The coach looks ahead to the meeting with Vitória SC

Sporting Clube de Portugal travel to the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, home of Vitória SC, this Monday, to on Liga Portugal Matchday 29.

Ahead of the game, coach Rúben Amorim acknowledged that there was "disappointment" about the elimination from the Europa League at the hands of Juventus, but assured that the players "know what they have to do and are prepared for the game."

“The atmosphere in the dressing room is fine. Obviously we are very disappointed, but we played very well. Whether we're fourth or first in the table, there's work to do and a way to play. We're going to play that way tomorrow and I'm sure we're going to perform well," he began by saying.

“We are having more difficulties in getting the right results, but if we look at the last few games we have always played well and created chances. We have to improve our effectiveness. The group know that, we have work to do and we will do it well. The objective is to win all the games that remain until the end of the season."

“We'll have to push hard to see what happens at the end of the campaign, with our focus on the league now."

Amorim then assessed Vitória SC, a team who are seventh in the table and in the fight for European football next season.

“They are a team in need of points. Their coach is doing a great job. He is achieving results with young players from the youth team and this will be a very dangerous game; everyone knows what it is like to play in Guimarães."

Amorim will not be in the dugout due to a suspension for his expulsion against FC Arouca.

“I would love to be in this game accompanying the players, but it was my fault that I can't be there. They know that I'm always with them. I have to think about them and at this stage I should be pitchside, but we have prepared the game well. They know what to do and we're going to be strong in this game."

“The focus is on scoring goals and not conceding from the few opportunities we concede. Winning should be enough motivation. The 'all or nothing' game, for us, was with GD Chaves at home, as we were already five points off the top. It's been all or nothing for a long time now and that's one of the big problems. But that won't get into the minds of the players. They want to win every game, as they have wanted to up until now."

The coach analyses the Europa League elimination at the hands of Juventus

After the 1-1 draw that led to Sporting Clube de Portugal's exit from the Europa League, coach Rúben Amorim reflected on the campaign and the aggregate loss to Juventus.

"During the match, I think we were the better team. There were some periods, maybe at the beginning of the second half, where we lost control a bit and Juventus had more of the ball, but then we took over again," he explained in his post-match press conference.

"Here and there, we showed some anxiety and could have created even more chances. Proof of that were the final two balls we played, where we needed to be calm again to take the ball to the right place. We were clearly the better side, but those small details make a lot of difference," he said.

"We clearly had opportunities to turn the situation around. It's frustrating to go out like this because I think we were the better team. Now we have to focus on the next game."
The coach considered the tie to be different overall to the previous round, which saw Sporting CP eliminate Arsenal.

"With Arsenal I think we suffered a lot here and we were lucky to always be in the game in London, but this tie was different. We were always in control of the game, there were few opportunities for Juventus and several for Sporting CP, but in key moments we were inferior and that's what counts. We have to be angry about that."

Afterwards, when questioned about whether playing another striker would have aided the team, Amorim replied that "it is a much bigger issue than the question of a striker playing": "'Pote' could have scored, Esgaio too. It's not just the strikers who score goals. Coates has saved us several times, especially in the year that we won the league title, and there were opportunities. The last few games have been like this, and I can't say that if there was a striker or another striker that we would have won. We don't know that."

"We have worked a lot more on finishing this year, but there are things in football that I can't explain. It sums up the season. Sporting CP have had some of the best strikers going, like Liedson, Derlei and Slimani, and they didn't win trophies. We may have lacked a striker here or there, but it's too simple an idea."

Amorim also thanked the more than 45,000 Sporting CP fans who came out to the Estádio José Alvalade.

"It was the best atmosphere I've experienced at home here. I'm sure that with a team with this talent, with this atmosphere in the stadium, few teams can come here and win."

"We still have a goal, which is very difficult, but there are six games to go -six games to win. The club demand that, but we cannot hide that we have a difficult end to the season. There are seasons that are like that and we have to prepare for the future," he explained, noting: "Despite the results not being the best, there is a clear evolution from the players in theit ability to fight against the best. We know where we have gone wrong, we have to improve in these details and I think it will make the difference in the future."

"Sporting CP have a great future ahead. We young players, we manage to sell, we have visibility in Europe and have had the best financial results in history. We maybe haven't achieved the minimum results expected this year, but that's down to the coach. The rest is here."

Sporting CP bow out of the Europa League despite a 1-1 draw with Juventus

A 1-1 draw at the Estádio José Alvalade was not quite enough for Sporting Clube de Portugal to progress to the UEFA Europa League semifinals, as they were eliminated 1-2 on aggregate by Juventus. An early goal conceded on the night, followed by a Marcus Edwards penalty, kept the tie intense until the final whistle.

Coach Rúben Amorim made four changes in relation from the previous weekend's game against Arouca FC: Gonçalo Inácio, Ricardo Esgaio, Hidemasa Morita and Edwards (returning from a virus) were starters in the places of Matheus Reis, Héctor Bellerín, Arthur Gomes and Youssef Chermiti. Compared to the first leg there were only two changes: Diomande replacing the injured Jeremiah St. Juste and Chermiti moving to the bench to make way for an attacking trio consisting of Pedro Gonçalves, Edwards and Trincão.

Spurred on by a full house at the stadium, it was Sporting CP who took the initiative. Their first attack came from a corner, from which Sebastián Coates headed over, but Juventus responded in kind and with more success: In the ninth minute, Adrien Rabiot finished off the visitors' first opportunity inside the area to make it 0-1 on the night.

The reaction was almost immediate. After a sprint by Edwards that ended with a shot hitting the post, Manuel Ugarte was fouled in the penalty area on the rebound. Edwards stepped up to take the penalty and took the score back all square, converting from the spot.

Shortly afterwards, on a counter-attack, Ugarte shot over the bar, before a series of corners that included Diomande heading off target.

The match was back and forth, but it was Sporting CP who had the last chance of the first half. Nuno Santos' low cross was intercepted at the last minute, somehow without any deflection towards Wojciech Szczęsny's goal.

After the interval there was a more daring and dangerous Juventus trying to kill off the tie. Striker Dušan Vlahović was unable to finish off an opportunity from close range for the Italian side, then Diomande appeared in the right place to block a shot.

Gonçalves had an effort from outside the area and Esgaio broke into the box and shot over, as the intensity increased and the tide turned in Sporting CP's favour. At the start of the last ten minutes, Amorim brought on Matheus Reis and Chermiti, followed by Arthur Gomes, in a final roll of the dice.

Several balls into the area found Coates in a position to strike, but without success. Sporting CP were reduced to ten men before the end, when Edwards received a second booking for simulation, but nothing would change on the scoreboard and, despite a valiant performance, the team's European journey came to an end.

Next up, on Monday at 8:15pm local time, Sporting CP travel to Vitória SC in Liga Portugal.
 
Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GK], Ricardo Esgaio, Ousmane Diomande, Sebastián Coates [C], Gonçalo Inácio (Matheus Reis, 81’), Nuno Santos (Arthur Gomes, 87’), Manuel Ugarte, Hidemasa Morita, Marcus Edwards, Pedro Gonçalves and Francisco Trincão (Youssef Chermiti, 81’).

The Sporting CP coach speaks ahead of the second leg against Juventus

This Thursday, Sporting Clube de Portugal host Juventus FC in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final. The Italian team hold a one-goal advantage after winning the first leg, but the tie remains open and coach Rúben Amorim believes in his team's chances of moving on to the next stage.

"Our team have already demonstrated that we excel in these games, that we are daring and consistent. We are strong and we had a good feeling in the game in Turin, in which we created several opportunities, controlled Juventus' strengths, but just weren't as effective as they were and that made the difference. The players know that this game will be different from last week, because there are different details, and that we have to be smart. We know that we have 90 minutes in which to manage things, equalise and turn around the tie", he began by saying, in his pre-match press conference.

"We believe we will go through, although we know it will be difficult, but we have the ability to turn around the tie -whether that be in extra time or penalties".

Asked if this was the most important game of the season for Sporting CP, he replied: "I don't know if it is or not. Let's imagine we make it through: The most important game would be the next one. If we get to the final, it would be the final that was the most important. What I do know is the feeling we have, and the fact that the stadium was sold out in such a short time gives the feeling that this is a decisive moment in our season. But we do well in these moments, it is a defining moment and I feel that we are prepared and that we are going to give a good response", he added.

"Juventus are full of good players. If you change two of their players, it changes the team's way of playing, but we are prepared for several scenarios. We have to be prepared and be effective up front and in defence, to have a chance of going through".

"We will always need some heroism to move forward, but we will need to be consistent and effective more than that. I know that if we do our job in the best way in all positions and situations, we will be able to overcome Juventus".

Amorim revealed one of his starters for the game: Ousmane Diomande.

"We maintain confidence in him and he will continue to start, that's the only thing I'm going to say," he commented, also justifying why he sometimes sends Sebastián Coates forward when looking for goals: "He's our best header of the ball and, in certain games, it comes in very handy have him up front".

The coach also spoke of his team's form.

"The oscillation in performances is not as great as it was at the beginning of the season, but there is variability in the results. We started the season very badly and we were playing catch-up. Whenever we had a chance to get closer we drew, with almost no chances against us and having many in favour, and that caused frustration. Our start to the campaign ha a very big impact".

The coach his side not putting away chances against FC Arouca

After the 1-1 draw against FC Arouca in Liga Portugal, coach Rúben Amorim reflected that Sporting CP created many opportunities and always had control of the game, but lacked the inspiration to finish off chances.

“At the start we lacked some speed, but we created opportunities with FC Arouca always playing very deep. We delivered a lot of low crosses in the first half, but nobody was able to convert them. In the second half, FC Arouca had a line of seven, sometimes eight, and the crosses, even when we put Sebastián Coates in there, didn't end up well. Even so, we had several opportunities and a missed penalty,” the coach began by explaining.
“FC Arouca didn't create opportunities and we gifted them the goal. They covered the spaces in the first half, but when fatigue set in we managed to put more pressure on them. We always had control of the game, but we lacked some inspiration and also lacked speed at the beginning."

Amorim later explained the decision to replace Nuno Santos with Rochinha in the 59th minute.

“The reason was simple. We weren't able to reach the line and cross, and we had to come inside and then cross. As Nuno doesn't have the right foot for that, he was having difficulties. Nevertheless, he is one of the most used players on our team. Using our options is the coach's responsibility. It's part of our job to do what we think is best for the team, because the objective is obviously to win every game,” he underlined.

He also admitted that the preparation for the game against Juventus FC "will be more difficult" after the result, but guaranteed that the team will "overcome this moment."

“If we had won today, tomorrow's training session would be happier and the players' spirit would be better, but that's part of our profession. The preparation will be the same. We have one day to get over this result, which for us is not a draw but a defeat. The spirit will not be the same, but we have to gain more strength to prepare for the Europa League game here," concluded the coach.

Sporting CP are held to a 1-1 draw by FC Arouca

Sporting Clube de Portugal drew 1-1 at home to FC Arouca on Liga Portugal Matchday 28.

Missing the injured Jeremiah St. Juste and Paulinho, and with Marcus Edwards out due to gastroenteritis, coach Rúben Amorim made several changes to his starting XI.

Diomande and Matheus Reis returned to the defence, with Sebastián Coates at centre back, and Bellerín took over on the right wing. In midfield, Manuel Ugarte partnered Pedro Gonçalves, and in the attack Arthur Gomes came in to form a trio with Chermiti and Trincão.

Before kickoff, Matheus Reis was honoured for his 100 games for Sporting CP.

When the game began, Os Leões dominated possession and tried to find spaces down the flanks, against a solid and well-organised FC Arouca.

The visitors -who started the game fifth in the table- struggled to get comfortable, and Sporting CP had a series of chances with crosses in to Chermiti and shots off target by Pedro Gonçalves.

Shortly after half an hour of play, a handball by Nino Galovic led to a Sporting CP penalty. Gonçalves stepped up to take, but the goalkeeper made the save to deny the opening goal.

Soon afterwards, in response, FC Arouca took the lead with their first opportunity, in the 38th minute, through Antony.

Hidemasa Morita came on for Bellerín at the start of the second half, and the Japanese came very close to scoring following a corner, his header hitting the crossbar.

More and more opportunities followed. Shortly before going off to make way for Rochinha, Nuno Santos broke into the area and was denied by a great save by the goalkeeper, whilst Chermiti also headed onto the woodwork.

As the clock ticked and FC Arouca tried to run down the clock, Amorim put Coates up front with 15 minutes to go, in order to use his height to meet crosses into the box.

Morita headed over again off a corner from the left, and then Pedro Gonçalves got his chance at redemption: Another penalty was awarded, and this time he scored, equalising for Sporting CP in the 87th minute.

Bombarding the area with crosses, Os Leões enjoyed the best of the final chances, with Coates heading just wide in the dying moments.

The game ended 1-1, and Sporting CP will now shift their focus to Thursday's game against Juventus FC at the Estádio José Alvalade, in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GK], Ousamane Diomande (Gonçalo Inácio, 87'), Sebastián Coates [C], Matheus Reis, Héctor Bellerín (Hidemasa Morita, 45'), Manuel Ugarte (Ricardo Esgaio, 77'), Pedro Gonçalves , Nuno Santos (Rochinha, 59'), Arthur Gomes, Youssef Chermiti and Francisco Trincão.

The Sporting CP coach reacts to the 1-0 loss to Juventus

After the defeat against Juventus, Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim said he believed that his team can turn around the tie in Alvalade in the second leg of the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

“Talking about justice or injustice in terms of the result isn't worth much. We are 1-0 down on aggregate and we shouldn't be behind because of the way we played, the opportunities we created and, above all, the way we conceded the goal," he told the media in his post-match press conference.

"I think it sums up the season in a way, but the good thing is that we have another opportunity. We have one more game against them, at home, but it's a game in which Juventus will play the way that they want. They have an advantage, they don't have the pressure from their fans, they can wait for us to make mistakes and we'll have to be very smart and go for the win from the start -but aware that the game is 90 minutes, that Juventus are very experienced and that they will play very comfortably."

“What we feel today is that we can turn the tie around, but for that to happen we need to beat FC Arouca this weekend -because the greatest source of motivation is to return to winning ways."

Amorim added that “it's frustrating, but I'm confident because we had a good game. We can fight back next Thursday because the score is only 1-0, but we have to be very smart. We have to understand that the game is going to be completely different, that we have to manage that and that we have the capacity to win with the help of our fans."
He also expressed his confidence in Antonio Adán, who was unfortunate in the Juventus goal.

“Here, when one player makes a mistake, we all make a mistake. Without him we would not be at this stage of the competition, nor would we have been league champions. He has the confidence of his coach because I know the kind of goalkeeper he is. Everyone at Sporting CP can still turn this tie around and forget about this first leg. We know that we can't concede a goal like that again and that we missed many chances. Against teams of this caliber, even sometimes in our league, it's impossible to win when you miss so many opportunities."

Sporting CP will need a fightback at home against Juventus

Sporting Clube de Portugal lost 1-0 to Juventus in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Europa League, with the opportunity to decide the tie coming on Thursday, April 20th, at the Estádio José Alvalade.

Rúben Amorim fielded Antonio Adán, Jeremiah St. Juste, Sebastián Coates, Gonçalo Inácio, Ricardo Esgaio, Hidemasa Morita, Pedro Gonçalves, Nuno Santos, Marcus Edwards, Youssef Chermiti and Francisco Trincão in his starting lineup against the Italian giants in Turin.

This was the third meeting in history between the two clubs, after they clashed twice in the Champions League in 2017/2018.

Juventus commanded play early on, with a first shot from Milik going over the top. Sporting CP responded within a minute with an effort from Trincão from the edge of the area, which also cleared the crossbar.

Adán was called upon to make a save in the 12th minute, denying Chiesa -whose cross he gathered soon after. At the other end, Morita pounced on a bad collection by the Juventus defence, before shooting the centimetres wide with a low drive from the edge of the area.

In the 29th minute, Sporting CP enjoyed one of their best opportunities, when Edwards was brought down on the edge of the area. From the free kick, Coates met the ball at the far post, forcing goalkeeper Szczesny into a stop.

Gonçalves also troubled the Juventus custodian when played through by Esgaio, and in the 33rd minute it was Nuno Santos' turn to try to score, with Bremer having to clear off the line.

Sporting CP grew into the game, with more possession, more pressure and several chances.

Szczesny felt a pain in his chest and the game was stopped for a few minutes, with the Juventus FC goalkeeper replaced by Perín. In the resulting stoppage time, Jeremiah St. Juste was also injured and was subbed off to bring in Ousmane Diamonde.

In the second half, Amorim's men kept up their intensity, and Gonçalves provided a shot towards the back post that Perín had to parry out.

Just past the hour, Arthur Gomes and Matheus Reis stepped in for Youssef Chermiti and Nuno Santos.

Despite having enjoyed more shots than their opponents, Sporting CP found themselves behind off a set piece. The home team won a corner and Adán was unable to ward off the danger, Coates scrambling to clear and Gatti taking advantage to score.

Edwards and Esgaio went off for Dário Essugo and Héctor Bellerín to come in, and the latter put in a dangerous cross immediately. Essugo followed up with an attempted chip that Perín claimed.

Perín would need to save again from Gonçalves and then Bellerín before the end, and a late Diomande shot was deflected out as the Italian side held on for the win. A 1-0 loss for Sporting CP was not the ideal result, but leaves hope for the second leg in one week's time.

​The fullback talks to the media

Sporting Clube de Portugal will play this Thursday against Juventus FC in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Europa League, and before the match at the Allianz Stadium, Ricardo Esgaio talked in the press conference.

“We know that we can fight against any team, but as the coach always says: We can win against any team and we can also lose to any team. We beat Arsenal, but that game is in the past. Now we are up against Juventus and we know their quality, but we also know ours and we know that if we can put our game into practice we can win", he stated.

"We have analysed their games well, we know what we can expect tomorrow and we will do our best to win", underlined the right back.

"As I say, we know their quality, but we have no fear. We know that Juventus have great players and are an excellent team, but we are focused on ourselves and our task".

Asked whether Sporting CP are also thinking about going on to win the Europa League, Esgaio commented that "We don't think any further ahead than the present. For now, tomorrow we have a game against Juventus and we want to win it".

"On a personal level, the amount of games in a row that I've played has given me confidence. In terms of the team’s defensive mistakes, we have done our analysis, we have seen what we have failed to do and we are trying to improve".

​The coach expects a tough game in the Europa League

Sporting Clube de Portugal will play away from home against Juventus this Thursday,  in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

Coach Rúben Amorim spoke in the pre-match press conference for the game, and rejected comparisons between Juventus and Arsenal -who Sporting CP eliminated in the previous round.

“Our objective is always that, when we have an opportunity, to do better than we've already done, but we have to be aware of the quality of Juventus. We've watched a lot of their games and everyone says that they are not having the best of seasons, but without the points penalty they would be in second place in Serie A, and they are a completely different team than they were at the beginning of the season", he told journalists.

"They are a bit like us in the first phase of the season and have a very experienced coach. It is always a good day if you can beat Juventus away. Our objective is always to win, but we also have to think that it is a two-legged tie and we have to have that notion throughout the game”.

“For us to win here, we will have to be a perfect Sporting CP and Juventus have to be below their best", he underlined, adding that this game will also be different from Liga Portugal in that the pressure will be on the Italian team.

"We have a responsibility to try to win the game, but it's a completely different world to the league. We have to use that to our advantage, leaving the responsibility to Juventus and playing our game. We want to start well and have the ball in the first few minutes, but, above all, we want to be very focused, because they are a completely different team to Arsenal and more experienced".

"I'm sure people will look at us differently after the game with Arsenal, and the team are also more confident playing these types of games now than before that match. Nevertheless, these are going to be completely different games and we remain underdogs in this competition. The day will come when we are a strong candidate in European competitions, but we are still working to follow that path. That doesn't take away our ambition of wanting to win".

The winner of the Europa League will play in the Champions League next season, but  Amorim believes that this will also weigh more on Juventus than on Sporting CP.

“I think that objective is more in the minds of Juventus players, due to the club's status and because they are a team very used to playing finals, with several European trophies. Them not reaching the Champions League would have a very big impact. Obviously it would be for us too, but our project is completely different. We have a project based on youth and we have an ongoing process, which is making good progress and in which it is possible to compensate for not getting into the Champions League. So I think that it will be more in the minds of Juventus players”.

However, the coach knows that winning the competition would be historic, stating that “For Sporting CP it is an objective and we of course want to win a European trophy. For us it would even be more important than for Juventus, because we only have one Cup Winners' Cup in our trophy cabinet. Everything is possible. After eliminating Arsenal and, mainly, with the way we played in that game, we have to believe more".

“This game will be completely different and Juventus are completely different opponents. We believe, but we have to go step-by-step and use that factor that we don't have in the league, in that Juventus are expected to win".

Amorim was also asked about the words of Danilo, a former FC Porto player now at Juventus, who said that Sporting CP "are a team who put a lot of pressure on you. They are like a mirror of how Rúben Amorim was as a player".

"I'm happy about him saying that the Sporting CP team represent what I was like as a player, although I had many mistakes and defects. I think a coach's objective, after the main thing which is to win, is to be reflected in his team. Tomorrow, hopefully, we will live up to those words", he concluded.