Gelson Martins, William Carvalho and Bas Dost secure three points in Setúbal

Vitória de Setúbal have held their own against Portugal's big boys so far this season, having held out against SL Benfica and FC Porto. This time the challenge came in the form of a inspired Sporting CP and Jorge Jesus' side didn't disappoint, with Gelson Martins, William Carvalho and Bas Dost all finding the back of the net in a 3-0 win to secure a fifth straight win with the Lisbon derby just around the corner.

Despite the expressive final result, the team from Alvalade were made to work hard in the opening stages, with Sétubal looking to shower the pressure particularly on Marvin down the flank. The full back held firm, but was unable to avoid a yellow card (31') that will keep him out of next week's hosting of Benfica.

The opening exchanges out the way, Sporting CP began to take control. First to shake the hosts was Bruno César with a cross into the hard of the area, which was somehow scrambled away after a moment of hesitation from Fábio Cardoso. The warning shot had been fired and Gelson Martins went one better in the 20th minute, opening the scoring with his 10th consecutive goal in as many matches. Three minutes later Sporting CP's number 77 was brought crashing down in the area, but the referee waved away the penalty appeals. The rest of the half continued with Gelson and Bruno César leading the attacking aspirations down the wings, but the scoreboard remained locked at 1-0 come the half-time break.

While Setúbal would have been expected to come out swinging for the second-half, it was actually Jorge Jesus' side who pushed up the pitch. The Alvalade boss had obviously had words at the break and a more dynamic looking midfield had the hosts struggling. It was William Carvalho who struck his side's second, although it was actually from a corner, with the Portuguese international heading in from a Bruno César corner.

Six minutes later Alan Ruiz decided it was time to attract the limelight, with a superbly skillful pass that Bas Dost converted with what was his 28th goal in 26 outings. Amazing figures for the Dutchman, who alone has scored more goals than half of the teams in the top flight: Boavista (27), V. Setúbal (27), Paços de Ferreira (26), Arouca (26), Feirense (25), Estoril (25), Moreirense (24), Belenenses (22), Nacional (19) and Tondela (19).

Jorge Jesus and Adrien Silva on Friday's win in Setúbal and next week's Lisbon derby

"Vitória de Setúbal are a good side who play quality football. Their coach likes to see good football and Couceiro (V. Setúbal coach) has been very positive for the club", affirmed Jorge Jesus in a flash interview at the final whistle on Friday night.

Speaking in greater depth about the evening's action, the Sporting CP coach highlighted Setúbal's form against Portugal's top side: "When you face on of the big clubs you need to a certain kind of strategy. They hadn't lost against one of the big clubs before night. We played really well and in additional to some really effective attacking play we were strong at the back. Only a really strong Sporting CP team could win 3-0 here. We were smart and I thought we managed the occasion well, so the lads deserve a pat on the back."

The Lisbon derby is up next and Jesus was inevitably asked to share his thoughts: "We want to beat Benfica, just like we wanted to beat Vitória de Setúbal tonight. It is a derby and is the focus of a lot of passion across the whole country. We are feeling good right now and it will be a great match to match. It won't decide the title, but we always go for the win and it is even better when it is against one of our rivals."

Adrien Silva returned to the starting line-up against Setúbal, but the Alvalade skipper preferred to praise his colleagues for filling in during his absence through injury, rather than focus on himself: "I am finding my confidence and form from before my injury. I want to congratulate the squad for how they have plated recently. They really showed professionalism and personality. Benfica is just another match that we want to win, but it is a derby and we can't hide from that."

Jorge Jesus looks ahead to Friday's visit to Vitória de Setúbal

Up next for Jorge Jesus' side is a visit to Setúbal on Liga NOS matchday 29 and the Alvalade boss was keen to alert the opposition's capabilities in defence in his pre-match press conference this Friday.

"As we are all aware, our opponent has claimed some good results in matches against the bigger sides. That is a sign of a team that defends well and that interrupts play a lot. Those two characteristics are really important. Sétubal have a lot of self-belief, but we are in great form right now and I think it will be a good game tactically and technically", opened Jesus, adding a word on the return of Adrien and Gelson Martins to match fitness: "Adrien played half an hour against Boavista and we are giving him time on the pitch based on what we think he needs. He will definitely be in the squad and will be better than he was against Boavista. Our medical department has said Gelson should be ready and he wil be included in the squad as well."

With Sétubal having already stolen points from SL Benfica and FC Porto so far this season, every caution must be taken. "Of course the top three are always under pressure to win and history brings with it responsibility", said Jesus, continuing with an analysis of his side's current form: "It is nice to be able to say that we have won seven of our last eight games and drawn one. We have another six games to go, but of course we won't be anywhere near the amount of points we finished with last season. I will never forget that we managed to get 86 points in one season and still didn't win the title."

To finish Jorge Jesus commented on Alan Ruiz's adaptation to the Portuguese game and his partnership with Bas Dost: "Every player needs time to adapt, especially when you move club and country at the same time. Alan Ruiz is still a young lad (22) and not a lot of people were giving him the credit he deserves. He was playing for Colón, who aren't exactly a massive side. We noticed his quality and invested in him. It is just a matter of time with him, because the quality is there. I think Ruiz and Dost are the best pair in Portuguese Football."

Adrien speaks up for the team at the final whistle in Sétubal

Adrien Silva assumed his role as the Alvalade skipper this Wednesday night, after some debatable refereeing decisions dictated a loss to V. Setúbal (2-1).

"Again. These mistakes are becoming constant. The lads are annoyed with so many wrong decisions, it is just getting to be so much now. I am sure he did is best, which is why I honestly don't know what to say. We train as hard as we can and we are hurt by mistakes. Our objectives are being damaged by other factors", said Adrien at the final whistle.

Jorge Jesus on Wednesday's CTT Cup loss to Setúbal

"It is a lack of respect for Sporting CP, for the players, the coach and our directors", opened Jorge Jesus in a post-match interview with the press this week, after his side's loss to V. Setúbal (2-1), courtesy of a last-minute penalty.

"The match was decided by one incident. It was an important game for us, worth a place in the League Cup semi-final. Naming a referee with no experience with the three big teams shows the lack of interest in this competition. I have been a coach for many years and I have never seen giving penalties against Sporting CP be so easy", added the Alvalade coach, finishing: "We are upset, because we feel like we have been robbed of the opportunity to get into the semi-finals. We did what we needed to and scored, but we can't control what the referee does. The players feel like it is easy for people to attack Sporting CP."

Penalty given by Rui Oliveira ends Sporting CP's CTT Cup campaign

Sporting CP missed out to Vitória de Setúbal (2-1) this Wednesday, in a match which saw referee Rui Oliveira attract the limelight for the wrong reasons, gifting a penalty with seconds left on the clock. Television replays show that the fault in the 18-yard box indicated by the referee was non-existent, but the decision stood all the same, eliminating Sporting CP from CTT Cup Group A.

Jorge Jesus' faced an uphill battle for the duration, after Frederico Venâncio opened the scoring for the hosts in the 19th minute. It wasn't until the second-half that the team from Alvalade pulled level, with a 79th minute strike from Elias. However it was the last-minute penalty that eventually decided it.

Jorge Jesus announces squad for CTT Cup matchday 3

Jorge Jesus has announced his squad list for Wednesday night's visit to Estádio do Bonfim, to take on V. Setúbal on CTT Cup Group A matchday 3:

26-Azbe Jug
34-Beto
3-Markovic
4-Jefferson
7-Campbell
10-Bryan Ruiz
11-Bruno César
13-Coates
14-William Carvalho
15-Paulo Oliveira
16-André Felipe
19-Douglas
20-Castaignos
22-Elias
23-Adrien
28-Bas Dost
47-Ricardo Esgaio
77-Gelson Martins

Jorge Jesus on Wednesday's CTT Cup showdown with Setúbal

Speaking with the press before Wednesday's final CTT Cup Group A encounter, Jorge Jesus relayed his confidence in securing the result needed to get into the semi-finals.

"We need the result to get into the final four and well all know that. We have two wins and we need another result on the way to the final, which is what we have been working on in training. We are feeling confident and the lads have been responding well during the week. It will be a hard game, but we feel we will get over this hurdle", affirmed the Sporting coach, adding: "Vitória de Setúbal also have a chance of qualifying, although it depends on the other match, but we have everything we need to get a good result. This is an important phase for us and we are battling on all fronts, but that is exactly where we want to be."

Sales news for the CTT Cup and Liga NOS

Sporting Clube de Portugal has begun ticket sales as follows:

VITÓRIA DE SETÚBAL (CTT CUP MATCHDAY 3)

. Exclusive for Sporting Clube de Portugal members
. Member fee applicable: December 2016
. Tickets priced at 7.5€ and are for the South Goal End
. Kick-off is at 20h15 on the 4th of January, in Setúbal

FEIRENSE (16ª JORNADA LIGA NOS)

. Tickets from 5€ (members) or 17€ (fans)
. Member fee applicable: December 2016
. Match included in Gamebox 2016/2017
. Kick-off is at 20h15 on the 8th of January, in Estádio José Alvalade

Estádio José Alvalade ticket offices will be open from 10h00 to 20h00.

Jorge Jesus happy with his side's Portuguese Cup showing

"We are in every competition to win, there is no other way for us", affirmed Jorge Jesus after his side's Portuguese Cup win against Vitória de Setúbal (1-0) on Wednesday night.

The Alvalade boss was in his usual analytical mood at the final whistle, noting: "I thought it was going to be a hard game. Vitória play really well at home and they are well set up. The penalty could have made things easier for us, but we did better in the second-half. We had less time to recover for this game than our opponent did and the lads were tired after Benfica, but Byran coming on balanced it out and we started moving the ball around more. Joel looked better down the left as well. It was a good game with a nice goal."

Although squad rotation was largely expected, Jesus made just a single change for the encounter, bringing on Campbell for Bryan Ruiz). "I picked the right squad for this match. I did hesitate to rest William and Adrien, but I knew that Adrien could battle through. I didn't thing mixing things up was the right thing to do tonight", finished the Sporting coach.