Slimani brace secures three points in Estoril

Sporting proved that the Liga NOS title race far from over this Saturday evening, with a 2-1 over Estoril to provisionally reclaim top spot.

Buoyed on by a stadium packed out by Sporting fans who had made the short trip from the capital to the outskirts, Jorge Jesus' side made a solid start to the encounter, pegging Estoril back and piecing together chances on goal. First to try his luck was Ruiz after the Costa Rican picked up possession after darting across to collect from a corner that he himself took, but it was Slimani who opened the scoring, when the Algerian masterfully controlled on the edge of the area, before cutting back across his marker and lashing an unstoppable shot into the top corner.

Estoril responded with a shot down the other end from Mattheus, but the final product finished harmlessly wide in what was one of the host's few forays forward in the opening stages. With Sporting holding down possession, opportunities to extend the lead naturally followed. Teo fired a shot straight at the keeper after a driven pass by João Mário, before Ruiz sliced a tricky half-volley wide after Slimani had created space with a spectacular first touch and backheel.

The first-half finished exactly as it had started, with Sporting putting the ball in the back of the net. Of course it was Slimani who again did the damage, peddling backwards to get the jump on his defender and head home after a deadly hanging cross from Ruiz.

Sporting looked just as dominant after the break, particularly with some incisive passing down the right flank. First it was Schelotto who created a yard of space with a bit of skill and got a cross away, but neither Teo Gutierrez or Bryan Ruiz were able to convert. Next it was Slimani turned creator, sending in a driven pass that Teo came just inches of finishing. To their credit, Estoril didn't lay down and accept defeat and Mendy managed to break away into the Sporting 18-yard box, but Rui Patrício calculated his rush off his line to perfection to get his body in the way of the shot.

The pace of the game started to sap away as the clock ticked over and Estoril made the most of the chance to push their defensive line higher up th pitch. The move almost proved to be a disaster for the hosts, as Slimani exploited the extra space behind the back four. In fact, the Algerian came close to his hattrick after rounding Kieszek, but he denied himself an angle on goal in the process. João Mário also had a decent chance after a good pass from William, but the Sporting midfielder was unable to keep his shot on target.

To make for a nervy run-in, Estoril managed to get a goal back through Leo Bonatini after a corner that was headed on to the back post. Spirits lifted, the hosts almost drew level with the last kick of the game when Schelotto failed to clear away a header deep inside his own box, but Patrício made an instinctive save down low to secure three points.

Jorge Jesus includes 19 for the trip to Estoril

Jorge Jesus has included a total of 19 players for Saturday's short trip to Estoril, on Liga NOS matchday 26:

Goalkeepers: Rui Patrício and Azbe Jug

Defenders: Schelotto, Marvin, Ewerton, Coates, João Pereira, Ruben Semedo and Ricardo Esgaio

Midfielders: William Carvalho, Aquilani, João Mário and Bruno César

Forwards: Slimani, Teo, Bryan Ruiz, Barcos, Mané and Gelson Martins

Estoril-Sporting CP will get underway at 18h30 in Estádio António Coimbra da Mota.

Jorge Jesus looks ahead to Liga NOS matchday 26

Jorge Jesus is expecting a tough trip to Estoril this weekend, however the Alvalade coach is expecting his side's quality to secure the three points.

“Amoreira is always a difficult place for big teams to play. Our objective is to win of course and we know it will be hard, but we are confident, just like our fans are. As far as I know Amoreira has already sold out, which has been normal this year wherever we play. The fans have done us proud this season", opened Jesus, going on to reflect on the season so far: "What matters is that we focus on the facts: when we started the season, we said that we wanted to be in the fight for the title and that is exactly where we are. there are nine games left and we are in the fight."

Bryan Ruiz is still not certain for Saturday's encounter after picking up a knock last weekend, in what was a tough Lisbon derby. "Bryan only trained today and yesterday. A lot has been said about the tackle put in on him, but he has that much class that he even forgave Renato's foul on him. We are trying to get him ready for tomorrow and we will see how it goes. Bryan is an excellent player with a real intelligence on the pitch. He knows what he can do and he knows that everyone makes mistakes, but that doesn't take away from a player's quality."

Estoril-Sporting CP will kick off at 18h30 tomorrow, in Estádio Coimbra da Mota. 

The 2,200 tickets on sale at Alvalade for the match against Estoril have sold out

The 2,200 tickets available at Alvalade for Sporting's Liga NOS matchday 26 visit to Estoril have sold out.

Fans still wishing to attend the game can purcahse tickets at the Estádio António Coimbra da Mota ticket offices as follows:

FRIDAY: from 10h to 13h and from 14h30 to 18h30

SATURDAY: from 10h

Tickets on sale in Estoril are priced at €15 each (for the West or East Lateral Stand) or €25 (for the West Central Stand). All spectators must be at least 3 years of age and require a ticket.

Main team

Sporting's medical department have released the following clinical update:

Bryan Ruiz – knock to the left knee - in treatment
Jefferson – twisted right ankle - in treatment
Bruno Paulista – muscle injury in the right thigh - in treatment

Sales begin on Wednesday

Tickets for Liga NOS matchday 26, between Estoril Praia and Sporting Clube de Portugal, will go on sale at the Estádio José Alvalade ticket offices (from 10h to 20h) as follows:

WEDNESDAY | Club Members with a 2015/2016 Gamebox and February 2016 fees paid
THURSDAY | Club Members with February 2016 fees paid
FRIDAY | General public

Kick off is scheduled for 18h30 on Saturday the 12th of Match, in Estádio António Coimbra da Mota. Tickets available in Alvalade are for the North Goal End are priced at €12 each.

Tickets can also be purchased at the Estádio António Coimbra da Mota ticket offices as follows:

WEDNESDAY | from 14h30 to 18h30
THURSDAY AND FRIDAY | from 10h to 13h and from 14h30 to 18h30
MATCHDAY | from 10h

Tickets on sale in Estoril are priced at €15 each (for the West or East Lateral Stand) or €25 (for the West Central Stand). All spectators must be at least 3 years of age and require a ticket.

Alvalade defender to face Brazil and Peru in World Cup qualifiers

The Sporting centre-back Sebastián Coates has been included in the Uruguayan national squad for two World Cup qualifiers against Brazil and Peru.

The first encounter will take place in Arena Pernambuco on March the 25th, before Uruguay face Peru in home soil on the 29th of March.

Rui Patrício on Saturday's loss to Benfica

Speaking with the press at the final whistle on Saturday night, Rui Patrício put his side's loss down to a lack of effectiveness in front of goal.

"Benfica scored from the only chance they had, but football can be like that. I think we played really well and we had a lot of chances that we didn't make the most of. That was the only difference", commented the Alvalade keeper at the final whistle, before guaranteeing that the league is still far from decided: "There are still a lot of games to play. We will fight to the end and this result honesty doesn't' change anything."

Jorge Jesus comments on Saturday's loss to Benfica

Speaking with the press at the final whistle on Saturday night, Jorge Jesus considered the final result to be far from a fair reflection of what happened on the pitch.

"Benfica left here today without knowing how they won. Even a draw would have been bad for Sporting after what happened out there tonight, but losing is worse. Football can be like this sometimes and all that really matters is who won. I really want to give credit to my players, because I thought they were brilliant and absolutely dominated Benfica in the second-half", opened the Alvalade boss, adding: "Benfica scored, but Rui Patrício didn't have to make a single save all night. Benfica didn't even create a single chance and we managed to pull off some impossible misses.

"Despite the result, Sporting showed that we are a lot stronger. Sometimes even teams who play like small clubs win", Jesus went on to add, before reaffirming that the title race is still on: "We have lost first place before and got it back. The lads know that we are capable going top of the table again and that is what we will try and do."

Sporting miss out to Benfica after missing a wealth of chances

Sporting CP fell to a first Liga NOS home defeat of this season this weekend, missing out 1-0 to Benfica. Once again the evening's encounter proved to be the confirmation of Jorge Jesus' side's difficulty in breaking down teams who are happy to sit back and break up play with constant interruptions.

The opening exchanges were scrappy, particularly in the middle, with neither side willing to stray too far forward and both defensive lines standing firm. In fact, it was a slice of bad luck that sentenced the finally result, when a blocked shot from Samaris somehow landed at the feet of Mitroglou to give the Greek a one-on-one chance against Rui Patrício that the Sporting shotstopper could do little to stop.

While Benfica had seemed content to play on the counter-attack, the visitors' intentions to sit deep and sap away time became all the more clearer after the goal. Denied space down the middle, Sporting resorted to use of the flanks and began piling crosses into the box, but to little success. The only chance that looked likely to find th back of the net was a blistering effort from Jefferson from outside of the box, only stopped by Éderson's crossbar.

Sporting looked a totally different side after the break, pushing higher up the pitch and pegging Benfica back into their defensive third. On 61 minutes Bryan Ruiz failed to finish a great move down the right and Slimani was only able to force one of many corners form the rebound. A few minutes later, Ruiz managed to turn what looked to be a certain tap in from a couple of yards over the cross bar.

Benfica made the most of Sporting's failure to equalise with some frustrating play, using virtually every individual duel between players as a chance to go down and waste a couple of minutes. Bryan Ruiz came close in the dying stages with an audacious chip and João Mário fired a shot side from range.

The result leaves Sporting in second place, two points behind Benfica.