it was a good match between two great teams. Sporting CP did a lot better in the second-half and Ederson was the best player on the pitch. Rui (Patrício) didn't have a lot to do in the first-half and straight after Benfica's second goal Bas Dost hit he post. Without taking away from how Benfica played, we were beaten by refereeing decisions."

Two clear penalty appeals waved away in harsh defeat in Estádio da Luz

Sporting CP missed out in Estádio da Luz this Sunday evening (2-1), on Liga NOS matchday 13.

Jorge Jesus' side made an encouraging start to the encounter and in the space of two minutes (8' and 9') the first two chances materialised, both down the same flank. First it was Gelson who tried his luck after tricking his way into the box, but the youngster's shot lacked venom and was comfortably collected by the Benfica keeper, before Bas Dost came up an inch short of linking up with a pin point pass from Bryan Ruiz.

The game was actually brought to a temporary halt in the 15th minute, when referee Jorge Sousa was forced to ask for Sporting CP's technical area and a section of the pitch to be cleaned, due to the number of papers being thrown onto the pitch. In the second-half the same problem came up again, this time with the stadium announcer requesting the fans to refrain from throwing the papers from the evening's choreography onto the pitch.

Everything looked to be going to plan for a dominating Sporting CP, before referee Jorge Sousa failed to pick up on a handball by Pizzi after a clearance by Lindelof (24'). To add insult to injury, Salvio opened the scoring from the resulting attack. The evening's official again attracted the negative limelight five minutes before the break, this time by not punishing a handball Nélson Semedo.

The second-half got underway with a stinging shot against the post from Bas Dost (46') after a pass from Joel Campbell, who had been introduced at the break for Bruno César. Jesus was looking for an injection of pace and that is exactly what the Costa Rican brought, reflecting the work being done down the other flank by Gelson Martins. A minute after the Dutchman's attempt, Raul doubled Benfica's lead following some sloppy play in the area, before Sporting CP finally got a more than deserved goal (69') that in all honesty did little to help the fans forget the evening's refereeing.

Jorge Jesus expecting Adrien and Gelson to be available for Sunday's Lisbon derby

Jorge Jesus spoke with the press in a much awaited press conference this Saturday afternoon, ahead of a Lisbon derby that sees Sporting CP and SL Benfica currently separated by just two points at the top of Liga NOS.

"The derby is always special, independent of who the two teams are doing in the league. What the table looks like right now doesn't mean anything and both sides are under pressure. Both sides have to win. Honestly, it will be the team that controls the emotional part of the game that will be best positioned to win", opened the Sporting CP coach, before speaking about his options for the Liga NOS matchday 13 encounter: "We have had a few problems with a couple of the players since coming back from Poland, particularly Adrien and Gelson, who haven't trained since we arrived. We will see how the lads are tomorrow, we still still have a bit of time."

The press were understandably keen to provoke a reaction out of Jorge Jesus, with the Sporting CP coach having managed both Lisbon giants. However, the Alvalade boss played it cool: "Both of us lost in the Champions League and we both have the chance to be at the top of the league. We are both on the same level right now and this will be an intense game for both of us. We are confident in how we play and we know we can win the three points. The way this team has grown, both defensively and offensively, over the last 18 months means that we can deal with whatever Benfica throw at us."

To finish, Jesus highlighted the importance of the extra experience in his side, which is packed full of Euro 2016 winners: "Being a European champion is a sign of the individual quality of a player and that reflects in our team. If my memory serves be right, not a single one will be playing against us tomorrow. Each derby is a derby and this will be my 20th. It will be a really intense game and this is the kind of occasion that the players love."

Lazar Markovic shares his thoughts on Sunday's Lisbon derby

Lazar Markovic was inevitably called upon to share his thoughts ahead of this Sunday's Lisbon derby, having played on both sides of the fence.

"We will be looking for the three points for our fans and to put us top of the league. Our coach knows what he is doing and we believe in ourselves", said the 22-year old Serbian in an interview with Sporting TV, before going on to reflect in his time at Alvalade so far: "It is a great club. I am really happy to be here and I will carry on doing by best."

Jorge Jesus pleased with his side's dismantling of Setúbal on Saturday night

"We scored two good goals. Vitória de Setúbal barely caused us any problems at all", affirmed Jorge Jesus at the final whistle this Saturday, before adding his usual analysis of the action: "The story of the match was pretty much how Sporting CP played in the first-half. For me it was a 4-0 win, but officially it was 2-0. Both of Bas Dost's goals were fine, but what I would stress if how well we played in the first-half. Seeing a goal ruled out when their was nothing wrong with it took the wind out of us a bit. The lads and the fans deserve to be congratulated for tonight."

The Lisbon derby is just around the corner, with Liga NOS top spot up for grabs, however Jesus is keen to keep his focus on the task at hand: "We are in the race, but what matters is the Champions League match we have coming up first."

Jesus and Co. secure three points to turn up the heat ahead of the Lisbon derby

A minute's silence, the message "Força Chapecoense" and the Brazilian side's logo on Sporting CP's shirts was a moving tribute before this Saturday's hosting of V. Setúbal, in Estádio José Alvalade, after the tragic events in Colombia earlier in the week.

"Vamos, Vamos Chapê" was the song ringing out from the Alvalade stands for most of the second-half, in a show of solidarity that is spreading around the world of football.

Every season has a Supporters' Clubs match in Alvalade and this year it was the hosting of V. Setúbal. The players were understandably keen to please and a goal almost came after just 22 seconds, when Gelson picked out Bas Dost with a wire-guided cross that the Dutchman saw denied by the legs of goalkeeper Bruno Varela.

Six minutes later, with Gelson the instigator through a blazing run past his marker, Adrien Silva got a shot away that again called the visiting keeper into action. It ws a case of third time lucky though, as William Carvalho headed in from the resulting corner to open the scoring (1-0).

Jorge Jesus's charges continued to push the pace and Setúbal could do little but bunker down and tried to see out the attacking storm. The only change the visitors has before the break was in the 11th minute, when Rui Patrício smartly controlled after a shot from Amaral. Bas Dost had the ball in the back of the net with an effort that was canceled out with a dubious offside decision, before an absolute work of art from Bruno César (37') saw the Brazilian fire into the top corner from the edge of the area (2-0).

The second-half saw Sporting CP move into management mode, while V. Setúbal, who have already taken points off Benfica and FC Porto this season, pushed forward in search of a surprise. However their was little the visitors could do, with Rui Patrício in such brilliant form between the sticks. Vasco Costa looked to have pulled a goal back in the 61st minute, but a classy stop from point-blank range by the Alvalade stopper kept the margin at two.

Bas Dost (55') had another goal ruled out with an even more contentious decision, before the big Dutch striker blasted his last opportunity high over the bar after a cross from João Pereira.

At the final whistle, Sporting CP had secured a 13th consecutive undefeated home fixture (12 wins and 1 draw) and a 5th consecutive win. The result leaves Sporting CP just two points off Benfica, with Liga NOS top spot to de disputed in the coming Lisbon derby.