Sporting CP beat SCU Torreense 3-0

This Friday's session for the Sporting CP squad featured a training game against Liga 3 side SCU Torreense. Rúben Amorim's team won 3-0, with goals scored by Paulinho (x2) in the first half, and Bruno Tabata in the second.

All available players were used, as well as several youth team talents. The Sporting CP starting XI consisted of João Virgínia, Matheus Reis, Zouhair Feddal, Bruno Tabata, Manuel Ugarte, Rúben Vinagre, Paulinho, Pedro Gonçalves, Ricardo Esgaio, Daniel Bragança and Lucas Dias.

The squad will next train on Monday, at 10:00am local time, at the Academia Sporting.

The coach looks at his side's performance against FC Arouca

After the 1-2 victory for Sporting Clube de Portugal against FC Arouca, Rúben Amorim, coach of Os Leões, talked in a press conference to analyse the game.

"We deserved to score more goals in the first half. We could have done that, and then the game would have become easier. We didn't, so we went into the second half and they drew level off a transition, but we were able to react. From there, we closed up the game, in order to not suffer from more counterattacks. It was a fair victory. We didn't play as well as in other games, but the important thing was to win," he stressed.

Asked about the decision to bring Ricardo Esgaio, Daniel Bragança and Nuno Santos into the starting eleven, Amorim said that changes were made "with our offensive game more in mind."

"It was important to bring in new players and they are all prepared. We tried to play using the characteristics of our players and I opted for two full-backs next to the centre backs, because they are faster," he pointed out, adding that: "In midfield we wanted to take advantage of [Daniel] Bragança's good form. FC Arouca played higher up than we expected, but we ended up winning."

"With the pressure from FC Arouca we had several transitions where we could have done better, and in the end fatigue started to take over, but we held our advantage," said the coach, before highlighting the defensive work done by the team.

"We didn't give them many chances. The evolution of the team happens at the back, and it takes time. We didn't have a great game, but we controlled things and in the future we will improve," concluded Amorim.

Os Leões overcome FC Arouca 1-2 on Matchday 8

Sporting Clube de Portugal won 1-2 against FC Arouca on Matchday 8 of the Liga Portugal season, as Matheus Nunes and Nuno Santos found the net and sent the team into the international break off the back of three consecutive wins.

The trip to the Estádio Municipal de Arouca brought several novelties: Coach Rúben Amorim gave starting roles to Ricardo Esgaio and Daniel Bragança – for the first time this season - and Nuno Santos, dropping Zouhair Feddal, Luís Neto and Tiago Tomás to the bench.

There was also full attendance permitted, in accordance with the announcement by the Portuguese government on Friday. A heavy contingent of Sportinguistas were present in the district of Aveiro, braving the wet conditions to cheer on their team.

With the opening whistle, the intentions of Sporting CP became clear. The 3-4-3 formation had Esgaio on the right of the three centre backs, Nuno Santos on the left wing and Bragança alongside Palhinha in midfield, with Matheus Nunes moving further upfield. The attacking strategy was evident, and Os Leões threatened twice in the first ten minutes: Efforts from Sarabia (1') and Paulinho (9') would be saved by Fernando Castro, the opposition goalkeeper.

The goal was not long in coming, however. Before the quarter hour was out, Nuno Santos crossed to the back post, Sarabia cushioned the ball down and Matheus Nunes scored for the first time in 2021/2022. The assistant referee initially signalled for offside, but after a lengthy review by VAR, the goal was validated.

Some defensive inattention allowed FC Arouca's first opportunity, which Oday Dabbagh missed for the hosts.

Sporting CP got back in charge and captain Sebastián Coates - playing his 250th game for the club - was just a few centimeters away from converting a ball from Paulinho.

In response, Adán repelled a dangerous deflection from Abdoulaye Ba off a set piece, followed by Sarabia having two chances saved by the opposition goalkeeper before the break.

The action continued in the second half and then with two early goals - one for each side. Oday Dabbagh equalised for FC Arouca off a quick transition, but the reaction was as rapid as it was effective: Just three minutes later, Nuno Santos entered the area and struck powerfully to score.

Amorim opted to change things up in his front line, putting Tiago Tomás and Bruno Tabata on in place of Paulinho and Sarabia. At the start of the last ten minutes there was a lot of fighting for possession, and once more the coach adjusted with the introduction of Jovane Cabral and Manuel Ugarte for Matheus Nunes and Bragança.

There would be no change in the scoreline, and a late push from FC Arouca was capably held off. The 1-2 result means that Sporting CP move up to 20 points in the Liga Portugal table.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GR], Pedro Porro (Luís Neto 61'), Ricardo Esgaio, Sebastián Coates [C], Matheus Reis, Nuno Santos, João Palhinha, Daniel Bragança (Manuel Ugarte 81'), Pablo Sarabia (Bruno Tabata 71'), Matheus Nunes (Jovane Cabral 81') and Paulinho (Tiago Tomás 71').

The coach targets greater effectiveness in front of goal

On Friday, Rúben Amorim previewed Sporting Clube de Portugal's match against FC Arouca, scheduled for this Saturday, saying that he does not expect an easy contest but believes a good result will go his side's way.

“It will be a game like any other. It's away from home at a tough ground, against a team that are certainly well prepared and who in the last game deserved a better result. We know FC Arouca well and we will be prepared, he began.

“We have to win the game and improve, especially in our finishing."

"Even without so many goals, we have created several opportunities. The statistics are worth what they are worth, but they show that we have created chances and got into the box. The only thing lacking is scoring. We're not scoring many goals, but I always believe that in the next game we'll do more -and it's also important not to suffer, because we always score a goal”.

Amorim also spoke about Paulinho, praising the striker once again and saying that he only talks about him so much because of the questions that are asked.

"Paulinho has improved the team a lot. He only has to improve his finishing. He does what I ask of him, he just isn't doing what would make others value him more, which is get goals. I'm very honest in my appreciation for my players. There are periods in which strikers score fewer goals, and you might say that it's a long period, but I've seen strikers from other teams go a year without scoring and then explode."

Os Leões will play at the Estádio do Restelo in the Third Round

Sporting Clube de Portugal will take on CF “Os Belenenses” in the Third Round of the Taça de Portugal.

The draw took place at the Federação Portuguesa de Futebol headquarters on Wednesday, at the Cidade do Futebol.

The match, against the side currently third in Série E of the Campeonato de Portugal, will be held on the weekend of October 16th-17th, at the Estádio do Restelo.

Eighteen Primeira Liga clubs enter the competition in the Third Round.

Sporting CP lose 1-0 in Champions League action

Sporting Clube de Portugal were beaten 1-0 by Borussia Dortmund on the second matchday of the UEFA Champions League group stage. The team battled for a satisfying result throughout, but left Signal Iduna Park without any points to their name.

The Liga Portugal champions made two changes from the game against CS Marítimo, with Matheus Reis and Tiago Tomás part of the starting XI in place of Rúben Vinagre and Nuno Santos (both on the bench, as well as young talents João Goulart, José Marsà and Gonçalo Esteves).

The match began without any great scoring opportunities in the first few minutes. Borussia Dortmund had more of the ball, but Sporting CP performed well, especially defensively, and scared the opposition through a swerving cross from Pedro Porro.

In the 19th minute, Sebastián Coates made a mistake and the ball fell to Hazard, who set up Reus for a shot that Adán easily saved. At the other end, Zouhair Feddal found Paulinho and he tried to tee up Tiago Tomás with an overly heavy touch. Soon after, Paulinho regained possession and tried to finish, but missed the target.

After half an hour of play, Sporting CP came very close to getting the goal when, off a corner kick, Sebastián Coates shot acrobatically over the top. In defence, organised movement led to several offside calls against Borussia Dortmund.

Despite this, in the 37th minute Donyell Malen sent the ball into the net, opening the scoring and meaning that Sporting CP went into halftime losing 1-0.

The second half had less action, but was equally competitive for most of the 45 minutes. Tiago Tomás crossed and Paulinho, with his head, forced Kobel to intervene. In response, a Reus shot was easily saved by Adán.

Rúben Amorim made a first change in the 58th minute, putting Nuno Santos on in place of Tiago Tomás, but the chances of a goal did not abound for either team. One of the few was an attempt cut out by Coates, in the 65th minute, preventing the Germans from making it 2-0.

Jovane Cabral came on in the 74th minute (replacing Pablo Sarabia) and, in the 83rd minute, it was the turn of Ricardo Esgaio, Bruno Tabata and Daniel Bragança to replace, respectively, Pedro Porro, Matheus Reis and João Palhinha.

Before the end, Coates kept up the intensity with a header just wide, but Borussia Dortmund would hold on to deny Sporting CP the points.

Sporting CP will be back in action on Saturday, away to FC Arouca's in the Liga Portugal.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GK], Luís Neto, Sebastián Coates [C], Zouhair Feddal, Pedro Porro (Ricardo Esgaio, 83'), João Palhinha (Daniel Bragança, 83'), Matheus Nunes, Matheus Reis (Bruno Tabata, 83'), Pablo Sarabia (Jovane Cabral, 74'), Tiago Tomás (Nuno Santos, 58') and Paulinho.

The midfielder insists Sporting CP are prepared for Champions League Matchday 2

Matheus Nunes previewed the match against Borussia Dortmund in the group stage of the Champions League, explaining that he is certain that Sporting CP are prepared to win.

"We are ready. We have prepared as much as we prepared for the game with CS Marítimo. We know the quality that BVB Dortmund have, but we also know about our strengths, and that's why we'll face the game looking them eye-to-eye,” the midfielder began by saying, mentioning that the heavy defeat against AFC Ajax is already behind them.

“That game is over. We cannot doubt in our work. We are going to do things in the same way. We believe in our work and there is no reason to doubt what we have been doing,” he stressed.

Praising his teammates and midfielders and talking about the qualities of Daniel Bragança, Manuel Ugarte and Bruno Tabata, he said that “the important thing is the team," whoever plays.

“If we are here, it is because we have the quality. The important thing here is not the individuals. Any one of them can do a good job; the important thing is the team."

At a time when much has been said about the interest of the Portuguese and Brazilian national teams in calling him up, Nunes answered that "I've already made a decision. I spoke with both coaches and after thinking a lot I came to the conclusion that it was better to play for Portugal. I think I'll be happier here and my family said the same. I've made this decision and I'm very happy."

The coach previews the game against Borussia Dortmund

Looking ahead to the second match of the Champions League group stage against Borussia Dortmund, Rúben Amorim spoke in a pre-match press conference on Monday afternoon.

“Youth also brings irreverence. Our debut in the competition has already passed. Dortmund have been very strong, especially at home, but our focus is on our team and what we can do and improve upon. We don't look at the difference in experience too much”, the coach began by saying, also insisting that he is not worried about who will play for the German team.

“Am I losing sleep over Haaland? I always sleep well. Football stuff doesn't give me sleepless nights, except for some bad performances and when the players don't give everything. The AFC Ajax result was such a blow that we just have to look at ourselves. I won't look at whether Haaland plays or not. We won't change based on BVB Dortmund's lineup, but of course if Haaland doesn't play then they will lose a player with a lot of influence in terms of goals."

Showing confidence in his team, Amorim addressed the contrasts between AFC Ajax and BVB Dortmund, saying that “the big difference” in these games “will be the adaptation of the Sporting CP team and the coach."

 “The big difference may lie in Sporting CP and not in the opposition: In the way we defend, how we prepare our movement and our pressure," he said, revealing what he spoke to the players about after the meeting with the Dutch champions.

"We pointed out the flaws, but we must remember the moment when it was 3-2, and for a little while that changed the course of the game; conceding first also changed the course of the game and our strategy. There are days when everything goes your way, and sometimes it's the other way around. It's important to start the game well, then stick to our strategy. We need to be focused, even when the ball is back with the goalkeeper."

“The will to win is the same. We really wanted to beat AFC Ajax and were really looking forward to the game. It was a very bad result, but there is no fear of anything. The players have to compete, play and search for a better feeling in the Champions League. Now we are more aware of the quality of the Champions League and we will strive to deserve a different result."

Sebastián Coates will be available, and Amorim emphasised that he “is very important for the team and for the coach,” but Pedro Gonçalves will once again miss out.
 “It's an old injury. We're taking our time over things and if it has to take longer, then so be it,” he explained.

Sporting CP B team centre backs João Goulart and José Marsà were present in the last training session before the match, and the coach says that they are there for experience in Europe.

“They are two other options, but it's more so that they gain experience. It's a signal to the B team. They have to go through this: Travel, preparation and training. It doesn't mean they'll come in tomorrow.”

The coach's review of the win over CS Marítimo

Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim was satisfied with the result for his side against CS Marítimo (1-0) on Friday, considering it to have been a deserved win.

“There was clearly help from supporters. Like the team, the fans understood that the team were giving their all, that it was necessary to be patient and wait for the best moment to attack. We dominated the game from start to finish. At the beginning we could have been more incisive, when we won space, but we dominated and didn't give CS Marítimo a chance. The game had many stops and starts, but the players tried to implement what we had trained."

“Despite the stress of the game, the players went into the spaces where they should have gone, they didn't get carried away by emotion, and it ended up being a fair result”.
The coach admitted that it is necessary to finish off chances better, saying that “We have to score more goals, but we are also conceding less, apart from the game against AFC Ajax. We have to improve our finishing, but I want to emphasise the control that we had.

Sporting CP no longer share possession so much; we control more and are more on top of the opposition. Last year, around this time, we had a harder time setting up. We would have opportunities once or twice,” he continued, insisting that he was not worried about the winning goal only having come from the penalty spot.

“It depends how you look at it. I look at spirit a lot. This victory gave the fans a lot. We can look at it as two 1-0 victories from penalty kicks, but I look at it as complete dominance. There were no shots from the opposition and we had complete control of the game."

Amorim insisted that the victory, achieved in the final minutes of the match, was not down to luck.

“I think it's more a case of luck when we don't dominate the game, don't do much to deserve it, and end up scoring. Today we completely dominated the game. For example, in last season's game against CD Santa Clara, in which we scored more or less at the same time, it was more good fortune than today. What happened today was justice. One team wanted to play, the other didn't. Today, football was fair."

Pedro Porro scores a late penalty in a 1-0 home win

For the second weekend in a row, Sporting Clube de Portugal claimed victory in Liga Portugal action thanks to a Pedro Porro penalty, as the right back converted a late spot kick against CS Marítimo.

For the home encounter, coach Rúben Amorim opted for a starting XI consisting of Antonio Adán, Luís Neto, Sebastián Coates, Zouhair Feddal, Pedro Porro, João Palhinha, Matheus Nunes, Rúben Vinagre, Pablo Sarabia, Paulinho and Nuno Santos.

The visiting team tried to stifle Sporting CP from the start, preventing them from building up play, but after ten minutes alternatives had already been found, leading to a series of chances involving Nuno Santos.

In the first, it was Sáenz who cut Santos off, then it was Paulo Victor who made a great save to put the ball out for a corner. CS Marítimo also tried to surprise Adán, through Xadas, but shortly after the goalkeeper sent the shot away, Santos hit the woodwork at the other end.

In front of a supportive 18,741 fans at the Estádio José Alvalade, Santos again enjoyed a chance in the 35th minute, when Pablo Sarabia played the ball in. The winger took Paulo Victor out of the equation, but didn't have the best angle to finish off, and China was able to keep his attempt out.

It was 0-0 at halftime, with everything open for a second half which started almost exactly like the first: Sporting CP camped out in the CS Marítimo area and Nuno Santos looked for a goal, with Paulo Victor denying him again.

João Palhinha forced a stop from the goalkeeper, and with no breakthrough on the hour Amorim made his first substitution in the team, sending on Tiago Tomás and Rúben Vinagre and moving Nuno Santos further back.

Sporting CP continued to press and chase a goal from open play, whilst CS Marítimo could only muster one moment of danger from a set piece.

In the 70th minute, Daniel Bragança and Jovane Cabral replaced Matheus Nunes and Pablo Sarabia, providing fresh blood in attack for the final minutes of the match.
Pedro Porro, set up by Jovane Cabral, struck the post again in the 76th minute, and it didn't appear as if Sporting CP's persistence was going to pay off. Five minutes later, Ricardo Esgaio and Bruno Tabata stepped in for Luís Neto and João Palhinha in a brave gamble by the coach.

Considerable timewasting by the visitors meant that some eight minutes of stoppage time were added on, and it was in the dying moments of the game that Sporting CP finally found the net: Paulo Victor fouled Jovane Cabral inside the area,  the referee had no doubt about awarding a penalty and sending off the goalkeeper. Edgar Costa stood between Pedro Porro and a winning goal, and it was the Sporting CP player who kept his cool to slot in his spot kick.

With three points picked up, the team will now shift their focus to the Champions League, and a game against Borussia Dortmund next Tuesday.