Sporting dominate in Estádio do Dragão to take Liga NOS down to the wire

Sporting CP claimed a first league win in Estádio do Dragão since 2007 this Saturday, with a ruthless performance that saw Slimani strike twice and Bruno César come off the bench to secure a 3-1 win.

Jorge Jesus' side made a solid start to the encounter, pressuring when in defence and holding down long spells of possession in the FC Porto half. Chances naturally followed and João Mário could have put Sporting ahead after just five minutes, when the rebound from William fell kindly for the Portuguese international. However, the midfielder was unable to keep his shot down with the goal at his mercy. FC Porto really struggled to get forward in the opening exchanges, but a deep pass in the 7th minute found José Angel high up the pitch down the left, ending up in a cross that Herrera turned onto the post from inside the area.

Sporting looked well organised right off the board, while FC Porto looked over-reliant on Danilo in the early build up and Herrara for his movement and ability with the ball at his feet when playing between the Alvalade defensive lines. Probing play from both sides followed, but Sporting were the more mature side and comfortably went about bossing proceedings.

Some well supported play in the 17th minute saw Adrien pick out Bryan Ruiz in a break away from his marker, however Danilo was able to scramble away for a corner. Another chance followed courtesy of the skillful Costa Rican, with his pass finding Slimani for a header that Casillas comfortably gathered. In response, Aboubakar rallied his side down the other end and fired a shot dangerously close to Rui Patrício's net.

Chances certainly weren't lacking, but the game was missing a goal. Who better to oblige than Slimani, created of course by João Mário's creativity. In the 23rd minute, the Portuguese international broke away down the right wing and drove a pass across in that the big Algerian comfortably tapped in. Nine minutes later, another deadly move on the right flank, this time with Schelotto the instigator, saw Casillas called into action. Despite the one-way action, it was FC Porto who were next to trigger the scoreboard, when Brahimi was allegedly brought down by Coates in the area for a penalty that Héctor Herrena finished on to restore the deadlock.

The goal did unsteady Sporting for a spell, not so much in defence, but more in terms of the dominance that had persisted up until the equaliser. However, it wasn't long before Jesus' side were back in control and again creating chances. Bryan Ruiz found a yard of space down the wing and whipped a ball in for Slimani and of course the Sporting forward obliged with a pin-point header to put his side back into the lead.

The half-time break did little to alter the action and a minute after the restart Slimani saw a shot blocked by Casillas, when it would perhaps have been better for the Algerian to have instead set up Teo Gutiérrez. In reply, Maxi Pereira made the most of some confusion in the Sporting area to pull a stop out of Patrício from point-blank range. A couple of minute later, Sérgio Oliveira guided a free-kick onto the cross bar in what was one of FC Porto's last forays forward.

Reading FC Porto's difficulty in coming out from the back, Sporting pushed up and a third goal did honestly only look like a matter of time. On 57 minutes Coates headed inches wide following a corner, before Adrien also fired off target a minute later. With twently minutes left on the clock, Casillas again managed to keep his side in touching distance with a fabulous save from a Slimani header at the far post.

The introduction of André André in the FC Porto midfield did give a bit of balance, but the hosts only really looked dangerous from set-pieces. It was from once such dead ball that FC Porto had their best chance of the half, when Herrara curved a shot over the wall and pulled an instinctive parry out of Patrício. José Peseiro brought on André Silva to accompany Aboubakar in the FC Porto attack, but it was Jorge Jesus' substitution that proved a masterclass in how to read the game. Just minutes after coming off the bench, Bruno César burst away through the middle and drove a low shot for a goal that Iker Casillas could have done better to keep out.

The result keeps Sporting within two points of Benfica, with two games to play.

Jorge Jesus includes 19 for Classic

Jorge Jesus has included 19 players in his squad to face FC Porto, on Liga NOS matchday 32:

Goalkeepers: Rui Patrício and Azbe Jug

Defenders: Schelotto, Coates, P. Oliveira, Semedo, João Pereira, Marvin Zeegelaar and Esgaio

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

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

FC Porto-Sporting CP will get underway at 18h30 today, in Estádio do Dragão.

Liga NOS matchday 33 kick-off times announced

Sporting CP will host V. Setúbal at 20h45 on Saturday the 7th of May, on Liga NOS matchday 33.

The match will be the last in Estádio José Alvalade, with a full house expected after what has been a record-breaking season in terms of crowd numbers.

Liga NOS matchday 33 kick-off times in full:

- P. Ferreira-Tondela (Friday, 6th of May, 20h30)

- Rio Ave-FC Porto (Saturday, 7th of May, 16h15)

- Académica-Sp. Braga (Saturday, 7th of May, 18h30)

- SPORTING CP-V. Setúbal (Saturday, 7th of May, 20h45)

- Nacional-Belenenses (Sunday, 8th of May, 16h)

- Boavista-U. Madeira (Sunday, 8th of May, 16h)

- V. Guimarães-Moreirense (Sunday, 8th of May, 18h15)

- Marítimo-Benfica (Sunday, 8th of May, 20h30)

- Estoril-Arouca (Monday, 9th of May 20h)

Jorge Jesus ahead of Saturday's showdown with FC Porto

“The way we prepare for a game is the same, no matter who we play against. Strategy can change depending on who we are playing against, but our methodology doesn't", opened Jorge Jesus in his pre-match press conference this Friday afternoon, ahead of the weekend's visit to FC Porto.

For the Alvalade coach, this is the ideal time to face FC Porto: "We are near the end of the season and we have hardly anyone injured. I have all the options I want in the squad, which is nice. It will be a hard match with not only three points to win, but potentially first place as well. We are, as always, feeling calm and confident. We will have a great match tomorrow. Both teams have their objectives fixed now, but that doesn't take any pressure off FC Porto. They will want to win and to play well, just like we will. We have been better than FC Porto over the 31 matches played this season and we have 10 more points than them, but that doesn't take away from the quality they have."

Jesus was naturally in his normal analytical mood, taking a closer look at Saturday's opponent: “We will face two really good wing-backs who go on the attack. One of them played for me for six years. Of course we will pay a bit of extra attention to both of them, but that won't change much what we normally do. We aren't going to move away from how we attack."

This weekend could prove pivotal in the title race. “There are nine points to play for and I think we could have had a lot more. The numbers show what a great season it has been, but we are missing the cherry on the top of the cake. We believe we are in with a chance and we will until the last game of the season. The confidence we are felling right now didn't drop from the sky, it comes from the work we put in on the training pitch", said Jesus, finishing: "Benfica and Sporting CP have won pretty much every game and it is a blow for blow race for the title. Of course V. Guimarães could stop Benfica, just like U. Madeira could have stopped us. Let's wait and see what happens, but the most important thing is that we play well against FC Porto."

Information for travelling fans

For Sporting's fans travelling to Estádio do Dragão for this Saturday's (18h30) match against FC Porto, the club informs the following:

- Fans travelling in their own cards should meet at the STCP Carpark by 15:30.

- For fans traveling with Organised Fan Groups from Lisbon, meeting is at Estádio José Alvalade at 09h00, in order to ensure all vehicles arrived at the STCP Carpark by 15h30.

- A police escort will take all fans to the stadium for at 16h00.

- The stadium will open at 16h30.

Dutch wing-back selected by EAS Sports

Marvin Zeegelaar has been named in the latest FIFA Ultimate Team, in a squad bringing together the best players from the most recent week of action.

The Dutchman set up both Teo Guitiérrez and João Mário for their goals in the 2-0 win against U. Madeira, seeing him named along with: Leno (Bayer Leverkusen); San José (Athl. Bilbao), Berezutsky (CSKA Moscow), Jérôme Roussillon (Montpellier); Hazard (Chelsea), Mikhitaryan (B. Dortmund), Tadic (Southampton), Mertens (Napoli), Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) and Francesco Totti (Roma).

Sales for Saturday's Liga NOS matchday 32 Classic

In light of the limited number of tickets available for Liga NOS matchday 32 against FC Porto, sales in Alvalade will be exclusively for Club Members with a Gamebox 2015/2016 and consecutive years as a Gamebox holder as follows:

WEDNESDAY | Members with a Gamebox 2015/2016 and Member Gamebox for 13 years (100%)
THURSDAY | Members with a Gamebox 2015/2016 and Member Gamebox for 7 to 12 years
FRIDAY | Members with a Gamebox 2015/2016 and Member Gamebox for 1 to 6 years

Estádio José Alvalade ticket officers will be open from 10h to 20h until tickets sell out, with tickets priced at 25€ for sectors 47 to 50.

A Gamebox (with March 2016 fees paid) must be shown when making purchase, with each card valid for 1 ticket. Each person may bring up to a maximum of 4 cards.

FC Porto-Sporting CP will get underway at 18h30 on Saturday the 30th of April, in Estádio do Dragão.

Jorge Jesus on his side's win against U. Madeira

Jorge Jesus was understandably happy with his side's clinical dismantling of União da Madeira this weekend, with a performance rubbber-stamped with another clean sheet.

“The most important thing is to score first. We had 35 minutes of really good football and went two goals ahead, but we could have scored more. I would say thought that U. Madeira players well and they have some quick players out wide who had us defending at times. We were really objective today and I am happy for not having conceded", affirmed the Sporting coach at the final whistle, adding: "We are gaining stability in defence and we didn't give our opponent any chances today. Some of the lads who haven't had that much time on the pitch had a run out today, like Hernán Barcos and Gelson. Bryan Ruiz has played a lot this season and we were trying to protect him for the run in up to the end of the season."

Sporting also secured an automatic Champions League berth this Saturday. “It is important financially and also you don't have to play really early in qualifiers. I want to be back in the Champions League", finished Jesus.

Sebastián Coates on Sporting's win against União da Madeira

Sebastián Coates was once again the bedrock at the heart of the Sporting defence this weekend, contributing with another cleansheet in what is one of the tightest title for Sporting races in recent years.

“We scored two quick goals and it was a fair win. We knew we had to win, to stay in the fight for first play. It was important for us to qualify directly for the Champions League too and that was one of our objectives. We aren't thinking about Rio Ave-Benfica and all we have to focus on are our matches", said the South American at the final whistle, going on to comment on the recent praise in his direction from president Bruno de Carvalho: "Thinks like that make me happy and I just have to carry on putting the work in. I am satisfied here and focused on the end of the season."

Sporting CP regain Liga NOS top spot and guarantee Champions League spot

Sporting CP beat U. Madeira 2-0 this Saturday, claiming a three points that not only moved Jesus' side back to the top of the Liga NOS pile, but which also secured automatic qualification for next year's Champions League.

It was obvious from early on that Sporting would go on the attack and it wasn't long before U. Madeira were on the back foot, with some sensational play between William, João Mário and Teo Gutiérrez ending up in a pass that was just out of Slimani's reach. However, the afternoon's visitors gathered their thoughts and rallied down the other end, with Danilo Dias firing a warning shot toward's goal.

U. Madeira actually looked relatively well organised in defence, with a backline sitting deep in preparation for the coming Sporting onslaught. Jorge Jesus' charges of course proved more than capable of dismantling their well organised visitors, with well drilled set pieces looking particularly venomous. It was from a set piece that the game's first goal materialised, when João Mário found Bruno César with a corner. The Brazilian obliged with a pass to the edge of the box for Adrien, who released Marvin down the wing for cross that Teo Gutiérrez headed home. To their credit, U. Madeira picked themselves up and two minutes later Danilo Dias could well have leveled, where it not for an absolutely superb diving save from Rui Patrício to deny Dias' curled effort.

The Visitors' rally did little to phase Sporting and in the 19th minute the ball was again in the back of the net, this time with João Mário converting on another killer cross from Marvin Zeegelaar. Some tight defending from Sporting smartly denied U. Madeira's hopes going forward, while long spells of possession through the middle and speed down the wings kept the opportunities on goal coming. Slimani (28’) and Teo Gutiérrez (38’) both fired shots over the bar before the break and Coates deserved a goal after a tantalising dribble forward and shot that the visitor's keeper managed to keep out.

The second-half started with a nervy moment for Jesus' side, when Rúben Semedo almost the ball into the back of his own net. Down the other end, Schelotto found Slimani, but the Algerian sliced the resulting shot wide. Possibly the game's clearest opportunity came in the 52nd minute, when Slimani battled back possession and put the ball out wide to Adrien. The Sporting skipper responded with a cross timed to perfection and Teo fired towards goal, but Gudiño somehow managed to parry away for a corner.

Fully aware of the importance of the coming visit to FC Porto, Jorge Jesus used the two-goal cushion as a chance to manage his squad, bringing on Bryan Ruiz for João Mário. The Costa Rican almost responded to his introduction with one of his typically sensational moments, but his 61st minute overhead kick lacked power. Adrien had the whole stadium out of their seats six minutes later with a looping volley that crashed against the post and harmlessly away.