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.

João Pereira happy with Sporting's first pre-season win

João Pereira, who was rested for Wednesday's encounter against Monaco, was given a start against Nyonnais this Thursday and the wing-back obliged with Sporting's second goal in a 3-1 win.

“It is always good to win in the pre-season and it is always better to fix mistakes by winning instead of losing. In the first-half I thought we played well, although we missed a few opportunities. In the second-half we weren't as good, but we won and we can still improve a lot", said Pereira in a post-match interview, adding: "We have 29 players here in the squad and any one of us could be in the team. We are fighting for places and the more competition, the better. I am here to fight for my place as well and then the coach will decide. The new players are taking things on board bit by bit and we will improve."

Sporting CP tally first pre-season win with goals from Alan Ruiz, João Pereira and Jefferson

Jorge Jesus side claimed their first pre-season scalp this Thursday afternoon, with a 3-1 win against Nyonnais secured by a team totally different to the XI who started against Monaco a day earlier.

The first-half actually started well for Nyonnais, with Sporting giving up a little too much space in th area, however Stojkovic was able to make a stop. From then on it was all one-way traffic controlled by the team from Alvalade. Sporting's first chance came through a stroke of creativity from Aquilani, when the Italian picked out Alan Ruiz for a shot that was deflected wide. Next up it as Bruno César, brought down for a penalty that Alan Ruiz converted on for his first goal in a Sporting shirt.

Leading on the scoreboard, Jesus' side settled and more chances naturally followed. A string of good play down the wing between Bruno César and Jefferson create another chance for the latter, before Aquilani fired off target after a counter-attack led by Alan Ruiz. A deserved second goal came after a move down the right flank, rounded off by a pass from Alan Ruiz to release João Pereira for the finish.

Their was still time for another strike before the break. After Spalvis wasted a handful of chances to write his own name on the scoresheet, Jefferson netted a penalty to make it 3-0.

As would be largely expected at this stage of the season, the second-half saw the pace slow and the Swiss side made the most of it to pull a goal back through Besnik almost immediately after the restart. Sporting responded with a couple of chances of their own, first with Iuri Medeiros putting a shot painfully wide and later with Barcos denied by the keeper.

Sporting will next be in action at 18h00GMT on Saturday, against Zenit.

Statement regarding the loan of Heldon

Sporting Clube de Portugal – Futebol SAD has reached an agreement with Rio Ave Futebol Clube – Futebol SDUQ, Lda. for the loan of the player Heldon for the 2016/17 season, with no option for a permanent transfer.

Sporting SAD wishes Heldon the best of professional and personal success.

Fans with the chance to see their stars in training this weekend

Sporting Clube de Portugal notes that Sunday the 17th of June's training session in Switzerland will be open to the public.

The session will be held in the Juan Antonio Samaranch Stadium, Lausanne, at 09h00CET.

Bryan Ruiz reflects on Wednesday's encounter with Monaco and the use of the captain's armband

Their are plenty of new faces in Alvalade this season, but the pre-season also saw another debut which has been a long time in the making, with Bryan Ruiz given the captain's armband for Sporting's encounter with Monaco on Wednesday night.

"It is a pleasure for me", opened the Costa Rican, before going on to speak about the match itself and the fans: "We did well in the first-half. Of course we were a bit tired after the break and our opponent made the most of that. We will get better as we play more matches, but I would say we deserved more. I want to say thank you to the fans. It is really nice see the fans travel around Europe with us and I hope that carries on."