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".

Seven squad members will represent their countries

Gonçalo Inácio (Portugal), Eduardo Quaresma (Portugal Under-21s), Dário Essugo (Portugal Under-21s), Viktor Gyökeres (Sweden), Morten Hjulmand (Denmark), Hidemasa Morita (Japan) and Ousmane Diomande (Ivory Coast) will join up with their respective national teams in the coming days.

Portugal will play against Slovakia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in qualifying matches for the European Championships. The first game is scheduled for October 13th, at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto, while the second will be played away in Zenica, three days later.

The Under-21s will also play two qualifying games for their European Championships, against Belarus and Greece. The first match will be played on October 13th, at the Cidade de Barcelos, and the second on the 17th, at the D. Afonso Henriques in Guimarães.

Sweden play at home on October 12th against Moldova and then in Belgium on the 16th.

Denmark will also be focused on the European Championships, with qualifiers against Kazakhstan at home and then an away fixture against San Marino.

The Japanese and Ivory Coast teams will only play friendly matches. Japan will face Canada (13/10) and Tunisia (17/10) in their homeland. The Ivory Coast will face their counterparts from Morocco (14/10) and South Africa (17/10) at home.

Internationals continue to join the group ahead of Saturday's game

Sporting Clube de Portugal's first team continued their preparations for a first Taça de Portugal tie of the season this Thursday, in a training session held in the morning.

The team travel to the Estádio José Gomes on Saturday to face CD Oivais e Moscavide in an 8:45pm kickoff.

Rúben Amorim's men were bolstered by the return of more international players, back from representing their respective countries. Diogo Pinto, Alexandre Brito, Marco Cruz and Chico Lamba were all present.

On Friday afternoon, Amorim will hold a press conference to give his preview of the cup contest.

The coach hails his side's control in a difficult 2-1 win

In the aftermath of the win against FC Arouca, Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim praised the performance from his side, who played for an entire half down to ten men.

“Until the sending off, there was one team attacking and the other was defending. We controlled the game well, without creating big opportunities, but we were always close to the goal. We didn’t let FC Arouca bring the ball out,” he began by saying in his post-match press conference.

“After the red card, the game changed a little. In the second half we conceded the goal, which made it very difficult, but we had the ability to fight back. The team showed maturity and adapted to every moment of the game,” he stressed, before stating that the fact that Viktor Gyökeres was loudly applauded at the end of the match by the fans in the stands was “normal."

“I understand why, as while we had one less player, he was the one who allowed us to breathe easy. He controlled the ball, took it and won free kicks. The fans liked that because they could see the influence he had on the way the game went. I understand the fans, but I don't like to single out just Viktor, as everyone worked very hard after a very demanding game on Thursday."

Whilst he refused to comment on the sending off of Ousmane Diomande, the Amorim explained why he decided to switch Eduardo Quaresma for Luís Neto in the final stretch of the match, after the young central defender had come on at the beginning of the second half.

“Quaresma came on because we had to take risks and we were going to defend with a line of four. He's very fast and strong in one-on-ones, but then he got a yellow card and we scored. FC Arouca were only creating danger with crosses, and Neto is clearly stronger at dealing with that. I don't like doing it, but it's what the game demanded. The players know it's not personal and that tomorrow they could be a starter. We wanted to win, and that’s why I made the change."

In closing, he revealed that he will not give the team a holiday during the international break, although he will grant three days off to the players who remain in Alcochete.

“No one will have a mini-holiday: They will have days off -a maximum of three- because if you give any more than that then later on it is more difficult to get back into the rhythm of things. We have a large group that are not going away with their national teams, with players who still have a way to grow. We'll give them three days, but then we'll come back. We will obviously pay attention to rest, but there are no holidays for anyone."

Gyökeres and Morita strike in a 2-1 triumph

On their return to domestic action, Sporting Clube de Portugal beat FC Arouca 2-1 in Liga Portugal at the Estádio José Alvalade. Despite going down to ten men in the 42nd minute, the team proved strong and scored a winning goal that makes them outright leaders of the division.

On the day of the club's General Assembly, Sportinguistas, including representatives from 51 groups across the country, travelled en masse to Alvalade to support their team. The players took to the pitch with pink bows printed on their shirts in honour of Pink October, a movement that raises awareness about the prevention of breast cancer.

Coach Rúben Amorim brought back three players to the starting lineup, including Sebastián Coates, Ricardo Esgaio and Marcus Edwards in his initial XI. With FC Arouca well organised defensively, Sporting CP circulated the ball from one channel to the other, but it was not easy to break through the lines.

Having settled in the opposing half, they had a lot of possession and gradually made some tentative approaches on goal, but without managing to create much danger. In the first half hour, the best opportunities belonged to Pedro Gonçalves, with a weak shot and then a header, and Marcus Edwards, who had his effort saved by the goalkeeper.

Nevertheless, after 31 minutes and plenty of insistence, Sporting CP made it 1-0. Marcus Edwards jinked inside and crossed with precision for an unmarked Viktor Gyökeres, who finished first time for his fourth goal in the last three games -his eighth in total this season.

The advantage upped the intensity from the fans, and a move by Inácio, Coates and Diomande saw the team come close to doubling their lead.

However, just before the break, Diomande received a second yellow card and was sent off for what the referee adjudged to have been an elbow on an opposition player.

Down to ten men, Rúben Amorim introduced Matheus Reis on the left side of the defence, and the fullbacks formed a line of five at times without the ball. Despite reinforcing the back line, in the 52nd minute FC Arouca pulled back level with a header from Rafa Mújica to make it 1-1.

Although they had numerical inferiority and needed to start over, Sporting CP continued to dominate play. Nuno Santos came close to scoring with a dangerous shot into the side netting, and Gonçalves failed to deflect a cross into the six-yard-box.

Amorim changed his team around again to bring in Geny Catamo and Eduardo Quaresma. Os Leões threatened and threatened until, in the 68th minute, they managed to score a second goal. After some excellent work on the left,  Gonçalves found space, crossed in and set up Morita, who knocked in his first goal of the season at the near post.

FC Arouca, who until then had relied on the counterattack but had failed to achieve more than a couple of dangerous shots, began to have more of the ball in the final 15 minutes, but the best scoring opportunities before the final whistle went to Sporting CP. On the best of them, Catamo delivered a powerful arcing shot, but Arruabarrena made a big save.

The 2-1 result makes Sporting CP outright leaders in Liga Portugal, heading into the international break. Next up is a Taça de Portugal Third Round game against CD Olivais e Moscavide on October 21st.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán (GK), Ousmane Diomande, Sebastián Coates (C), Gonçalo Inácio, Ricardo Esgaio (Geny Catamo, 58'), Hidemasa Morita, Morten Hjulmand (Daniel Bragança, 81'), Nuno Santos (Eduardo Quaresma, 58', Luís Neto, 88'), Marcus Edwards (Matheus Reis, 45'), Pedro Gonçalves and Viktor Gyökeres.

The coach's preview of the game against FC Arouca

Sporting Clube de Portugal host FC Arouca this Sunday, at 8:30 pm, on Liga Portugal Matchday 8.

Os Leões return home after their midweek defeat in the Europa League and Rúben Amorim is only thinking about a win, saying that whilst it is good to play right after a loss, he would have preferred to have had more time to prepare for this match.

"We enjoyed playing in Europe, but we could have had one more day to prepare for the game and we didn't get it. Nevertheless, the team are ready. The players are fresh because there was rotation during this time", he told the media.

"We know FC Arouca very well; We know that last year we didn't win any game against them and we want to change that this year.Daniel Ramos is a very experienced coach, he knows that as the game goes on it will create anxiety in everyone, so what we want is to start well and play well in the first and second half to win the game. They vary between 4 and 5 in defence, with the winger playing as the fifth man. We have trained for that in the time we had, we focused a lot on what we need to be very good at, we worked on that and I think that tomorrow we will have a good game".

"We have to be hungry, we want to win and we must be very calm in the face of everything that happens. We know that FC Arouca want to keep it 0-0, make transitions, create one or two opportunities and create a bad atmosphere in our stadium. What we have to do is have a lot of confidence, stay calm, be well organised and not let them make too many transitions", said the coach, denying that the defeat against Atalanta BC will affect his Sporting CP side.

"What's done is done. We need to always be optimistic. I believe we can be champions, win trophies and go through in Europe. We've already proven that many times. Tomorrow we have another game, what we want is to stay in first place and that's what we're going to play for".

Amorim also spoke about Jeremiah St. Juste, saying that the central defender "is getting closer and closer" to his return, and commented on the importance of Sebastián Coates.

"For me, as a coach , what he represents is an example in the way he has always played and how he helps his teammates, but I think he can still get better as a player and as a captain, and when I look at him I want him to do more. He is very important for us and you see that the team feel more confident with him on the pitch".

The coach looks back on the Europa League loss to Atalanta BC

After the defeat against Atalanta BC in Group D of the UEFA Europa League, Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim gave a press conference to provide his analysis of the match.

"The word 'if' doesn't count in football. A draw was the fairest option, but it didn't happen. In the first half we had a lot of difficulties; we didn't have the quality with the ball that we should have and when we didn't have it we had more problems," he acknowledged, before talking about a second half that he considered "completely different".

"It was mainly because we had the ball, because tactically we did the same things. We tried our best, Geny [Catamo] and Marcus [Edwards] did well in attacking the opposition and that changed the game a little. It was enough to have more time in control of the game and we were better then".

"There were two distinct halves and we didn't manage to score two goals in 'our' half, which for me made the difference in the game. We demonstrated, from the first minute of the second half, that we wanted to chase the win. In the first half we also wanted to, but we didn't achieve it because Atalanta BC were the better side. The urgency was always there, but sometimes we didn't get what we wanted. It's part of football", he summarised.

Once again, Amorim underlined that "in case of doubt, the domestic league is the priority," recalling the club's European experience last season.  “In Europe we were very good and in the league we made it easier for the opposition. We also have to learn from our mistakes".

"No one is more upset about losing tonight than the coach and the players, as we haven't lost in I don't know how long. We have to face it head on. I know that after last season we have to win and play well, I know that and there will be zero tolerance, but we do the maths only at the end. We are top of the league and nothing is lost in the Europa League. I wouldn't say that first place in the group was at risk. We have to win our games and whoever gets more points will go through. We're going to do our best to achieve that".

When asked about replacing Morten Hjulmand at halftime, Amorim explained that the Danish international midfielder "comes from a different team and a different league" and highlighted that now, at Sporting CP, he is "making the transformation to go and look for opponents further away than he's used to doing".

He also talked about Paulinho's starting in place of Marcus Edwards: "We thought they were going to be a very physical team, and we weren't going to have Sebastián Coates on set pieces and Paulinho was in great form. We made the decision looking at the characteristics of the opposition, but now it's easy to say that. Marcus is in great form because the coach insisted on him even after he had some poor games".

A Gyökeres penalty is not enough to take points in the UEFA Europa League

Sporting Clube de Portugal fell 1-2 to Atalanta BC in their second UEFA Europa League Group Stage game, in front of the best home attendance of the season at the Estádio José Alvalade. Some 42,301 spectators turned out to support the team, who put in a great performance that fell just short of earning points.

To face the side currently sixth in Serie A - just five points off the lead -, coach Rúben Amorim made three changes to his starting lineup: Iván Fresneda – making his debut in the first XI – replaced Ricardo Esgaio, Matheus Reis did likewise for Sebastián Coates, and Paulinho joined the attack in place of Marcus Edwards. Hidemasa Morita played his 50th game for the club.

In the stands, the atmosphere was frenetic from the start with Alvalade roaring loudly, but on the field the play would be defined by patience and a lot of concentration. Before the first ten minutes had elapsed, Atalanta BC had two dangerous approaches: On the first, Ademola Lookman burst into the area but found no recipient for his pass, then captain Marten de Roon's header went wide.

Sporting CP tried to use their short ball output to invite the Italians on, and Atalanta BC responded with their usual man-to-man marking. The intention was to then look for Viktor Gyökeres up front or Paulinho and Pedro Gonçalves between the lines , but there was little progression and the visitors had more of the ball.

As the minutes passed, Os Leões provided two quick attacks in which the only thing missing was better finishing. However, in response, after half an hour, Atalanta BC made it 0-1 with the first goal that Sporting CP had conceded in four games. Davide Zappacosta got to the line and a low cross to the heart of the area found a touch by Giorgio Scalvini. Soon after, Lookman threatened twice, but first shot over the crossbar and then had his effort met by solid opposition from Antonio Adán.

Before the break, Atalanta BC took the score to 0-2 through winger Matteo Ruggeri, who after a tackle went through on Adán and scored off a rebound from his own shot.

Looking to change the dynamic, Amorim made changes at halftime, bringing on Sebastián Coates, Geny Catamo and Marcus Edwards for Nuno Santos, Morten Hjulmand and Paulinho. The team restarted the contest more aggressive and forced Atalanta BC to resort to constant fouls to slow down their movement. From one of these set pieces, Sporting CP finally came very close to scoring, but Inácio's header off Edwards' cross went slightly wide.

There was a new energy and belief amongst Sporting CP, with the game being played almost exclusively in the Italian side's midfield and  the visitors now finding it very difficult to maintain possession. On two different moves in the area, Gyökeres looked for space to shoot, but his strikes ended up being blocked by a defender.

With Ricardo Esgaio replacing Fresneda, it was Matheus Reis' turn to try his luck on goal, and Musso intervened.

The breakthrough finally came from the penalty spot: Diomande shot rebounded onto Scalvini's arm and, after VAR reviewed the images, a penalty kick was awarded. Just like in Faro the previous weekend, it was Gyökeres who took responsibility and confidently dispatched the spot kick.

The shift in momentum led to a great series of chances at an equaliser, as Musso got the better of a one-on-one with Edwards and only the post prevented Geny from levelling.
Atalanta BC were trying to survive as best they could, punctuated by a shot from distance from the newly introduced Gianluca Scamacca that forced Adán to save.

In the end, although they had the better of the shots and possession, Sporting CP suffered their first defeat of 2023/24. Thus, with Atalanta BC taking the lead in the head-to-head duel between the two teams that won on the opening matchday of the group, Sporting CP are in second place, level with SK Sturm Graz.

This Sunday they return to Alvalade to host FC Arouca in Liga Portugal.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GK] [C], Iván Fresneda (Ricardo Esgaio, 66'), Ousmane Diomande, Gonçalo Inácio, Matheus Reis (Daniel Bragança, 90+1'), Nuno Santos (Sebastián Coates, 46'), Morten Hjulmand (Marcus Edwards, 46'), Hidemasa Morita, Pedro Gonçalves, Paulinho (Geny Catamo, 46') and Viktor Gyökeres.

The coach is honest in his assessment of Matchday 7

After the hard-fought 2-3 win away to SC Farense, Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim attended a press conference to analyse the game and began by praising the strong support of the away fans in Faro.

"We have always had their support and today they were very important in difficult moments. On Thursday we will have more of them and we need the help of the fans", said the coach, before stating that "the key was the third goal, which unlocked the game".

"It was a game that was difficult, became easy and then, with two dead ball situations, was level. In the first half we could have been better with the ball, we were better in the second half, we created chances, we didn't score and SC Farense grew in strength, won two free kicks and two very good strikes from one player made all the difference. Then it was a case of trying to go 2-3 up, and we ended up achieving it".

"SC Farense outdid themselves. They played against a 'big' team and, when losing 0-2, they still managed to equalise. In the first half we didn't have the imagination or the calm that we should have had. Now we have to see where we could have been better and made the night easier, because the circumstances of the game dictated that. It didn't happen, but we ended up earning the three points", he told the media

Asked to comment on the penalty that resulted in Sporting CP's decisive third goal, Amorim reaffirmed that he does not talk about referees, adding: "It would be unfair to analyse the last incident and not all of them".

"We had everything we needed to have a peaceful night, but we made it trickier. It was a deserved win for Sporting CP, but at the same time an unfair defeat for SC Farense. If justice is about who created more opportunities and came closer to scoring, Sporting CP were clearly fair winners. If we talk about a team that was stoic in the way they defended, worked together, fought against everything that happened in the game and were always on the lookout for the counterattack, losing the three points was a little unfair on them. But football is about who scores the most goals".

Finally, Amorim addressed the early replacement of Sebastián Coates due to an injury and stressed that "no matter what happens, Coates will not play on Thursday. He felt a knock and he is very experienced, so he was able to take precautions".