Alvalade shotstopper joins Portuguese contingent of Pepe and Cristiano Ronaldo in final short list

France Football has announced the short list for the Ballon D'Or nomination this week, with Rui Patrício making the cut along with fellow Portugal stars Pepe and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Sporting CP held to draw in Alvalade

Sporting CP were held to a draw this Saturday evening by Tonela (1-1), on Liga NOS matchday 8.

The game was in many ways a reflection of the midweek Champions League hosting of Borussia Dortmund, with Jorge Jesus's side struggling to get a foothold in the first-half against a team that looked happy to sap away time.

The usual suspect Gelson Martins looked the most likely to score in the early exchanges and actually hammered a shot against the post after just four minutes. The next opportunity was made to wait until the 21st minute, when a cross from Schelotto ended with a header high over the bar from Bas Dost. One minute before the break Schelotto carved out another chance, this time with Bryan Ruiz arriving just a second to late to convert.

With Bruno César introduced at the restart, there was a clear improvement from Sporting CP and chances soon began to follow. A goal looked likely, but it was Tondela who struck, when Jaílson put in a hopeful cross that ended up with Jhon Murillo for a simple finish (74').

With the fans feeling disgruntled with Tondela's far from deserved goal, Jesus introduced Campbell to the action four minutes later and the Costa Rican soon pulled a stop out of Cláudio with a header. Tondela dropped back in an effort to defend what would have been a precious three points and time wasting became the theme of the evening, with a touch of facilitation from referee Rui Costa. Five minutes into added time Campbell struck to avoid what would have been an extremely harsh defeat.

Jorge Jesus on Saturday's draw against Tondela

Jorge Jesus was far from sparing at the final whistle on Saturday when reflecting on the evening's refereeing, before dismissing a potential gap of five points between his side and Benfica.

“We had a tough match and we came into it on the back of a very intense week. We lacked pace and our dynamic in attack in the first-half and Tondela did well in defence. In the second-half we started putting the pressure on and created a lot of chances. We reacted well despite some tired legs, but that is no excuse. There were a lot of interruptions and Tondela did what they had to do, while the referee let them. Obviously we would prefer to have the same amount of points as Benfica or to be ahead of them, but we are fighting to close the difference. It could be five points, but there is still a lot of football to play", said Jesus.

Bruno César reflects on Saturday's Liga NOS draw

"We did everything we could, but Tondela closed ranks", said Bruno César after his side's draw in Saturday evening.

For the Brazilian, there is still plenty of time to close the gap on the league leaders: "In the first-half we didn't play like we have been. In the second-half we took control, but we let a goal in from a counter attack and then they just kept stopping play like Borussia Dortmund did. We just have to focus on our football now."

Jorge Jesus on Liga NOS matchday 8

The opposition might be different, but Jorge Jesus has the same idea: three points.

"The players are only thinking about getting the win. We had an experience against Tondela last year which didn't go well for us. They are the image of their coach [Petit], meaning they are aggressive", opened Jesus ahead of the weekend's Liga NOS encounter, going on to answer a question his recent changes out wide in defence: "We are learning and that isn't something that happens in a couple of months. If being the most consistent team is what is needed to win the league, then we want to be more consistent."

Bas Dost looks ahead to the weekend's hosting of Tondela

Bas Dost was picked to accompany Jorge Jesus in looking ahead to the weekend's hosting of Tondela this Friday. While analysing the game, the Dutchman also couldn't turn down the chance to share his thoughts on refereeing: "We are expecting a win. We are playing really good football and with the exception of the match in Guimarães we have been doing well. I scored against Sweden in the last minute, but the referee said I had pushed a defender, which didn't happen. The game thing happened in the Champions League with Coates's goal, which also wasn't a foul. In the Santiago Bernabéu, with Ronaldo's goal, that wasn't a foul either. This is nothing to do with Portuguese football of course, because that all happened in the Champions League and with the Dutch national team."

Also sharing his thoughts on his time in Portugal so far, Bas Dost has already fell in love with Alvalade: "I am learning Portuguese, but it will take a while until I am comfortable. I love the people, the stadium and the weather. I was playing for Wolfsburg, who would get around 30,000 people in the stadium. In Alvalade we always have between 40 and 45 thousand. The fans sing for the whole match and we want to pay them back with goals."

Beto guarantees that Tuesday's loss is a thing of the past

The Sporting squad have well and truly put Tuesday's defeat to Dormund behind them and Beto is convinced that Saturday's hosting of Tondela is the perfect way to brush off the dust.

"It will be a hard game like they all are and Tondela will try and play to their strengths, but we will be playing at home again with the fans motivating us. We are confident that we will get the three points", said Beto in an interview with Sporting TV, adding: "The squad is feeling really together right now. We have a good group and we will push through the highs and the lows. We want to trigger a good run of wins now."

Alvalade startlet adds to his Youth Player of the Month with I Liga Player of the Month title

There were very few doubts about his talent, but nobody expected Gelson to burst on to the scene the way he has this season. In recognition of his superb showings so far this season, the Alvalade startlet has now added the I Liga Player of the Month for August and September to his Youth Player of the Month for the same period.

André Silva claimed second (for both awards), while Alvalade skipper Adrien Silva came in 3rd. Gelson dominated the nomination, with a total of 20.67% of the vote.

Jorge Jesus takes positives from Tuesday's loss to Borussia Dortmund

Jorge Jesus sat down with the press on Tuesday night after his side's 2-1 loss to Dortmund.

Borussia's 10th minute goal settled the German visitors and, for the Alvalade coach, the early strike was decisive: "We tried to keep hold of possession. Dortmund scored two. The first was their striker who got the better of Semedo and they settled a bit after that. We corrected a few things after the break and positioned ourselves a bit better. We improved in defence and honestly we created the most chances and played some good football. We played against a really good side tonight, who knew what to do when we scored."

Reflecting on the numbers and the chances of progression in the Champions League, Jesus added: "It will be hard, but we always knew it would be. Anything is possible and there are still 9 points up for grabs. It will be hard, of course it will, but it has been like that since the draw for this group. We still have a chance and we have two away matches now that we will look to pick up points from."

Jorge Jesus's side concede harsh Champions League loss to Dormund in Alvalade

Sporting CP slipped to a harsh defeat to Borussia Dortmund this Tuesday night (2-1), on Champions League matchday 3.

The encounter got off to a contentious start, with referee Damir Skomina turning away a penalty appeal against following a foul on Bas Dost in the 9th minute. To add insult to injury, the German visitors took the lead shortly after, when Aubameyang wrestled free of Rúben Semedo and chipped over Rui Patrício for the opening goal of the evening. Both sides battled for midfield dominance and Sporting did get the edge and started to slowly work further up the pitch. On 32 minutes, Markovic and Elias linked up to release the Brazilian on goal, only for the Borussia keeper to pull off a fine stop.

The pressure looked to have paid off in the 39th minute after Sebastian Coates put the ball in the back of the net, but the evening's official ruled out the strike for an alleged foul by Bas Dost on the goalkeeper with a decision that could have went either way. Two minutes before the break, Weigl doubled his side's lead to give Borussia what was a harsh 2-0 margin going in at half-time.

Jorge Jesus's side came out motivated after the break and were immediately on the attack. However, perhaps a touch facilitation on the part of the referee and time wasting by Borussia sapped the sting out of the evening. However, Sporting were determined to restore a lifeline and on 50 minutes Gelson Martins came painfully close after a move with Bas Dost. However, Sporting's first and what would be only strike came after Bruno César was introduced to the action. It was a back pass that resulted in the goal, with the Brazilian blasting in from a free-kick deep inside the 18-yard box, but it was not enough to salvage points from an evening in which Sporting had a good handful of chances to find the back of the net.