Rui Patrício on Sporting's 2016/17 Alvalade debut

Rui Patrício returned to Alvalade after his Euro 2016 heroics this Saturday, for Sporting's official presentation match.

"We have to improve a bit. We were better than we have been, but there is still a bit of pre-season work to do", said the Sporting shotstopper, adding a word on his unexpected appearance against Lyon: "I wasn't here for the rest of the pre-season and this is the chance to get some mistakes out of our system. If we have to make mistakes, then it is best to do it now. We want to win everything we are involved in this season and that is what we are setting out to do."

Sporting CP officially presented to the fans for 2016/17 campaign

Alvalade hosted the French side Lyon in the 2016/17 season's official presentation match this Saturday, with the privilege of the kick-off given to five-year old Franciso in representation of the fans.

Jesus fielded his usual defensive four (Schelotto, Coates, Ruben Semedo and Zeegelaar), behind a midfielder composed of Petrovic, Bryan Ruiz, Gelson martins and Bruno César, while Barcos and Alan Ruiz led the attack. Defending the Sporting goal was Azbe Jug.

The game got off to a typically lukewarm start for a pre-season friendly, but the first chance of the evening did fall to Sporting, when Alan Ruiz whipped in a free-kick that eventually ended up with Gelson close to the touchline. The youngster did well to pass his defender and charge into dangerous territory, before releasing Barcos for a shot that hammered off Lyon's lefthand post.

Little by the little Lyon tried to push their way out of defence, but some shooting from range kept the French visitors pegged in, with Schelotto, Alan Ruiz (23) and Bruno César (45) all trying their luck.

The second-half proved to be a typical example of the old football anecdote that you have to take your chances. Although Sporting could have taken the lead through a chipped effort by Alan Ruiz (47’), it was Lyon who took the lead, when Alexandre Lacazette headed in on 53 minutes after a cross by Rafael that Rui Patrício (on for Azbe Jug) could do little to keep out.

A wave of late substitutes sapped any real pace out of both sides in the final stages, with the only incident of note being a header from Naldo finding the inside of the post with twenty minutes on the clock after a cross from Iuri Medeiros (70’).

Jorge Jesus on Sporting's hosting of Lyon on Saturday

Jorge Jesus was in the Alvalade auditorium for his first press conference of the season this Saturday, following the hosting of Lyon.

"We played against the French league runner-up, who are a good side. They scored, just like we could have. We were better than we have been and I would say it was our best performance so far", opened the Alvalade boss, continuing: "Next week the lads who were with Portugal in Euro 2016 will be back in training. Rui Patrício was an exception. He wasn't to play, he told me he was here and that he wanted to play. We are in the market as well, looking at some players.

Asked about transfer rumours flying around in the press, particularly about Van Persie, Jesus played it cool: "Van Persie earns a lot. Of course anybody would be interested in having such a quality player, but we would have to sell the stadium to pay for him."

New Alvalade pitch hosts first game of the new season

Sporting officially unveiled the 2016/17 football squad with a hosting of Lyon this Saturday night, on a brand new Alvalade pitch.

The party got underway at 19h20, when the players first made their appearance in front of 30,000

Rui Patrício, the first player to come out of the dressing room, was given a fantastic ovation, followed by a similar reaction for fellow Portuguese national team heroes Adrien and William Carvalho.

Squad in early morning training session focusing on tactics

The Sporting squad were out on the training pitch early morning on Friday, in a session which saw Jorge Jesus focus on the finer details ahead of Saturday's hosting of Lyon.

The only player unavailable was Lukas Spalvis, who recently picked up a double rupture to ligaments in his right knee and will undergo surgery.

Bryan Ruiz brushes off results to focus on pre-season positives

Bryan Ruiz took a moment to speak with the press after Sporting's loss to PSV this week.

"We played against a really good side. We let a goal in really quick and also had a player sent off. It is really hard to play with 10 men from the 34th minute until the end of the match, but now we have to psh on and get some results. We are tired and it is normal that we aren't at our best right now", said the Costa Rican.

Assistant coach Raul José also spoke with Sporting TV at the final whistle, touching on the evening's refereeing: "The referee could have analysed the situation differently and not spoiled the match. We will take some notes and have a good week of training out of this. Honestly we aren't worried about winning right now and we are focused on getting the lads up to speed. We will look at a few situations ahead of the start of the season and look to win the competitions that we are involved in."

Jorge Jesus leads group of 26 as Téo Gutiérrez, Carlos Mané and Ricardo Esgaio travel for Olympic duty

More than one hundred eager fans turned out for Sunday's open training session, making the most of a rare chance to see their favourite stars up close. The day started with a lecture led by Jorge Jesus in the middle of the pitch, followed by some light exercises to help the players recover what has been a busy pre-season schedule in Switzerland.

Jesus was of course without Téo Gutiérrez, Carlos Mané and Ricardo Esgaio, who left Lausanne early to join their respective Olympic squad.

With Spalvis recovering from an ankle twist and Paulo Oliveira in specialised training, the Sporting coach has a total of 26 players available for the session, in preparation of Sunday's clash with the Dutch side PSV Eindhoven (19h30GMT).

Speaking at the end of the workout, Daniel Podence reflected on what has been a promising pre-season campaign for him personally: "This has been really positive. We have lost a couple of matches, but we are creating a good dynamic. Of course nobody likes to lose, but we are all focused on taking on board what the coach wants from us and we are getting to know each other. We haven't been playing against just anyone and all of the teams we have faced are Champions League quality."

Rúben Semedo highlights pre-season positives

Nobody likes to lose and Rúben Semedo is no exception. Speaking with radio journalists after Sporting's 4-2 defeat to Zenit, the Alvalade defender highlighted that pre-season results are far from being the most important factor: "We are getting better, despite the loss. We are looking for our best physical and tactical form. With how hard we have been working in training, it is only normal for us to be tired, but the squad is still taking on everything right now."

Sporting CP slip to 4-2 defeat in third friendly in Switzerland

Jorge Jesus kept his team in his preferred 4x4x2 formation for this Saturday's encounter with Zenit and with Bruno César down the left and Gelson Martins down the right, Sporting looked terrorising going forward in the opening exchanges. Hernán Barcos proved a constant nuisance for the Zenit defence, with Alan Ruiz in support with some incisive passing and shots from range. Petrovic sat at the base of midfield, behind Bryan Ruiz (who was again given the captain's armband). Jesus repeated his defensive selection that opened against Monaco, with Schelotto, Coates, Rúben Semedo and Marvin Zeegelaar in front of Azbe Jug.

Although Sporting looked by far the most threatening early on, it was Zenit, who already had six pre-season matches under their belts, who took the lead after just seven minutes when Javi Garcia escaped Coates marking and headed in from a corner. The lead for Mircea Lucescu's side lasted just two minutes, thanks to a darting run by Gelson Martins and a final pass for Bruno César to net the equaliser.

Just as the team from Alvalade were again cranking up the pressure, Zenit made the most of two defensive blunders in as many minutes to go 3-1 ahead. First it was Zhirkov who struck with an effort that Azbe Jug should have done better to stop, before Rúben Semedo approached a header wrong and ended up setting Kerzhakov through on goal. There was still time before the break however for Gelson Martins to get a much deserved goal, after a decent pass from Barcos.

The second-half brought with it the expected slowing of the pace, with not even a string of Sporting substitutions (Alan Ruiz, Matheus Pereira, Petrovic and Gelson Martins for Daniel Podence, Bruno César, Palhinha AND Iuri Medeiros). able to inject any energy into the action. Some good team play did see Sporting edge back up the pitch, but the first chance was made to wait until the 71st minute, when Podence had a chance to get a shot away attempted to set up Slimani, and the opportunity fizzled out. Five minutes from time, Djordjevic made it 4-2 for Zenit.

Sporting CP to face Russians in Switzerland

Building on the friendlies against Monaco and Stade Nyonnais during the week, Jorge Jesus' side will face a testing encounter against Zenit this Saturday evening.

The Sporting coach had his squad out on the training pitch in the morning, putting the final touches to the 19h00CET kick-off, in Stade de Chailly, Montreux.