The game against SL Benfica ends in a 2-2 draw

Sporting Clube de Portugal drew 2-2 against SL Benfica on Liga Portugal Matchday 33, in a Lisbon derby that was the last game of the season at the Estádio José Alvalade.

Coach Rúben Amorim fielded Franco Israel, Ousmane Diomande, Sebastián Coates, Gonçalo Inácio, Ricardo Esgaio, Manuel Ugarte, Hidemasa Morita, Nuno Santos, Marcus Edwards, Pedro Gonçalves and Francisco Trincão in his starting XI.

Sporting CP began well and were the better side in the opening stages, creating a series of chances. Trincão was the first to cause problems, with a shot from distance which goalkeeper Vlachodimos saved, then it was Ousmane Diomande who headed wide of goal.

SL Benfica tried to respond, but were not causing any danger in the final third.

Esgaio crossed from the right to the back post in the 21st minute and Gonçalves appeared behind Vlachodimos, but missed his shot and the chance to put his team 1-0 up. Esgaio himself would have an effort saved just past the half-hour.

In the 39th minute, the goal finally arrived. Nuno Santos put the ball into the area and Trincão shot at Vlachodimos, but won the rebound and, after going around the goalkeeper, made it 1-0.

Sporting CP doubled their lead before the break: From a corner taken by Nuno Santos on the left, Diomande out-jumped Grimaldo and nodded in the second goal.

It was up to SL Benfica to react in the second half and they replaced João Mário with Bah enter. Whilst their approach was more dangerous, Franco Israel was not provided with major difficulties.

In the 54th minute, Amorim also changed his team, taking off Edwards and bringing on Paulinho. The striker had the ball in the net ten minutes later, but the referee had already whistled for an offensive foul.

SL Benfica then made it 2-1, with a goal scored by Ausnes. Sporting CP reacted with two more substitutions, introducing Héctor Bellerín and Matheus Reis.

Bellerín began well and, five minutes later, after a good individual move, Sporting CP were close to scoring again: Vlachodimos failed to catch Paulinho's cross and Hidemasa Morita appeared for the rebound, but struck over the crossbar.

Morita and Nuno Santos were withdrawn for Dário Essugo and Arthur Gomes, and the latter smashed a shot into a defender almost immediately upon arrival.

In the 86th minute, Paulinho had a golden chance after beating the defence and entering the area with only Vlachodimos in front of him, but he hesitated with his shot and was smothered by the keeper.

In the eight minutes of stoppage time, SL Benfica equalised after much confusion in the area, off a move that was checked by VAR.

The derby thus ended in a 2-2 draw. Sporting CP sign off in Liga Portugal for 2022/2023 next weekend away at FC Vizela, with the kickoff time yet to be scheduled.

The Sporting CP coach previews the derby against SL Benfica

Sporting Clube de Portugal play SL Benfica this Sunday at the Estádio José Alvalade, in a derby on Liga Portugal Matchday 33.

The day before the game, Rúben Amorim underlined the obligation to win in his pre-match press conference.

“The week was good for us. We were able to train things, not only for this game, but also for what we want to see in the future. We prepared for the game well and, as usual, we will pick a team ready to win the game," he began by saying.

“I don't think that SL Benfica are the favourites. I think that we have nothing at stake in this game and, therefore, it will always be a difficult game for our club and for us -because we are not fighting for the title. SL Benfica still have a gap at the top, even if they don't win in Alvalade, and that's why it will be an easier game for them."

“I expect an SL Benfica side that want to be crowned champions, but that always play the same way. We have to have the ball and play our game. We had a very good 30 minutes away from home against them, but for the rest of the game SL Benfica had more possession and were slightly on top. Therefore, what I want is to take those 30 minutes and turn them into 90. I'm not very interested in how SL Benfica are going to come into the game: I am interested in how we are going to approach things, both defending and attacking. We have the plan in place and it is yet another game where we have an obligation to win," continued Amorim, who refused to comment on the changes he has planned for his starting lineup.

"Anything is possible, but I will not open the game too much. We have to pay attention to the opponent's characteristics and try to take the game to where we want it, and that's where the characteristics of our players come in. Franco Israel is clearly prepared and, since Adán got the red card, it's clear in my head that he's going to play. I have complete confidence in Franco.”

Sporting CP are still fighting for third place, but without putting pressure on themselves.

 “As long as it is mathematically possible, we have to believe, and, above all, we have to win our games. We have the team to beat SL Benfica, we've already proved that we can beat any opponents, and we are playing at home. We know what surrounds the game, but that doesn't change anything. We have to be used to playing to win."

“This game is not going to change what we've done or the inconsistency we've had. We want to win and we're going to play to win. In my mind, the gift we can give the fans is to win the game and prepare for next season, so that the next campaign is befitting of the greatness of the club," he said, saying that a victory for SL Benfica will be just another win.

He also mentioned the two days off that he gave his side, explaining: “Since we've been here, that's what we've always done in such a long week: we train very hard for two days, we take a break and then we have two more days to prepare the game."

“It's always been what we've done. I already have a few years of experience and I know that this can cause some problems, but what I think about is how am I going to help my players. Sporting CP has to win every game and, therefore, it is no different to any other,” he justified, adding: “The important thing for me is that the players realise that we do not change things depending on the results and league positions. We have a way of working, we demand the maximum from the players, they arrived back here and prepared the game well."

The coach, who has experienced derbies on both sides of the equation, was also asked which one was the most outstanding for him.

“All of them are remarkable. For me, as a player, maybe it was the first when I was a kid. In terms of this team, the most striking was the first derby we had at Alvalade, in which we won with a goal from Matheus Nunes. We moved nine points ahead of SL Benfica. It was a very important moment and it was also important because Sporting CP had not won a derby at Alvalade for some time."

Rúben Amorim calls several youth team players up for the session

The Sporting Clube de Portugal squad returned to training at the Academia Cristiano Ronaldo in Alcochete this Friday, fully focused on preparing on the big derby against SL Benfica -which is scheduled for Sunday at the Estádio José Alvalade (8:30pm local time).

Coach Rúben Amorim called up several youngsters from the B team for the session: David Monteiro, João Pereira, Chico Lamba, Gonçalo Esteves, Miguel Menino, Tiago Ferreira, Vando Félix, Samuel Justo, Mateus Fernandes, Diogo Cabral, André Gonçalves, Francisco Canário and Rodrigo Ribeiro.

Jovane Cabral and Jeremiah St. Juste continue their recovery with the help of the club's Medical Department.

Os Leões will train again on Saturday at 10:30am, with Amorim holding a press conference at 12:15pm.

The coach reacts to a frantic finale against CS Marítimo

Upon the conclusion of Sporting Clube de Portugal's 2-1 victory over CS Marítimo, coach Rúben Amorim gave a press conference at the Artur Agostinho Auditorium at the Estádio José Alvalade.

"The quality of play was not very good, but the goals brought justice to a match in which one team wanted to win. CS Marítimo created a lot of anxiety amongst the Sporting CP players with their early goal, but the result turned out to be fair. We really wanted to turn things around, and we gave and tried everything," he began by telling journalists.

"If we hadn't conceded the goal, we could have been much better. That goal created a lot of anxiety. The players had a lot of desire, but there was a lot of rushing to do things. I never felt CS Marítimo opened up. We always pushed, but without great quality. I couldn't help them and at halftime we had to change to players with more minutes under their belts. The end of the game was chaotic: A goal for one team, a goal disallowed for another and everyone wanting to win."

Asked about the fact that, due to Antonio Adán's sending off and consequent suspension, Franco Israel will be in goal against SL Benfica next weekend, the coach stated that the Uruguayan "is a player who has evolved a lot" and that "he has already played in the UEFA Champions League."

Responding to a question about what his takeaways will be from the match, Amorim explained that, as always, he will "look at what happened and understand why we didn't play so well."

"I want to underline the character of the players. They turned the scoreline around fairly. That's the positive. In terms of the negatives, a lack of creativity, the missed passes, the players feeling the pressure of the atmosphere and the players being afraid of the ball. I have no concern about this ahead of the derby. In big games we usually have another level of performance and more quality. However, obviously, there is a lot to improve."

Another of the topics addressed was a possible guard of honour for SL Benfica if they win the title before the visit to Alvalade.

"There is no tradition of having a guard of honour in our league, and we talked about this two years ago, when there wasn't one for us. We're going to treat them the way we were treated, with all due respect."

A thrilling finale has a deserved result for Sporting CP

Sporting Clube de Portugal fought back to beat CS Marítimo 2-1 on Liga Portugal Matchday 32, in a match that featured a thrilling finale and striker Paulinho covering in goal.

Coach Rúben Amorim made three changes to the starting lineup from the team that beat Paços de Ferreira: Gonçalo Inácio, Hidemasa Morita and Nuno Santos made way for Matheus Reis, Arthur Gomes and Paulinho. Youssef Chermiti was the major absentee from the squad, missing out due to lower back pain.

From the opening whistle, Sporting CP commanded play and set the pace. However, CS Marítimo sprung a surprise in the tenth minute, when they took advantage of a mistake to send Vítor Costa free down the left wing. The left-back closed in on Antonio Adán and struck inside the far post to open the scoring at Alvalade, with what proved to be their only attempt on goal in the first half.

The goal served to make CS Marítimo's ultra-defensive plan even more intense, as they limited the space available to Sporting CP in the final third.

In the 14th minute, Paulinho headed wide and, shortly afterwards, a good interplay between Marcus Edwards and Héctor Bellerín ended with the latter trying to set up his teammates in the area, but goalkeeper Marcelo Carné rushed onto the ball.

The CS Marítimo goalkeeper was again called upon half an hour into the game, when he saved Paulinho's shot. Before that, Ousmane Diomande had shot over, with Arthur Gomes doing the same in the 33rd minute.

Just before the break, Sporting CP could have scored from a Gomes cross, as Bellerín knocked on for Pedro Gonçalves -who could not finish the move due to the presence of an opposition player.

For the second half, three substitutions were made for Sporting CP: Matheus Reis, Bellerín and Gomes were replaced by Hidemasa Morita, Nuno Santos and Gonçalo Inácio. The attitude shown by CS Marítimo remained the same, as they looked to pack the midfield and defence.

As the task of breaking through that wall of 11 players was frustrating and difficult, Amorim made more changes when Fatawu came on for Francisco Trincão, then Ricardo Esgaio relieved Ousmane Diomande.

In the 65th minute, Gonçalves appeared in an excellent position, but fumbled his attempt to control the ball. On the conclusion of a counterattack, Manuel Ugarte was just a few centimeters from scoring, and the same thing happened to Marcus Edwards as the game drew close to its final quarter of an hour.

The goal finally arrived five minutes from time, as Gonçalves feinted an opponent and tried to set up his teammates, with Matheus Costa deflecting the ball into his own net.

In the third minute of added time, Edwards crossed to the far post, where Paulinho headed on and Sebastián Coates popped up to finish and finally put Sporting CP 2-1 in front.

However, the match was far from over, as CS Marítimo put another ball into the net off a move in which Nuno Santos was fouled. Confusion broke out, with several cards shown -including a red for Antonio Adán – and several shoves between players took place.

After consulting VAR, referee Tiago Martins ruled out the goal, but upheld the sending off for Adán, forcing Paulinho to go in goal.

The drama finally ended, after many long minutes of additional time, and Sporting CP earned the three points. Next up is the derby against SL Benfica.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GK], Ousmane Diomande (Ricardo Esgaio, 64'), Sebastián Coates [C], Matheus Reis (Hidemasa Morita, 46'), Héctor Bellerín (Nuno Santos, 46'), Manuel Ugarte, Pedro Gonçalves, Arthur Gomes (Gonçalo Inácio, 46'), Marcus Edwards, Francisco Trincão (Fatawu, 57') and Paulinho.

The coach previews the match against CS Marítimo

Sporting Clube de Portugal welcome CS Marítimo this Saturday on Matchday 32 in Liga Portugal, and coach Rúben Amorim says that the game presents an opportunity for his side.

“We have the utmost focus on this game. It's the only thing that matters and we have to take advantage of every minute. The focus is on improving certain things. We want to improve on our showing in the first game against them -and I don't think that will be difficult because we didn't play very well in Madeira, at an important moment in the season. That was also explained to the players at the time: We were coming back from the break for the World Cup, we were on a winning streak, had gone several games without conceding, had victories with great performances and there was a break, which was a hard blow to recover from," he told the media.

"Afterwards, we played Benfica away and played well, and that intermittency was very clear there. We have to improve in those aspects, win, not concede goals and enjoy this game as well, to continue to look at some things that we are working on to make the team more unpredictable. It is a good opportunity for us to win and to improve our play.”

CS Marítimo find themselves in a tough situation in the league, so the coach expects a game between two teams giving their all -and Sporting CP to be focused on winning.

“Above all, we look at the response that the team have provided. Honestly, when we're playing we don't look like a team that is far from our objectives and at the end of a cycle -quite the contrary. The players have already got it into their heads that that's football, that we have had a difficult season and that we have to stop thinking about the past and look to the future. We have to put in a good performance and, above all, respect the league. There is a fight between FC Paços de Ferreira and CS Marítimo, who are the teams closest to the playoff zone, and we have to respect that, in the same way that we did our best against FC Paços de Ferreira. In addition to the pride that comes with playing for Sporting CP, there is the obligation to give it your best and also make the competition more real. Therefore, we prepared for this game in the best way, we had a good week of work and we are prepared for the game," said Amorim.

With the season coming to an end, he was asked about the preparation for next term and assured that everything is well planned, taking into account the financial aspect.

“We are clear about what kind of players we need and who can leave. This assessment has already been more or less done and we will not interfere much, because we also have to focus on continuity, on the way the team plays and on the connections between the players. The league position will not influence things too much, because we already have a plan with and without Champions League football."

The coach was also asked about Daniel Bragança's return to training, after several months recovering from injury.

"It's great news. Dani looks very good, without fear. He had a bit of a slow recovery, but it shows a lot in the way he performs in training. We're not taking any risks with Dani. He is part of our plans for next season. He will be a very important player. He has great talent and our team have adapted to play in a way with Morita or Pedro Gonçalves, which is completely different from Matheus Nunes' style of play, which fits with Dani's ability to play between the lines and with the ball at his feet. I think that perhaps this will be our great strength for next season,” he concluded.

The coach's verdict on a 0-4 win against FC Paços de Ferreira

After a 0-4 win over FC Paços de Ferreira on Liga Portugal Matchday 31, Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim explained that his side had been "more complete" in their showing than in the game against FC Famalicão.

“We said last week that we didn't have very long possessions and that took away our quality, because there were many transitions and missed passes. That wasn't the case in this game. We started very well, with a very good pace, and we created two opportunities right at the beginning of the game,” he began by saying, admitting that the way in which the first goal of the game arrived “made everything more difficult” for the opposition.

“However, we also caused this mistake. We removed some references for FC Paços de Ferreira to use, due to the way Bellerín sometimes played a little further back. We tried things that worked. The players were very serious, they want to evolve. What we did badly last week, we did well today. We were better at our decision-making, despite Marafona making some good saves. It was a complete showing and a fair victory.”

Asked about the impact of this result on the standings, after SC Braga's defeat away to SL Benfica, the coach said he is not throwing in the towel in the fight for third place.

“Dreaming is always possible, but it remains very tough. At the moment we are not even thinking about it, because it isn't only down to us. We have to do our job. Our focus is to improve from week to week,” underlined the coach, before stating that “when there is a good collective performance, the individual quality of the players comes to the fore."

"The team have evolved in the final months of the season. Although we had two draws that took away the chance of getting closer to fighting for other things in this last phase of the campaign, we have had a gradual growth with good performances. Now we have to win our games -we will do the maths at the end of the season. If we can cut the gap from four points to one point, we have to do it because that's our identity; we're a big club. If we fall, we have to do so with dignity and do our best until the end."

In closing, Amorim stressed that the team "have to think that the season starts now: Not this one but the next one."

 “We are finishing this season, but everything we do and improve now will bear fruit in the next campaign. Now we have to focus on the game against CS Marítimo, and everything we can do to win the next games, we will do it," he concluded.

Sporting CP win 0-4 in Liga Portugal action

Sporting Clube de Portugal visited the Estádio Capital do Móvel, home of FC Paços de Ferreira, on Matchday 31, and came back with a 0-4 victory that extends their unbeaten run in Liga Portugal.

The squad featured the return of Paulinho after almost a month out due to injury, and Rúben Amorim made just one change to the starting lineup from the win against FC Famalicão: Héctor Bellerín replacing Ricardo Esgaio at right-back.

Os Leões started out in control of the match, with Diomande wasting an excellent opportunity from close range in the opening moments. It would be a sign of what was to come, as in the 7th minute, Luiz Carlos, in an attempt to play back to Marafona, diverted the ball onto the post and into his own net for an absurd own goal that put Sporting CP in front.

After the goal the pace became tepid, with no need to accelerate the rhythm of the contest and a plan of trying to invite the opposition on. In one of these situations, in which the team managed to break through the press, Pedro Gonçalves almost scored the second goal from the heart of the area, only to be denied by Marafona.

A team fighting for survival and increasingly in need of points, FC Paços de Ferreira only provided their first offensive move close to the half-hour, but Sporting CP quickly responded with a goal to make it 0-2 in the 33rd minute. Nuno Santos received the ball, advanced a few meters and, right after entering the area, lifted the ball over the goalkeeper with great class.

Even with a two-goal advantage, Sporting CP continued to create promising moves and could even have increased the lead before the break. In the best of these chances, Francisco Trincão broke into the box and shot hard, but once again Marafona made the stop.

Upon the restart, FC Paços de Ferreira became more daring and showed signs of wanting to turn the scoreline around, but it was short-lived. Once again, Sporting CP found the net, on 62 minutes, through Francisco Trincão. In a brilliant individual move, he went through two opposition defenders, and finished off to take the score to 0-3.

Amorim then made his first changes, bringing in Paulinho, Mateo Tanlongo and Arthur Gomes. What followed was a phase of total dominance for Os Leões.

In the final minutes they bombarded the Paços de Ferreira area, creating several opportunities. After he himself had come close to scoring, shooting into the side netting, Arthur appeared on the left and set up substitute Youssef Chermiti, who only had to tap the ball in to round off the scoring in the third minute of stoppage time.

A 0-4 triumph made it eleven consecutive games unbeaten for Os Leões and took them past the 100-goal mark for the season. They next play on Saturday, May 13th, against CS Marítimo on Matchday 32.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GK], Ousmane Diomande, Sebastián Coates [C] (Matheus Reis, 82'), Gonçalo Inácio, Héctor Bellerín, Manuel Ugarte (Youssef Chermiti, 82'), Hidemasa Morita (Mateo Tanlongo, 65') , Nuno Santos (Arthur Gomes, 75'), Pedro Gonçalves, Marcus Edwards (Paulinho, 65') and Francisco Trincão.

The coach looks at a Sunday meeting with FC Paços de Ferreira

Sporting Clube de Portugal play FC Paços de Ferreira away from home on Matchday 31 of the Liga Portugal season. Before the action got underway, coach Rúben Amorim talked to the media in his pre-match press conference.

“We know that FC Paços de Ferreira are fighting for survival, and when human beings fight for survival, they transcend what they are capable of. We have to do the same and look at the last two games, where we won and conceded just one goal," he explained.

"We shouldn't have suffered in those games and there's a lot to improve in that sense. It's a shame, because of the way that the table is, that there are only four more games to play, because there's a lot to improve and more games would allow us to prepare for the future more quickly. We want to win and not concede goals.”

“They are a team that take a lot of risks in their buildup play, their coach, César Peixoto, is used to big clubs and is transmitting that idea at FC Paços de Ferreira. We have to be brave and strong in our pressing to steal balls early on, as well as being careful with talented one-on-one players like Nigel Thomas. Gaitán also still has quality, despite having less pace than before. We have to be strong because they play well and we have to compensate because we play with two in midfield and they play with three. We analysed the game as if it were against Arsenal or Juventus; that's how we have to look at all the games," pointed out Amorim.

The coach also sees the game as another opportunity for the team to evolve and take steps forward.

“Looking at the last game, we have to have longer spells of possession and hurt the opposition more. We allowed FC Famalicão many transitions and, therefore, we have aspects to improve. But seeing the quality of FC Paços de Ferreira, it's a game that we have to win. We have this obligation and we will try to do that."

Asked about what remains of Sporting CP's season and what could change in the remaining games, Amorim ruled out that the derby against SL Benfica in two matchdays' time could be a lifeline.

“The image given by Sporting CP this season is one of little consistency. It will never be remembered as us being a team that didn't play good football or a team that scored few goals - we're about to pass the 100 barrier - but we weren't consistent and in key moments we couldn't turn the situation around. We weren't good enough this season. We live off trophies and not on victories, and our objective is to improve so that next year we can fight for silverware. We have to win every game until the end of the season and we have that obligation against anyone. Winning the Europa League wasn't going to change the way you look at the season and winning against SL Benfica won't change anything. Our obligation is to win our games, especially at home."

The game against Paços de Ferreira will mark the return of Paulinho, with the coach confirming that “He will be in the squad and will be able to play for a few minutes. As for Pedro Gonçalves, he's fine, he came off against FC Famalicão because I thought he was tired, perhaps mentally, and had few ideas. But he wants to score more goals and make more assists and he is another option for tomorrow."

Finally, he talked about the young players who have been brought up from the youth team this season.

“We are proving that we call up a lot of players when they need to come through. The objective is always to win trophies, regardless of whether there is a youth system in place or not, but it is very obvious that the project involves homegrown players achieving objectives and winning titles."

Sporting CP's trip to FC Paços de Ferreira will take place this Sunday, with kickoff at 8.30pm at the Estádio Capital do Móvel.

The coach reacts to the 2-1 win over FC Famalicão

After the final whistle in the game against FC Famalicão, Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim, analysed the victory in a press conference.

"We could and should have done several things differently. It was not our best game: We ran a lot, but often badly, because we wanted to press across the whole pitch and we suffered with their long balls," he began by telling journalists present at the Estádio José Alvalade.

“Above all, we weren't able to settle our play down like we usually do, and that can be seen in the possession statistic of 55%-45%. In the first half, when play opened up, we either had the ball behind us or we made the wrong decision. We had little inspiration and scored a goal without doing much for it. We were leading at half-time without allowing many opportunities to the opposition, besides the great save by Adán."

"In the second half we started better, we scored a goal and in a phase in which we really settled in, we lost a ball without pressure on us and everything got a bit more difficult. I think it was a fair victory for a team that have to be better playing at home," he assessed.

"You have games that are like that. We have been very consistent in our performance and sometimes not so much in terms of results, and today it was the opposite, because we won. There's a lot to improve."

Amorim related this to a wider point, stating: "As much as we are told that it was the lack of goals that hindered us this season, I think there were more important things that limited us. We also lost important players, there's no hiding that, but it doesn't explain it all. There were games in which we dominated and what was lacking was consistency, and that is what we have to take into the next season. This game does not sum up the season in general."

Afterwards, the coach explained his decision to replace Pedro Gonçalves on 55 minutes.

"He's such a consistent player and that even if he's not playing well he can still change games, but I thought that today's performance wasn't up to that and he also needed a rest. He seemed tired, without imagination, without explosion. I didn't take him off at half-time because I wanted to leave him on a little longer. For example, I felt that Trincão was growing into the game and Youssef [Chermiti] gave us depth."

Asked about the four players who are still sidelined through injury, Amorim said that "Daniel Bragança won't play again this season, as we're not taking any chances with him, but I think we'll have some time for him to get back into the group and that's great news. So many times I left him out when he had played and trained well, he suffered some bad luck and I was without him for almost a year -and I missed him a lot. Paulinho will be able to play this season, but as for St. Juste and Jovane I would say they won't."

Talking about Ricardo Esgaio, who scored his first ever goal for the Sporting CP first team and was named Man of the Match, the coach expressed his pleasure with the showing.

"He did his job. I defend him because I think he has the quality to play for Sporting CP. He has different characteristics and, to see what football is like, he kept up with a player who is a phenomenon in his position. Now, every time we hear news about [Pedro] Porro, it seems that they are talking about Esgaio in England. That's how football is. Today he played a normal game for him and we are trying to find his position in the rotation with Marcus, with him playing lower. He helped the team, he deserves it and only those who work like he does are able to recover the way he did."

Finally, Rúben Amorim also addressed the progress made by Hidemasa Morita, scorer of the other goal against FC Famalicão.

"Morita is perhaps the best at playing with both feet in the buildup. He is very good between the lines, appearing in the spaces and holding the ball. Matheus [Nunes] came off and he adapted very well to the position. If we look, everyone around the strikers are scoring many more goals than usual, and we'll see if that helps the strikers, because I also think we will improve in that respect," he concluded.