The coach talks about the win in Bessa

Rúben Amorim was satisfied with the result for his side against Boavista FC, and also with the attitude shown by his players. He talked about the 0-2 win in his post-match press conference.

“The pitch was difficult for us and for Boavista FC to play on, as they are a team that also like to move the ball around. The pitch made the game more difficult and a little more clumsy, but we were still able to adapt, we created chances and I think Boavista FC only had one opportunity in the first half -and in the second they had a goal disallowed for offside when we had control of the game. Above all, I think the players felt the responsibility of the moment, but they also felt free, and that's important because it was a big game. Without it being decisive, they approached it naturally, knowing that we had to win to go back to first place. Overall, it was a good game. I think the team can do better, but after the last game, on a difficult pitch and against a Boavista FC team that only had one defeat, I think it was a good game for us," he began by saying.

“After last Thursday, in a game where we were a man down after eight minutes, we didn't have to respond to anyone. We are already on a long run of games, counting last season, without losing in the league, and what the players have to do is continue with their work knowing that with rivals dropping points and FC Porto winning, we have to win our games to remain top. Therefore, I say again: The most positive point was the naturalness with which we faced the moment and that we were competent. That is an excellent sign."

“This victory was important for the points and for the lead, but mainly for the message it gives us. It helps us to get better, to grow with these games and these moments, but it's still nothing special. We are in the ninth matchday, so there is a lot to do still.”

“Are we title contenders? I said that we were from the first moment, and that's how it has to be. We are candidates for the title because we want it to be that way and for the players to feel that way," he concluded.

A 0-2 win on the road keeps the team outright leaders

Sporting Clube de Portugal beat Boavista FC 0-2 in a Monday night Liga Portugal fixture, as the team reestablished their spot as outright leaders of the division. They are three points ahead of the second and third placed teams – SL Benfica and FC Porto.

Coach Rúben Amorim made two changes to the starting lineup, rotating out Franco Israel and Ricardo Esgaio. He went for Antonio Adán, Ousmane Diomande, Sebastián Coates, Gonçalo Inácio, Geny Catamo, Hidemasa Morita, Morten Hjulmand, Matheus Reis, Marcus Edwards, Viktor Gyökeres and Pedro Gonçalves as his first XI for the league contest.

Looking for their 17th victory at Bessa, Sporting CP started the game well and provided the first warning off a set piece, with Pedro Gonçalves forcing Boavista FC goalkeeper João Gonçalves into a save.

Two minutes later, the stopper faced a shot from Geny Catamo that went into the side netting.

Boavista FC responded through Bozenik who, after breaking free on the left, sent a cross-shot towards Adán's goal, but without providing significant danger. Six minutes later, the Slovak provided a bigger threat, but struck wide.

With these opportunities, the home team began to grow into the match. Sporting CP, despite some difficulties, still controlled the game, however, frequently breaking into the opposition area and creating chances. Morten Hjulmand got involved on one of those occasions, receiving a ball from Geny Catamo, but a defender intercepted for a corner.

Finally, in the 37th minute, the opening goal arrived. Matheus Reis saw Catamo unmarked close to the back post and sent a precise ball his way, with a shot off the fullback's left foot flying into the net.

With the deadlock broken, Sporting CP gained confidence and went in search of a second goal, but were unable to increase their advantage before the interval.

A languid start to the second half was punctuated in the 55th minute with a Marcus Edwards effort off a Boavista mistake, but he lost out in the one-on-one.

A spell of minutes followed without any great opportunities, but with the home team believing they could find an equaliser. At around the 70th minute mark, Amorim started to make changes, taking off Sebastián Coates and bringing on Jeremiah St. Juste, then introducing Nuno Santos and Ricardo Esgaio.

Boavista FC had a goal disallowed for offside, then tested Adán with another chance, but Sporting CP then reached their most prolific point in the game.

After receiving the ball from Morten Hjulmand, Gonçalves shot against the post, Ricardo Esgaio recovered and set up the winger again, for him to score with a backheeled shot.

Geny Catamo and Viktor Gyökeres made way for Francisco Trincão and Paulinho after the second goal, and the latter immediately had the opportunity to make it 0-3, but João Gonçalves denied his strike.

The game concluded 0-2, with an eighth Liga Portugal win of the season going Sporting CP's way.

The Sporting CP coach looks ahead to the game against Boavista FC

Sporting Clube de Portugal plays a Monday fixture at 8:15 pm, against Boavista FC at Estádio do Bessa on Liga Portugal Matchday 9.

Speaking ahead of the contest, coach Rúben Amorim said he does not expect an easy match.

"They are a club who are going through financial difficulties, but the team show great character. We will be facing a team with their own identity, very well organised, with very good dynamics, who are having a great season and have no pressure at all on them. They are very strong team, but we are prepared for the challenge."

Taking the three points will give Sporting CP the outright top spot in Liga Portugal, and that is what the coach is hoping will happen, playing down the short turnaround between Thursday's game and the Monday fixture.

“We have to be more than ready, despite playing our last game with a man down for almost the entirety, at a very difficult ground. This will be another difficult game, at a tough place to visit, with difficult conditions, but we are prepared. The players have already recovered.”

“We want to be outright leaders again with a victory against a very tough team. For the first time this season, I am not going to say who will play. Not a single player. The preparation we have been doing is the same as normal. Who will play in goal? You’ll see tomorrow.”

The coach also spoke about the game against KS Raków, saying that, due to the circumstances, he cannot make any comparison between that game and this Monday's at Bessa.

 “As there was a seding off after eight minutes, we can make no comparisons. The big frustration, and everyone felt this in our team, is that it is not the first time in Europe that we have become hindered really early, and that wears on the team and the coach. In the end we can win, lose or draw, but playing in conditions we are not expecting, with sendings off, becomes frustrating, especially when it is recurring for one reason or another.

"There were positive things, like scoring when down to ten men again, but there were also negatives. Still, we can take almost nothing away from a game in which we were reduced to ten men. Therefore, what we are going to do is see who the best players are, who is better physically and what characteristics they have to face Boavista FC."

The coach runs the rule over the 1-1 draw in Poland

After the draw against RKS Raków, Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim held a press conference to analyse the events in the UEFA Europa League Group D match, and began by addressing the support of around 500 Sportinguistas present in Poland.

"More than just saying 'thank you,' we wanted to show on the pitch that we want to honour the shirt -and they always do that. Today the players performed well when a man down, in a game that was difficult from the first moment".

"We played against an intelligent team that were able to create advantages with an extra player, but especially in the first half we had more of the ball and the best opportunities. The second half was different, as we couldn't get out from the back. We tried to change some players to hold the ball more, but it didn't happen and then we ended up conceding a goal in the transition from an attacking free kick", summarised the coach.

When asked about Franco Israel's presence in goal, Amorim highlighted that "there is no number one at Sporting CP. This was a tactical choice and we are playing in many competitions".

Next, he addressed the early red card for Viktor Gyökeres.

"I'm one hundred percent in favour of VAR, as it gives football more justice. I was more angry because in the incident he slipped and he had no intention of hurting the opposing player. I didn't see the move, so I won't be saying whether it was worthy of a red or not, but I think we have to look more at the intention".

"He won't be able to play here in the UEFA Europa League, but he will play in the league and in other competitions".

Despite the problems experienced in the second half, Amorim considered that the team controlled the opposition well, even when playing with ten players for over 80 minutes.

"They exploited the wings because they are intelligent, because we closed the middle of the pitch a lot and they put a lot of people high up. Where they created more problems for us, after the goal, was from crosses and second balls. Their goal originated from our free kick and that creates physical and also mental fatigue. Afterwards, it took us some time to return to the level of concentration we had. These are things that happen in the game that I can understand".

A 1-1 draw with RKS Raków Częstochowa keeps the team in contention

Sporting CP drew 1-1 with RKS Raków Częstochowa in their third Group D game in the UEFA Europa League. The match saw a major setback with a sending off for Viktor Gyökeres early on, and whilst they would score through Sebastián Coates, an 80th minute equaliser  denied Sporting CP the full cuota of points.

RKS Raków's usual home ground is the Miejski Stadion Piłkarski, but this game took place in a ground located about 60 kilometers south, in the Zaglebie Sosnowiec SA stadium used for European fixtures this season.

Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim made seven changes to his first XI from the game against CD Olivais e Moscavide: Ricardo Esgaio, Ousmane Diomande, Coates, Gonçalo Inácio, Morten Hjulmand, Hidemasa Morita and Gyökeres were all brought in, joining Franco Israel (debuting as a starter in the Europa League), Matheus Reis, Pedro Gonçalves and Marcus Edwards, the four who maintained their starting spots.

RKS Raków -fourth in the Polish league so far this term- had yet to take points or score in the UEFA Europa League group stage.

The early blow for Sporting CP came in just the eighth minute, when Gyökeres unintentionally stepped on an opponent and had his initial yellow card upgraded to a straight red, leaving his team down to 10 men and without their star striker.

The response to the blow could not have been better, however, as after 14 minutes, Pedro Gonçalves took a corner kick and captain Coates rose above everyone else and headed the ball into the back of the net – scoring his first goal of the season.

Shortly afterwards, Edwards was sent through on a long ball and, when in the area, forced goalkeeper Vladan Kovačević to make the first save of the match. Despite having one less player on the pitch, Sporting CP showed maturity, both with and without the ball, and controlled the game, while in attack they sought to exploit the mobility offered by Gonçalves and Edwards throughout the first half.

After half an hour, however, RKS Raków threatened twice: First with defender Milan Rundić shooting over, and then winger John Yeboah striking just wide of the post.

In turn, Sporting delivered a pass from Inácio's that isolated Gonçalves, but his chip attempt was reached by Kovačević.

The second half started with a serious warning from RKS Raków, created by Dawid Szwarga, but from close range Jean Carlos missed the final deflection when he had everything in his favour.

Without the same freshness and ability to press and attack after the restart, before the 60th minute Amorim changed his two most advanced players: Paulinho and Geny Catamo replaced the selfless 'Pote' and Edwards.

The tone of the game changed little and Os Leões followed their defensive plan to the letter, albeit with reduced attacking opportunities. The best that RKS Raków produced was a weak shot from Srdjan Plavšić which, after a deflection, fell into the hands of Franco Israel.

However, it was at the start of the last ten minutes that everything changed, when the Sporting CP resistance finally fell.

After a move involving an attacking  transition, Fabian Piasecki appeared at the far post to finish and scored the Polish team's first goal in the Europa League, levelling the game.

Taking advantage of the momentum of the goal, the home team grew in confidence and mustered up dangerous approaches into the Sporting CP area, mainly through several crosses that Coates had to send away.

Sporting CP ended the game with more shots taken and having shown defensive strength with a numerical inferiority, but would leave Poland with only a point.

Elsewhere in the group, Atalanta BC 2-2 draw against Sturm Graz keeps them top with seven points, Sporting CP level with the Austrian side with four points.

Sporting CP: Franco Israel [GK], Ricardo Esgaio, Ousmane Diomande, Sebastián Coates [C], Gonçalo Inácio, Matheus Reis (Nuno Santos, 89'), Morten Hjulmand (Daniel Bragança, 89'), Hidemasa Morita, Marcus Edwards (Paulinho, 58'), Pedro Gonçalves (Geny Catamo, 58'), Viktor Gyökeres.

The coach previews a meeting with RKS Raków Częstochowa

Sporting Clube de Portugal visit Polish side RKS Raków Częstochowa this Thursday on Matchday 3 of the UEFA Europa League group stage, and coach Rúben Amorim talked about the game in a pre-match press conference.

At Zagłębiowski Park Sportowy, the stadium in Sosnowiec where the match will take place, he began by defining the objective for the game.

"For us, it's a normal game in which we have to win, because we have ambitions in the group. We've already lost a game and we can make everything more complicated tomorrow or make our lives easier and be in the fight to go through perhaps in first place", he began by telling journalists.

The coach insisted that, despite not being a well-known team in Europe, RKS Raków Częstochowa are a quality side.

"People don't know the RKS Raków Częstochowa team. They have internationals in their squad, they were champions of Poland, They play very well and they are organised. They made life difficult for Atalanta BC and they lost to SK Sturm Graz by a small margin. Our players know this, as do the coaching staff".

For Amorim, "the main focus and what affects the club the most is becoming Liga Portugal champions again, so that is the main objective, but Sporting CP will not devalue other competitions because it is crucial to maintain this wave of victories that helps in difficult times".
"Tomorrow we will pick the strongest team to win the game, and we want to go as far as possible in the UEFA Europa League".

Asked what he expects on Thursday, he stated that "You will see a very organised team with a very young coach. You can see that he has the ability to coach the players in the distances between the defenders, in the way they advance and how they press. They have three strong players up front, which means our players have to do a lot of observation in preparation".

"John Yeboah is very fast, the central midfielders switch a lot and they can play with two pivots or with one of the wingers dropping in. They have very fast fullbacks and it will be a game of duels. They play with three central defenders who are good on the ball and are very strong in individual battles. We have to look for their weaknesses, as they will do with us. We have to be mobile. I foresee a game of duels and we shouldn't do what teams do to us when clubs from big leagues overlook us. Let's not make that mistake. RKS Raków Częstochowa are an excellent team, with an excellent coach and international players. We will be prepared for the challenge".

Finally, after announcing that Hidemasa Morita will start in Poland, Amorim spoke about Geny Catamo.

"Geny hasn't reached his top potential. He has adapted to a new position and will vary between positions. He can be a starter for Sporting CP; he has the talent for that. He has to grow a lot in his understanding of the game, but he is very intelligent. He proved, from the first minute of preseason, that he deserves to be in the team and has developed his game, scoring goals and drawing attention. He has a lot of talent and is helping the team".

The Sporting CP coach is chosen by his peers as September's winner

Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim, received Liga Portugal's Manager Of The Month award this Tuesday, recognising his achievements in the month of September.

He obtained 28.15% of the votes case by the competition's first team coaches, after having led his side to three victories -against Moreirense FC, Rio Ave FC and SC Farense- and a draw away to Sporting Braga, putting the team ahead of Boavista FC at the top of the table.

After accepting the award, Amorim dedicated some words of thanks not only to those who chose him, but also to the squad and his coaching staff.

“I want to thank everyone for this award and dedicate it to the players, because they are the main part of our team, but also to the rest of the coaching staff, as well as the coaches who voted for us, as part of that healthy rivalry that exists between everyone," he began by saying.

“Now, I hope to win again next month. That would be a sign that we won our games. Still, sometimes it's a little unfair for the coach who one wins the most games to get the award, because there are excellent coaches who do a great job every month. Thank you all."

The coach's review of the win over CD Olivais e Moscavide

At the end of the victory for Sporting Clube de Portugal against CD Olivais e Moscavide in the Taça de Portugal, Rúben Amorim spoke in a press conference at the Estádio José Gomes in Amadora.

"We are a big club, who want to win every competition. This group has not yet won the Taça de Portugal and we want to win it. The secret to victory in the game was the difference between the players, even though it wasn't noticeable in the result. We started out switched off and conceded a goal. We were anxious and didn't do what we had to do. The players ran like they had to, but they were somewhat disorganised. We got the equaliser, improved in the second half and we had several chances. The game went on and became more stressful. The concentration of the players from CD Olivais e Moscavide was better than ours," he began by telling journalists, then explained the reason for Pedro Gonçalves' withdrawal in the second half.

"Pote wasn't making good decisions with the ball and he felt that. He has a great ability to go inside and outside, he's strong at crossing and strong at making decisions. He had a bad day, but he'll get through it. It didn't go well, but it's a sign that the coach has to work harder because he has the capacity to play even as a centre back."

Asked about some reactions made during the match, Amorim downplayed the topic: "My reactions are like that because we always want more. We want everything to be 'perfect'. The players know me and they know that I'm not going to massacre them because we didn't have a great game. The difference in the scoreline should have been greater, but we missed many opportunities."

Regarding the substitution of Iván Fresneda for Geny Catamo at halftime, the coach explained that the Spaniard "appeared many times in a position to cross" and that Sporting CP needed "a more decisive player in one-on-ones."

"It wasn't because of his performance. We just wanted to change the characteristics. The team are in first place in the table and I trust them all. Fresneda is a 19-year-old kid. He came from Real Valladolid CF, which reminds us of [Pedro] Porro and the expectations are very high. They are different players with different characteristics. Sportinguistas cannot be disappointed with Fresneda. A lot of people wanted the player and he wanted to come to Sporting CP. He will give a lot to the club. Some players take longer and others take less time. Both he and Morten [Hjulmand] will take a little longer, unlike Viktor [Gyökeres]. There's a lot of work ahead and it's not just on their side," he said.

Regarding Dário Essugo, Rúben Amorim considered that the midfielder "made progress with the team" and "improved a lot in the second half": "He's another 19-year-old boy who needs time to grow and will have his opportunities ".

"Jeremiah St. Juste had a good game. You can see that he lacks match pace, but he's very fast. We really need him and his specific characteristics. He needs time, as he was injured for a long spell."

Taça de Portugal campaign starts with a win

Sporting Clube de Portugal beat CD Olivais e Moscavide 1-3 in the third round of the Taça de Portugal, advancing in the competition. Marcus Edwards, Geny Catamo and Daniel Bragança scored the goals.

At the Estádio José Gomes, in Amadora, with Sportinguistas in the clear majority the rain tempered the clash between the team and the side that compete in the AF Lisboa District Championship.

With nine changes in the first XI from the last game before the international break (only Marcus Edwards and Pedro Gonçalves remained), the biggest highlight of the starting lineup was the inclusion of Jeremiah St. Juste, who had recovered from injury and added his first minutes of the season. Those who also made their debut for Sporting CP in 2023/2024 were Franco Israel, in goal, and Dário Essugo, in midfield. Francisco Trincão, another player recovering from injury, was also back.

Sporting CP came out stronger and could have opened the scoring after just three minutes, when Paulinho set up Marcus Edwards, but the latter couldn't take advantage when in a good position.

CD Olivais e Moscavide managed, shortly after, to win a penalty kick and make it 1-0 thanks to Fabrício Simões' conversion, scoring a historic goal for his club.

From then on, it was all Sporting CP and the team got closer and closer to an equaliser. In the 13th minute, Francisco Trincão's curled shot hit the post and then Rúben Gonçalves saved Paulinho's header. The bar once again prevented a goal, this time from Pedro Gonçalves, after a beautiful collective move and an arching shot.

After further attempts by Francisco Trincão and Paulinho, a penalty kick was appealed for in the CD Olivais e Moscavide area due to handball, but, on this occasion, referee Hélder Carvalho allowed play to continue.

Sporting CP continued to persist through Pedro Gonçalves, whose header required a good save from Rúben Gonçalves for a corner. They finally scored just before half-time: Marcus Edwards was fouled in the area and the Englishman converted the penalty for his second goal of the season.

For the second half, coach Rúben Amorim brought on Geny Catamo in place of Iván Fresneda and Sporting CP continued looking for the second goal to would complete the turnaround against an aggressive CD Olivais e Moscavide.

The change paid off in the 53rd minute. Paulinho worked well, tried to serve up a teammate and, after some defensive rebounds, Edwards headed the ball against the post. CD Olivais e Moscavide got a let-off but, from the second ball, Geny Catamo shot first time into the back of the net. The Mozambican international scored his first goal for the first team and put Sporting CP ahead in Reboleira.

Soon after, Pedro Gonçalves made way for Nuno Santos and the opportunities continued. In the 60th minute, Rodrigo Pedro cut in to deny Paulinho off an assist from Daniel Bragança. Then Trincão gave a great pass to Edwards, who, in front of goal, shot wide.

Geny Catamo, Nuno Santos and Daniel Bragança continued to try for a goal, while Morten Hjulmand, Gonçalo Inácio and Ricardo Esgaio came on from the bench to replace Essugo, St. Juste and Edwards, respectively.

After Paulinho's header was saved and Daniel Bragança shot over, Sporting CP made it 1-3 during stoppage time.

On a fatal counterattack, Trincão found Catamo and he, after dodging the goalkeeper, assisted Bragança, who deflected the ball into the back of the net at the far post.

Sporting CP will now travel to Poland to face RKS Raków Częstochowa on Matchday 3 of the UEFA Europa League group stage.

Sporting CP: Franco Israel [GK], Jeremiah St. Juste (Gonçalo Inácio, 82'), Luís Neto [C], Matheus Reis, Iván Fresneda (Geny Catamo, 46'), Dário Essugo (Morten Hjulmand, 74'), Daniel Bragança, Pedro Gonçalves (Nuno Santos, 54'), Marcus Edwards (Ricardo Esgaio, 82'), Francisco Trincão and Paulinho.

The coach prepares for the Taça de Portugal

This Saturday, Sporting Clube de Portugal kick off their Taça de Portugal campaign against CD Olivais e Moscavide. The third round game takes place at the Estádio José Gomes in Amadora, and coach Rúben Amorim is not overlooking the opponents from the 1.ª District League.

In his pre-match press conference, he revealed that Jeremiah St. Juste and Francisco Trincão “are fit, have been called up and will be able to play", and confirmed that only Hidemasa Morita, who suffered a knock while on international duty, and the suspended Ousmane Diomande are unavailable.

“We are going to field a team that, clearly, could play in the top flight. We just want to win the game, there is no plan for any type of rotation to look at this player or that player. Obviously we have taken into account the opposition and the fact that we have a game on Thursday and then on Monday. We will have a tight schedule and everyone will be used, but tomorrow when you look at the starting XI you will see that this team could play in the championship. It’s going to be a team set up to win, as always".

In recent seasons, Sporting CP have been eliminated early from the competition, and the coach obviously does not want this to happen again.

“We have already fallen by the wayside against teams from lower divisions, we have to remember that and CD Olivais e Moscavide are even further below us in terms of the division they play in. We want to win the race, but we’re going to go step-by-step”.

“CD Olivais e Moscavide have nothing to lose and will be very motivated. Our players also have to be motivated, because they know they have a coach who, if they make things easier for the opponents in one game, may not play in the next one. We have a job to do and the desire has to be there. They are fighting for their places in the team, especially this year, and they can't make it easier to be left out. The Taça de Portugal is a trophy that we haven't won yet, and that we want to win".

“Winning a cup is an important moment in the players’ careers. Maybe it's the most special day, apart from when we win the league title. The day of the Taça de Portugal final is something that all players want to experience and I would be lying if I said that we don't want to make a clean sweep of the domestic trophies. Hence, everyone is called up. Even against a district team, we will present the best team to win".