Sporting fans snap up tickets for Liga NOS matchday 2 in just one day

Tickets on sale in Estádio José Alvalade for the matchday two visit to Paços de Ferreira have completely sold out.

Tickets will be on sale at Estádio Capital do Móvel from 9h to 12h and from 14h to 19h, priced at 25e for the Central Stand and 13€ for the South Stand. 

Sporting boss has squad out on the training pitch preparing weekend's encounter

Jorge Jesus had his squad out on the training pitch this Thursday morning, putting the final touches to Saturday's 18h15 visit to Paços de Ferreira, on Liga NOS matchday 2.

The Sporting boss had his whole squad available, with the exception of the injured Lukas Spalvis and Wallyson.

The players went through a series of warm up exercises during the 15 minutes open to the press, before moving on to a session on tactics. 

Ticket news for Liga NOS matchday two

Tickets for Liga NOS matchday 2, between Futebol Clube de Paços de Ferreira and Sporting Clube de Portugal, will go on sale at the Estádio José Alvalade ticket offices as follows:

THURSDAY | Gamebox 2016/2017 holders (from 10h to 20h)
FRIDAY | Club Members (from 10h to 20h)
SATURDAY | General public (from 10h to 13h)

A valid Gamebox or Membership card must be shown for the first two days of sale (with July 2016 paid. Each card is valid for 1 ticket and each person may bring a maximum of 4 cards.

The match will be played at 18h15 on Saturday the 20th of August in Estádio Capital do Móvel, with away tickets for the South Goal End and priced at 13€ each.

Adrien on Sporting's I Liga 2016/17 debut

Adrien Silva spoke briefly with the press this Saturday evening after his side's win against Marítimo.

"It was an intense match, but we did well. At this stage of the season I thought it was a good pace and we made sure Marítimo couldn't do anything on the counter-attack", said the Sporting skipper, before answering a question on transfer rumours regarding João Mãrio: "Goodbye? No. He played today and he played well. You could see he is happy by the way he played and I don't think this was his last match."

Jorge Jesus satisfied with opening day win

“It was a hard match. It was 36 degrees at kick-off, which is really hot for a team that plays pressing football like we do. Some of the lads felt that and it impacted on how we plated", opened Jesus in his post-match press conference this Saturday, going on to analysis the match itself in greater depth: "Marítimo are a really well managed team and they caused some issues down the wing. (after the break) we took charge and Marítimo fell off a bit. William helped the pace a bit and that was important, but we won and that is what matters."

“No team starts the season in their best form. That comes step by step and the lads will develop with time", finished the Alalade boss.

Sporting win Liga NOS opener with tactical masterpiece in Alvalade

Sporting's I Liga opener actually turned out to be an easy encounter than expected this Saturday night, not so much down to Marítimo's performance, but more the result of some strategic brilliance from Jorge Jesus, Slimani's absence through suspension meant that the Alvalade boss' saw his options in attack limited. However, João Mário floating in the middle behind Bryan Ruiz and Gelson in support of Alan Ruiz did just the trick. The Argentinean was particularly firery on the night, creating space and working hard off the ball.

João Mário had a fair few chances on goal that he might well have done better to finish (12', 17', 42', 52), but a bit of reluctance to try his luck saw the opportunities go wanting. With rumours flying around regarding a potential transfer, the Alvalade crowd took the opportunity to give the number 17 a standing ovation when he was substituted.

Rui Patrício was also in his usually brilliant form, making his first notable stop in the 16th minute to deny Diawara, following a rare foray forward by Marítimo. A flash of flare from Bryan Ruiz in the 20th minute saw the Costa Rican pick out Jefferson in space in the 20th minute, but the Brazilian's effort was comfortably scooped up by Gottardi. A goal was looking likely and it finally came from an unstoppable header by Coates, when the giant centre-back converted on a corner whipped in by João Mãrio.

Martítimo had what was probably their best chance of the encounter six minutes before the break, but Patrício wasn't going to be easily beaten and the sides went in to the dressing room deadlocked.

The second-half was the perfect opportunity to mix things up and Jorge Jesus obliged, switching out Jefferson for Bruno César. Five minutes later Coates missed what would hae been his second, before Bryan Ruiz showed how it should be done (61') with a cool finish to essentially put the result to bed.

Jorge Jesus in first I Liga press conference of the season

Jorge Jesus sat down for his first I Liga pre-match press conference of the campaign this Friday, reflecting on his squad's form, transfer rumours and how the season is likely to pan out.

A much deserved word was reserved in honour of Portugal's fire brigade at the start of the conference, with forest fires plaguing the country over the last week. "I want to show my support of Sporting's initiative in relation to the fires in Portugal. I really appreciate what the fire brigade have been doing. It is really hard for them", said Jesus.

Moving on to Saturday's encounter with Maritímo, the Sporting coach is not expecting an easy task: "This is the start of the season and the first game is always a bit nervy. It is hard to be on form in the first game, but we want the win."

Jesus was reluctant to make promises, but silverware is inevitably the target: "In a year we have recovered a lot of ground and closed the points gap. Last year we fought for the title until the last minute and had a superb season. We were a serious title contender. This year we want to do better, meaning we want to be in first. I don't believe that the top two will break the 85 points barrier again. I think it will be the team that gets 86 points that will win it."

The press has been rife with transfer rumours lately, which hasn't gone unnoticed by the Alvalade boss. "Nobody has left yet and I don't know if anyone will before the 31st of August. The strategy that we have built up means that Sporting's isn't a club that will sell", said Jesus, finishing with a specific focus on João Mário: "I am counting on him for the match tomorrow. I know people are looking at him, just like they are with five or six other players, but Sporting will defend its players of course."

Jorge Jesus putting the final touches to I Liga opener

Sporting were out on the training pitch at the Academy this Tuesday, preparing for Saturday's 18h15 hosting of Marítimo in Estádio Jose Alvalade.

With the exception of Islam Slimani, Jorge Jesus had his entire squad available for the session.
 

Octávio Machado on the lack of punishment for Benfica

Octávio Machado gave a hard-hitting press conference following Sunday's Liga NOS fixtures, in what were the last of the season.

"Penalties are only against Benfica after the 95th minute, when they are already winning 5-0. It happened in the first match against Estoril when it was 0-0 and it happened again today, against Nacional. In the last match of the season, the decisive match, another penalty was not given when the game was 0-0", said Sporting's director of football.

Jorge Jesus proud of his team as Liga NOS campaign comes to a close with 4-0 win in Braga

Jorge Jesus paid a fitting tribute to his team and the fans in his post-match interview this Saturday, after watching Sporting dismantle Braga on the last game of a season taken right down to the wire.

"We did what we had to do throughout the season. It was a real show of the power and quality of this squad. We had to win and that is exactly what we did. It is never easy here, especially to win 4-0", opened Jesus, adding: "The best doesn't always win. The best was Sporting."

The Alvalade boss of course could not close the season without a word for the fans: "They supported us right up until the last second. It isn't natural for a team to win 86 points and not be champion."