Alvalade midfielder scoops yet another award

João Mário has been named as the Professional Football Player's Syndicate for the month of February, after having already won the award in January.

The Sporting midfielder, who is currently away on international duty, won a total of 16.94% of the vote, beating the Guimarães keeper Miguel Silva (13.72%) and Iuri Medeiros (11.62%), who is currently out on loan..

The voting is tallied from the choice of the Player's Syndicate (40%) and sports journalists and is for players under the age of 23.

PPFL announces coming Liga NOS fixtures

The Portuguese Professional Football League has announced the dates for the next two Liga NOS matches, coming up after this weekend's international break.

Sporting will make the short trip to Restelo to take on Belenenses at 21h00 on Monday the 4th of April, before hosting Marítimo at 20h45 on Saturday the 9th of April.

Alvalade with 83 names included in 32 national squads lists

Add up the numbers and you come to the inevitable truth: Sporting is the club who has provided most players for the national team. Since 2010, a total of 32 squad lists have been issued. Together, Agostinho Oliveira, Carlos Queiroz, Paulo Bento and Fernando Santos have named 702 players (mostly the same group of stars), 83 of which were from Sporting, followed by 79 from Real Madrid and 68 from FC Porto.

The arrival of Fernando Santos is showing no sign of reversing the tendency, with Rui Patrício, William Carvalho, Adrien and João Mário all set to face Belgium and Bulgaria in the coming round of friendlies.

Top-10 teams providing players to the national team:

1st Sporting: 83

2nd Real Madrid: 79

3rd FC Porto: 68

4th Sp. Braga: 59

5th Zenit: 47

6th Benfica: 40

7th Valencia: 37

8th Besiktas: 25

9th Fenerbahçe: 24

10th AS Monaco: 21

Bryan Ruiz back in scoring form with brilliant effort against Arouca

"I dedicate my goal to the fans who have been supporting me a lot. I have felt great our last two games, but I was finding it hard to score", opened Bryan Ruiz in a post-match interview, before reflecting on his side's overall performance: "We played really well. We have been in great form, all we needed was goals. We were clinical today and scoring four in the first-half helped a lot. We are really happy, but of course we want more."

Jorge Jesus on Sporting's 5-1 in against Arouca

Sporting CP put five goals past Arouca this Saturday, in what Jorge Jesus saw as a  a clear display of the superiority shown by his side throughout the season.

“We have shown throughout the season and recently that we are better than our opponents. We showed that in Guimarães and here against our rival. Today we played against the team that is in 5th and that hadn't let in a single goal in five matches. They are a team that defend well, but we were really objective. We got the win, which was our main objective. It wouldn't have made a difference if it had been by one goal of three, but obviously  it is better like this. We showed a lot of class today and the lads really deserve a lot of credit", said Jesus, adding: "The fans deserve for us to win by this kind of margin. We will battle to the end, because that is how champions are made."

Teo Gutiérrez scores two against Arouca in 5-1 win

Teo Gutiérrez spoke with the press this Saturday after bagging two goals against Arouca, on Liga NOS matchday 27.

“We are feeling confident and we want to do our job. We are a team and we want to play the best football we possibly can", opened the Colombian, adding a work on his current form: "I am calm. My teammates and the coaches help me and that is showing on the pitch. There are seven matches left and we have to carry on. Everyone is fighting to win points and it is down to us to do our job."

Sporting put five past Arouca on Liga NOS matchday 27

Sporting CP breezed past the visiting Arouca this Saturday, with two goals from Téo Gutiérrez and João Mário and a strike from Bryan Ruiz closing out what was an easier than expected win against the league's 5th place side.

Arouca looked dangerous in the earlier stages, but it was Sporting who created the first chances on goal, with Bryan Ruiz putting a header just wide in the 4th minute after a cross from Bruno César. Next it was Ruiz turned creator, when the Costa Rican floated a ball across to the far post that Slimani came just inches from converting on. A goal looked to be only a matter of time coming and Arouca finally broke for the first time in the 16th minute, when Coates nodded a header on following a corner from Bruno César. The effort looked to be heading goalwards, but Teo made sure with an easy tap in. Walter González broke away almost immediately following the restart and could havelevelled, but Rui Patrício stood firm and made a comfortable save.

Lito Vidigal's side hadn't conceded a single goal for five straight matches, but the tone had been set for what would be one of Sporting's most clinical attacking displays of the season. Teo Gutiérrez broke away down the right and dragged a pass across to João Mário down the middle and the Portuguese international obliged with a thunderous effort to make it 2-0 after just 19 minutes.

Arouca simply looked lost after the second, particularly with João Mário continuously thundering forward and terrorising the visiting defence. Slimani picked out the midfielder with a delicious back heel, but the final effort finished up high of the cross bar. Not to be dissuaded, a beautiful link up between Adrien saw the Sporting captain dribble past three defenders and release João Mãrio at a tight ankle just inside the 18-yard box and the finish that followed was simple sensational, with the midfielder arching the ball around the Arouca keeper and into the back of the net to make it 3-0.

Sporting's destruction of Arouca didn't stop there and Teo wasn't about to let João Mário claim the title of the evening's best finisher. Another corner from Bruno César was this time flicked on by William Carvalho and the Colombian striker was in the right place at the right time to poke into the back of the net.

The second-half got underway with a break forward from Slimani, but the Algerian was only able to fire into the side netting after being forced into a tight angle. Just after it had been announced that 46,014 fans had packed out Alvalade for what was the third best crowd of the season, Bryan Ruiz produced a bit of his usual magic with a curled shot beyond the reach of the Arouca keeper. Arouca responded with a counter-attack from Ivo Rodrigues, but Rui Patrício made a fine save, before Gegé headed a goal back for the visitors. Sporting could have made it six just before the final whistle, but Gelson Martins was unable to keep his shot down after a fine bit of play between Teo and Aquilani.

Jorge Jesus includes 20 for Liga NOS matchday 27

Jorge Jesus has included a total of 20 players in his squad for Liga NOS matchday 27 against Arouca:

Goalkeepers: Rui Patrício and Azbe Jug

Defenders: Schelotto, Ewerton, Coates, João Pereira, Semedo and Esgaio

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

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

Sporting CP-Arouca will get underway today at 18h30, in Estádio José Alvalade.

Jorge Jesus ahead of Saturday's hosting of Arouca

Jorge Jesus is expecting a tough hosting of Arouca this Saturday, on Liga NOS matchday 27. However, the Alvalade boss is confident that his side will come away with the three points.

“Arouca are having a decent enough season. They are in fifth and are trying to defend that position. They have already taken points off our main rivals as well. We know it will be hard, against a team who are good on the break. They are a decent side for this league, but we are ready. The lads are in good shape and we are in the fight for the title", opened the Sporting coach, going on to add a word on what is expected to be another capacity crowd: "Sporting CP is not only battling back its identity when it comes to titles, but also with the fans. Everyone is proud of us once again and our fans are really young. How is it possible that a club that hasn't won a title for 14 years has so many young fans? It really should be a case study."

Jorge Jesus further added that his medical staff are pushing to get Jefferson back into action, but affirmed that he has options to come in for the suspended Marvin: "Esgaio is a player who knows the position and some other players in the squad can play there as well. I am sure whoever plays will do a good job."

“Sporting is the team with most players in the national team and that is a good thing. We have a lot of young players who are going through and to be honest the club is growing right across the board", finished Jesus.

Fernando Santos names squad for Belgium and Bulgaria friendlies

Sporting CP dominate Fernando Santos' squad for two friendlies against Belgium and Bulgaria, in a squad list issued this week.

Rui Patrício, William Carvalho, Adrien Silva and João Mário will all feature against Bulgaria on the 25th of March in Leiria, before the Portuguese take on Belgium on the 29th of March in Brussels.

Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Eduardo (Dynamo Zagreb) and Rui Patrício (Sporting CP)

Defenders: Bruno Alves (Fenerbahçe), Cédric and José Fonte (Southampton), Eliseu (Benfica), Pepe (Real Madrid), Raphael Guerreiro (Lorient), Ricardo Carvalho (Monaco) and Vieirinha (Wolfsburg)

Midfielders: Adrien Silva, João Mário and William Carvalho (Sporting CP), André Gomes (Valência), Bernardo Silva (Monaco), Danilo Pereira (FC Porto) and Renato Sanches (Benfica)

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Danny (Zenit), Éder (Lille), Nani (Fenerbahçe), Rafa (SC Braga) and Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas)