Jorge Jesus on his side's current form head of visit to Paços de Ferreira

Jorge Jesus sat down with the press this Friday afternoon to share his thoughts in the build up to Liga NOS matchday 19, which will see Sporting travel to Paços de Ferreira.

“Playing in Mata Real is never easy, it is always complicated here. We will be facing a good team who are set up well and who are having a good season. We are in first and we want to defend that. We are starting the second half of the season now and we want to win. We are capable of doing that, but we have to be humble about it and recognise that Paços are a good team", opened the Sporting coach, before revealing that while Gelson Martins and Adrien did not train during the week, they could still feature.

“We are in first and our two main rivals are behind us, one by five points and the other by two. We don't know how the second half of the season will go, but we know that we only few two and lost one in the first half. We won 86% of the points that we could have", added Jesus, before answering to a question about his team having conceded the least number of goals in the league: "It is a safety net for us and I hope that carries on. We have confidence in our defence and the numbers show that we are on the right track. The whole team is responsible for defending and we have been organising ourselves well."

The Alvalade boss went on to speak about William's current form, as well as the January transfer market: "William was out for three months. He is looking to find his way and we are happy with what he has been doing. Maybe he hasn't shown what he is capable of yet, but he helps out in defence as well. This is a tough time for a lot of teams, Sporting included, because players are moving around. However we are used to being connected with a lot of players. Some names are being brought up that everybody knows we don't have the capacity to bring in. We know who we want and we already have them."

P. Ferreira-Sporting will get underway at 20h45 on Saturday, in Estádio Capital do Móvel, Paços de Ferreira.

Statement on the introduction of goal-line technology

Sporting Clube de Portugal would like to share its congratulations in light of the official announcement today by Gianni Infantino, UEFA General Secretary, regarding the decision to use goal-line technology in the 2016 European Championships, as well as in the Champions League as of the 2016/17 season.

This is an historic decision in world football and will assist referees, clubs and the millions of people who love football. At the same time, it shows that it is worth fighting for the ideals of true sportsmanship.

Coming on the back of the decision by the International Board on the experimental use of video technology, world football continues to take strides into a more modern and credible future.

Tickets for the Europa League second-leg

Tickets for the Europa League second-leg between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Sporting Clube de Portugal, on the 25th of February, will go on sale at the Estádio José Alvalade ticket offices as follows:

WEDNESDAY, 27TH OF JANUARY (10H TO 20H) | Club Members with a Gamebox 2015/2016 and December 2015 fees paid

THURSDAY, 28TH OF JANUARY (10H TO 14H) | Club Members without a Gamebox and December 2015 fees paid

THURSDAY, 28TH OF JANUARY (FROM 14H) | General public

In line with indications from UEFA and the opposition club, the first tickets sold will cost 15€. After these have sold out, 22€ tickets will go on sale.

Jorge Jesus on his side's loss in Portimão

Jorge Jesus took a moment to speak with the press at the end of this Tuesday's League Cup loss to Portimonense.

“It was a game that didn't go well for us. Portimonense are a good team with a lot of technical and individual quality, but they also were a bit lucky. there scored from their only shot in the first-half and then from a penalty. We wasted a lot of chances in the second-half, including a penalty as well. Football can be like this and you are leaving yourself open to this sort of thing if you don't score", said the Alvalade boss, adding: "We would have liked to win for all of our fans who live down in the Algarve."

Bruno César on Sporting's 2-0 loss to Portimonense

"We knew it would be a hard game and we made some mistakes, but we still have a game against Arouca and nothing is over yet", said Bruno César at the final whistle on Tuesday.

Reflecting on his side's loss to the II Liga outfit, César added: "We had been warned about Portimonense's quality and it is no coincidence that they are playing well in II Liga, but now we have to puck ourselves up. We should have played better, but we have to look at what went wrong and try to improve."

Sporting with uphill task to qualify for League Cup semis

Sporting slipped to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Portimonense this Tuesday night, in League Cup Group C. Ewerton was the hero on the night for the hosts, scoring both sides of half-time in a game that also saw Marvin make his debut.

Portimonense made an aggressive start to the encounter and were soon threatening goal, with Lumor's 2nd minute shot deflected just wide of the post. Sporting responded second later, with Montero picking out Aquilani, but the Italian's chipped effort floated just over Carlos Henriques' goal.

With the Colombian double team of Montero and Teo particularly active up front, chances started to flow and on 19 minutes Carlos Mané found Teo in the area, but the Portimonense keeper managed to pull off a stop and deny Sporting the opener. Next it was Carlos Mané himself who broke through on goal, but the youngster hesitated a second too long and gave the hosts' defence the chance to scramble away. The team from Alvalade looked in control, but some loose passing in the midfield saw Portimonense snatch possession against the run of play and open the scoring courtesy of Ewerton in the 36th minute. There was still time for Sporting to try for an equaliser before the break, but Bruno César's powerful effort finished up the wrong side of the bar.

The second-half saw Jorge Jesus introduce Matheus Pereira in place of Carlos Mané and the Brazilian immediately caused chaos in the final third, picking out Teo who almost managed to make the most of confusion between Carlos Henriques and Possignolo. Aquiliani came close on two occasions as the clock ticked over and Montero actually had the ball in the back of the net, but his effort was ruled out for offside after what was apparently a deflection from Aquilani.

Despite Sporting's dominance in the final third, Portimonense picked up possession and broke forward, but Marcelo Boeck was able to make a stop from Fabrício. In response, Schelotto made another run down the left and whipped a cross into the box, but Matheus Pereira's finish was off target. On 80 minutes another cross from Schelotto was cut out by Lumor with a handball in the area, but William Carvalho was unable to convert on the spot kick. Portimonense however had better luck from 12 yards, scoring their second after Marcelo Boeck brought down Fabrício in the area.

Algerian with 27.96% of votes cast

Islam Slimani has been named as Liga NOS player of the month in voting by the league's coaches and users of Samsung's 'Partilhamos Futebol' website.

The Algerian forward tallied 27.96% of the vote for December, ahead of Adrien with 13.86%.

Tickets on sale starting Wednesday

Tickets for Liga NOS matchday 19, between FC Paços de Ferreira and Sporting Clube de Portugal will go on sale at Estádio José Alvalade as follows:

WEDNESDAY (10H TO 20H) | Club Members with a Gamebox 2015/2016 and December 2015 fees paid
THURSDAY (10H TO 14H) | Club Members without a Gamebox and December 2015 fees paid
THURSDAY (FROM 14H) | General public

Tickets are priced at 13€ each. Kick off is scheduled for 20h45 on Saturday the 23rd of January, in Estádio Capital do Móvel.

Jorge Jesus' pre-match press conference on League Cup visit to Portimonense

Speaking in an exclusive press conference with Sporting TV, Jorge Jesus set out his plans for tomorrow's League Cup Group C visit to Portimonense. For the Alvalade boss, Portimonense's matchday 1 upset of Arouca (4-1) is a sure sign of the dangers posed by Tuesday's hosts.

“The game is important for this competition. Portimonense won their first match and if we are the same on points then goals will matter. Portimonense will try and make this game decisive in qualification for the next round. Our objective is to win tomorrow and everything will be in our control if we do. It will be a hard game and we will have to show the maturity to deal with some of the harder moments in the game. We will be facing a team from II Liga, who are fighting for promotion", affirmed Jorge Jesus, continuing: “All clubs who are taking part in this competition what to get as far possible. League Cup finals are important financially and they are games played with a lot of quality and passion. It is a competition that is not only important in terms of competition in the squad, but also because it brings games to regions in Portugal that don't have that many. They love football in the Algarve and it will be a great match. Our Supporters' Clubs in the Algarve will have a chance to meet the team too."

Confronted with a question on his usual tactic of squad rotation in the League Cup, the Sporting coach highlighted the progress being made across the squad to due the extra playing time: “The match against Tondela has nothing to do with tomorrow. We will go to Portimão with the players who are best fitted to get the win. A lot of those who played against Tondela will go to, with the exception of Adrien and Gelson Martins, who picked up a few knocks. Marvin will make his debut. He has adapted well. You can see he is still getting to know the squad, which is normal, but we have to give him the chance to show what he can do. Almost the entire squad plays in the team now, okay some more than others, but we don't have a fixed pattern. We have a very flexible team and by choices are always related to the quality I have in the squad."

Marvin's favoured position and Teo's fitness were also touched upon by the Alvalade chief: "Marvin was picked as a left-back. We let Jonathan go, because we really believe in him. He is only 21 years old and he needed to play, so we looked for a solution in Portugal. Marvin is here for that same position and that is what we have been working on. Clinically Teo is looking positive. We have a really good medical department and the doctors will try and get the players ready for us. He will probably be in the squad tomorrow."

To finish, Jesus spoke about the current situation at the heart of the Alvalade defence: "With Tobias being out we only have three centre-backs. We are in a risky position and we can't pick up any injuries or suspensions. We are trying to get Rúben Semedo back, but I don't know if it will be possible in contractual terms. If not, we will have to use the January market or the B team."

Bruno de Carvalho on Friday's draw with Tondela

Speaking with the press at the final whistle on Friday, Bruno de Carvalho highlighted the influence of the penalty decision against Rui Patrício and the sending off of the Alvalade keeper.

“This is the referee who took charge of my first game as president, which was Sporting B-Benfica B. He made up red cards in that game as well. He is one of the worst referees I had seen and it happened against tonight. It isn't just about video technology. You could clearly see a player falling over and holding his leg, but then standing up and celebrating winning a penalty. These little games to put pressure on Sporting are still happening it took a player and two points off us tonight. We are upset about what is happening in Portuguese football. Football is played off the pitch here. It manipulates referees' and people's opinions and they end up not knowing what to do. You will never shut me up and this will only get worse."