Jesus' side lead for 89 minutes against the European champions

Sporting came just seconds away from writing yet another glorious chapter in the club's history on Wednesday night, with a brave Champions League performance in the Bernabéu that saw Sporting lead until one minute before the end of regulation time. However, Cristiano Ronaldo and Morata had other ideas, scoring two last gasp goals to snatch away what would have been thoroughly deserved points.

Football can be cruel sometimes, but Jesus' side did themselves proud with a performance that was thanked by the thousands of Sporting fans who made the trip across the Spanish border to support their side.

Madrid on the other hand had to wait until just seconds before the final whistle, after having been frustrated by the classy duo of William Carvalho and Adrien Silva in the middle of the park.

Leading the attack, Gelson Martins was in absolutely unstoppable form and was constantly aiming his sights at Casilla. It was through the Alvalade starlet that most of Sporting's attacks materialised.

Of course Bryan Ruiz's magic with the ball at his feet was a constant source of danger for Real Mardid, but it was Bruno César who set Sporting on what would have been an historic victory with a shot across the face of goal in the 48th minute that the Madrid keeper was unable to keep out.

The result looked to have been secured, before Ronaldo netted what was a heartbreaking yet brilliant free-kick squeezed in at the post. Patrício managed to get a hand to the shot, but not even the Alvalade shotstopper could keep out such as well-placed effort.

Deep into added time Morata popped up with a header inside the box to complete the turn around and snatch the points.

Bruno de Carvalho declares intention to bring the nation's hero back to Alvalade

The Sporting president dropped an absolute bombshell in his interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca this week, declaring his intention to see Cristiano Ronaldo hand up his boots in Avalade.

"I was in the stadium when we played against Manchester United I knew right then that they would take him. We will face him (on Wednesday) and he will face the club that trained him. Everybody wants to see Ronaldo against his old team. It would be magical to see Ronaldo finish his career in Portugal, with Sporting. That is my objective. We have been making a big effort to bring back some of our old players, like what happened with Nani", explained Bruno de Carvalho, before answering a question on who he sees as Sporting's best weapon for facing the Spanish giants: "Our star? Jorge Jesus of course, our leader. He is the most important person in the group and he complements what we needed. He is perfect for my vision of Sporting, with leadership and a drive for perfection. Now the players understand that they can win titles."

The full interview can be found here.

#LaPortada 'Un Madrid feliz' pic.twitter.com/0hQPxbqWWn

— MARCA (@marca) 11 de setembro de 2016

Members can still snap up a Gamebox for as little as 120€!

The fans have been packing out Alvalade so far this season, with over 44,000 fans turning out for Saturday's win against Moreirense.

However, you can still guarantee your seat, with a limited number of Gamebox (including I Liga and Champions League) packages still available.

The Dutch striker Bas Dost has already given his backing, netting on his debut with a battling goal. You can pick up your Gamebox through the club's official site or at the Official Club Store from just 120€. 

Alvalade president answers challenge by Marca with a wonder strike

Real Madrid vs. Sporting CP truely got underway on Monday, with president Bruno de Carvalho netting a penalty past the director of the Marca newspaper, Juan Ignacio Gallardo.

Aldo Duscher visits Alvalade

Aldo Duscher was in Lisbon this week and the 1999/2000 Sporting league winner couldn't resist the opportunity to visit Alvalade.

“I am really happy to be here again. When I played here everything was different. We only had two pitches and we trained and played in Alvalade. Everything has changed for the better", said Aldo Duscher in an exclusive interview with the Sporting Journal.

The Argentinean's visit was assisted by Sporting's Support Office and president Bruno de Carvalho and the Alvalade boss is keen to repeat the initiative in the future: "For us it is great. We have already had Di Francesco, Mpenza, Acosta and now Duscher visit us and it is important to bring our champions here to remind us of our history.

Visiting the Sporting Museum before watching Sporting's win against Moreirense, Duscher reflected on the famous 1999/2000 league win: "It was a historic moment for Sporting. A lot of fans asked us to win the title in the last week, but of course we wanted it as well. We were nervous against Salgueiros, but we relaxed in the second-half."

Alvalade president spoke at length with SIC on Friday night

Bruno de Carvalho spoke in an extensive interview with SIC on Friday night, sharing his thoughts on everything ranging from Jorge Jesus to the state of Portuguese football, the transfer market and the new-look Sporting squad.

"We have the players that we wanted and the squad that we wanted. I said that Sporting was in the market and that whatever happens we wouldn't put our objectives in danger, which is mainly to build a squad which enables us to fight for national titles. We are happy with the business we did. Of the 70 million we sold players for, 54 million ended up in Sporting's account", opened the Alvalade president.

Still focusing on the transfer market, Carvalho revealed: "Yesterday I was with Slimani and he knows exactly what Sporting has done for him. He was playing in the Algerian league and had only been playing professional football for two years. He learnt a lot here and told me that he will come over at the end of the season to celebrate the title with us. Our relationship is also great with João Mário. Sometimes people don't realise that we have to reconcile various things during the transfer market, including the club's interests and its finances."

Adrien was inevitably a question raised during the interview, with the Sporting leader responding: "I have learn a lot about certain realities in football. The transfer window is a really complicated period and there are various people around the players who influence things. I am speaking about the president of Lyon for example, who spoke about an agent that was offering around Sporting's players. I will repeat what we have already said officially: "Adrien is a player who was trained here, he is a true professional and a person I really admire."

Bruno de Carvalho went on to speak about his relationship with Jorge Jesus and the content of the Sporting coach's press conference this week."Jorge Jesus didn't say anything that surprised me. Everything is new when we join a project like this and of course the first steps are never easy. I have always said that Sporting needs quality and needs to be really demanding. We could only bring in such a good coach and squad through the hard work of a lot of people. Jorge Jesus isn't a coach for just any club. Some people are not able to build up long term projects with a coach, but with him it is easy. We are ambitious and we want to leave our mark here."

The Sporting president finished with a final word on the current state of Portuguese football in general: "Portuguese football could and should undergo some big changes. I think that some things ar already being done. The referees have to be at liberty to do their best and not just focus on what rating they get. We have to provide the right conditions so that referees can go out there and do their best, which includes the support of the video referee. I have always supported the idea and I hope it happens and breaths some new life into Portuguese football."

Museum opening hours altered over the weekend

Sporting Clube de Portugal informs that the Club Museum will be closed on Saturday the 10th of September.

The Sporting Museum will also close one hour early on Sunday the 11th of September.

Transfer of João Mário and Slimani set new transfer window record

Sporting SAD smashes sales records this August, with the most valuable sale in the history of the Portuguese League and Sporting's second biggest ever transfer seeing the club set a new high in terms of transfer revenue in a single season.

The result was made possible by a solid investment in the squad and technical staff, giving the club a stronger negotiation capacity and allowing for the agreement of television and sponsorship deals.

Sporting's net results for June 2016 were conditioned by three factors: investment in the squad and technical staff, seeing an increase in personnel costs by 23.725 million euros; the Doyen process (without which the result would have been -16.914 million euros); and not qualifying for the Champions League. The overall net result for Sporting SAD for the 2015/16 season was -31.905 million euros, compared to the 19.333 million euros for the previous period. The sales of João Mário and Islam Slimani, which totaled around 54 million euros, will only be accounted for in 2016/2017.

Additionally, the results for the period were affected by provisions for debts with banks and the early amortization of capital as part of an agreement with Novo Banco and Millennium BCP.

Operational revenue up by 10 million euros

Operational revenue increased significantly, closing at 68.750 million euros (compared to 58.382 million euros from the previous period), due largely due to increased ticket sales (14.198 million euros), television rights (24.809 million euros) and other revenue (11.366 million euros).

Transfer fees for players stood at 7.716 million euros, due largely to the transfer of Fredy Montero and Valentin Viola.

In terms of equity capital, a variation of 31.997 million euros was registered, which will be mitigated in the 2016/2017 season with the above noted transfers of João Mário and Islam Slimani. Passive debt increased by 20.796 million euros, due largely to the Doyen process.

The period has seen a dramatic improvement in sports results, which will reflect in terms of revenues. Sporting SAD is determined to create a balanced environment in which sports success can be guaranteed and revenue kept positive.

Four places up for grabs in Alvalade's eSports FIFA team

With the launch of Lion Games, Sporting is looking to recruit four players to represent the club in eSports FIFA. The competition will be divided into three phases, with the first two taking place regionally and the last in Estádio José Alvalade.

The first phase will be divided by regions (North, Centre and South and islands), with eight players qualifying from each region. Three zones will then be organised for selecting the best players through a LAN competition.

The National final will be held between the eight best players (two from the North, two from the Centre and four from the South and Islands). The winners will have the honour of playing FIFA 17 (om Playstation 4) in Estádio José Alvalade and will fight for a place in Sporting Clubde de Portugal's eSports FIFA Team.

You can sign up (free and must be over the age of 16) through this link.

Sporting CP opens sixth Academy School in Africa

The Sporting Academy in South Africa is the country's third and the sixth on the African continent. João Gomes, who lives in the city and was considered as being Sporting Member of the Year, spoke about what the new facilities mean to the region.

"We can feel the passion coming from Sporting and it is a pleasure to see these kids, who are mostly South African, wearing a green and white shirt. A lot of them want to go to Alvalade to watch a match", opened Gomes, adding: "This is just the start of the project for us and we will carry on growing."

The Sporting board member Luís Roque was also on hand to speak about the reasoning behind the building of the Nelspruit facility: "A few years ago we had one school abroad and now we have six in Africa. That shows what Sporting is looking to do with foreign communities. Sometimes the people who join us don't speak Portuguese, but they certainly know how to say Sporting. We are really ambitious and this year alone we are looking to open another ten Academies."