Os Leões beat SC Braga 5-0 at home in the Taça da Liga

Sporting Clube de Portugal booked their ticket for the Final Four of the Taça da Liga by thrashing SC Braga 5-0 at the Estádio José Alvalade in the quarter finals.

Having come through the group stage with a total of three wins, 13 goals scored and zero conceded, Sporting CP had been impressive in the competition to date. For the first knockout game, coach Rúben Amorim made four changes to the starting lineup, bringing in goalkeeper Antonio Adán, Nuno Santos, Pedro Gonçalves and Marcus Edwards. Rochinha, meanwhile, was left out due to flu.

In what was perhaps their best first half played this season, Sporting CP surprised Braga by taking a 2-0 lead very early on. Just 4 minutes in, Gonçalo Inácio appeared in the area to finish off a flick by Paulinho to the near post off a corner, and on 8 minutes Paulinho himself finished off a pass from Trincão. It was his sixth goal in the last four games in the Taça da Liga.

In the 18th minute, Edwards stole the ball from Tormena, broke into the area and was brought down by the defence. The resulting penalty was dispatched by Pedro Gonçalves for his ninth goal this season.

Half an hour into the game, Gonçalves had everything in his favour to score again, but had his shot blocked by a defender. Exactly the same thing would happen shortly afterwards to Paulinho.

Sporting CP scored two more goals in the final stretch of the first half, as first Trincão finished off a Nuno Santos cross from the left, then Edwards converted a second penalty.

With the team 5-0 up at the interval, Sporting CP played with a lower block after the restart, but always with an eye on quick transitions to score the sixth goal of the night.

In the 71st minute, Amorim made his first moves. Dário Essugo and Jovane Cabral, as well as Ricardo Esgaio and Arthur Gomes, came on in the final stretch, as did Sotiris Alexandropoulos. Sporadic chances had occurred during the second half, but there were no further goals and the game ended 5-0.

Os Leões, who achieved their sixth consecutive victory and consolidated their best run of the season, will play in the Final Four of the Taça da Liga in Leiria from January 24-28th, against the winners of Moreirense FC vs. FC Arouca. Before that, and after a break for the Christmas holidays, Liga Portugal returns for the last game of 2022, with a home match against FC Paços de Ferreira on December 29th.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GK], Matheus Reis, Sebastián Coates [C], Gonçalo Inácio, Pedro Porro (Ricardo Esgaio, 76'), Manuel Ugarte (Dário Essugo, 71'), Pedro Gonçalves, Nuno Santos, Francisco Trincão ( Arthur Gomes, 76'), Marcus Edwards (Sotiris Alexandropoulos, 86') and Paulinho (Jovane Cabral, 71').

Os Leões win 5-0 against CS Marítimo

Sporting Clube de Portugal secured their spot in the quarter-finals of the Taça da Liga by beating CS Marítimo 5-0 at the Estádio José Alvalade. The win took them to three wins in three games, as they defend the trophy in 2022/23. They will now play SC Braga in the knockout stage of the competition on December 19th.

Weather conditions in the Lisbon area meant that the contest was held behind closed doors.

For the last match of the group stage, Rúben Amorim fielded a starting XI of Franco Israel, Gonçalo Inácio, Sebastián Coates, Matheus Reis, Pedro Porro, Manuel Ugarte, Mateus Fernandes, Jovane Cabral, Arthur Gomes , Paulinho and Francisco Trincao.

Os Leões took under a minute to open the scoring. Matheus Reis fed the ball to Arthur Gomes on the left and he crossed low into the area, where Paulinho finished off the chance.

The second goal came from a ball in from the right, played in by Pedro Porro and again converted by Paulinho.

With the score at 2-0, the striker rounded off his hat trick on the half-hour. Jovane Cabral played a through ball and Paulinho ricocheted the ball in off the goalkeeper as Miguel Silva tried to smother.

Just before the break, and after Porro had also put the CS Marítimo goalkeeper to the test, it was Cabral's turn to have an attempt off Trincão's pass from the left, but the ball went over the top.

The visiting team even tried to respond, with Bruno Xadas striking wide.

A series of chances opened the second stanza, including Cabral receiving from Trincão and shooting off target with only the CS Marítimo goalkeeper in front of him.

The pace dropped as the second half progressed, but some goal opportunities continued to be created. The best, at the start of the last 20 minutes, saw Matheus Reis shoot with his right foot and be denied by Miguel Silva.

The fourth goal was a result of a Mateus Fernandes pass on 73 minutes, and although Porro had work to do, he hit the ball with pace to score.

Soon after, Rúben Amorim made three substitutions at once, taking off Manuel Ugarte, Porro and Trincão, bringing in Sotiris, Ricardo Esgaio and Pedro Gonçalves. Fatawu also entered, for the last ten minutes, replacing Paulinho.

Sporting CP continued to look to increase their advantage and, in the 86th minute, scored again. Arthur Gomes attempted a cross which the visiting goalkeeper ended up deflecting into his own net

With a perfect record and 13 goals scored -with none conceded- Sporting CP move on to the quarter-finals on Monday night.

The coach gives his thoughts ahead of the game against CS Marítimo

This Tuesday, Sporting Clube de Portugal face CS Marítimo at the Estádio José Alvalade in the Taça da Liga. So far, the team have six points from a possible six, and are very close to qualifying for the quarter finals.

On the eve of the game, coach Rúben Amorim gave a pre-match press conference.

“We will field a very strong team to win the game, score nine points, not concede goals and increase the goal difference. What we want is to continue winning games and achieve our fifth consecutive victory, keeping a clean sheet, because that gives us confidence for what is to come," he underlined.

“Winning games creates a dynamic that helps us. We are a big club and we have to go on this winning streak."

The coach also addressed the importance of the break due to the World Cup for the team.

“It depends on the results, but I would say that the break has been good for preparing the present and the future of Sporting CP. Above all, players like Mateus Fernandes and Dário [Essugo] have grown, Sotiris [Alexandropoulos] has had more time to train and I think all the players have improved in the process. I think the games are proof of that, with us not conceding goals either," he explained.

"Now, the internationals are back. [Hidemasa] Morita has returned with injuries and we will have to put him through rehabilitation again. This break was important for us as a team, to work on everything we didn't have time for, because the initial phase of the season was very busy.”

Amorim promised that Mateus Fernandes will be in the starting lineup against CS Marítimo, as well as Jovane Cabral.

“[Mateus Fernandes] worked hard for this and he has to live up to it. It's also a message for all the young people at Sporting CP, who have to fight and work hard to join the first team. I know the value of Mateus, he doesn't have any extra pressure on him and he's going to play because he deserves it."

The coach insisted that he does not know for sure when St. Juste, Daniel Bragança and Morita will be back available, saying that  “Day by day, game by game, we are evaluating things, and what we have to do is prepare for any eventuality. That's why Mateus is playing, we have Pote, Soto and Dário who is growing very well and can play alongside Ugarte."

Training for the Sporting CP squad

This Saturday, Sporting Clube de Portugal began preparing for their home game against CS Marítimo (Tuesday, December 13th, 8:45pm, Estádio José Alvalade) with a training session at the Academia Cristiano Ronaldo in Alcochete.

The presence of Hidemasa Morita, returning after his participation with Japan in the World Cup, was the biggest novelty, and Rúben Amorim also called up young goalkeeper Francisco Silva for the session.

Luis Neto, Jeremiah St. Juste and Daniel Bragança underwent treatment with the medical department.

"It was a consistent victory from a team that still have a lot to improve," says the coach

At the end of Sporting Clube de Portugal's 0-2 victory away against Rio Ave FC, coach Rúben Amorim analysed the match and praised the performance of his players.

"We are facing every game in the same way. We have to win, which is the weight that being a big club carries. We have to win the game against CS Marítimo. Today was a consistent victory for a team that adapted well to all the situations in the game," he explained.

“Rio Ave FC didn't create great opportunities, but forced us to run after the ball. We created danger in the first half and in the second half we tired Rio Ave FC out. We were very strong and could have scored more goals. We scored from two dead ball situations with a team that were not very tall, but that showed aggression. It was a consistent victory from a team that still have a lot to improve.”

The coach also spoke about how his players are earning their minutes, giving two examples.

"Looking at Dário [Essugo's] game, he managed to earn more minutes with his quality. There's also Mateus Fernandes, who didn't come in today and may have the opportunity to feel what it's like to start a game. They will have to train well. because all of the training sessions and games have an impact on the team. We have to take advantage of every day to create a team that is stronger all the time.”

Finally, Amorim reminded journalists that "difficult times are coming, with big decisions and a league table in which Sporting CP are off the pace.”

“We have to be much better, but today we were consistent against a good team. We didn't let Rio Ave FC create great opportunities and we created many.”

A 0-2 victory over Rio Ave FC keeps them top of the group

Sporting Clube de Portugal beat Rio Ave FC 0-2 on the second matchday of the Taça da Liga group stage, maintaining their 100% record in the competition. A goal by Gonçalo Inácio and an own goal by the home team's Boateng -both in the second half- moved the team one step closer to advancing in the competition.

Coach Rúben Amorim made only one change in the starting lineup from the clash against SC Farense, bringing in Antonio Adán in place of Franco Israel.

The first half started at a relatively slow pace, but Sporting CP had a good opportunity after just three minutes, when Nuno Santos shot wide following a clever move by Pedro Porro. Moments later, José Marsà also tried his luck, but missed the target.

Rio Ave FC responded in the 15th minute, with Leonardo Ruiz shooting over. At the other end, Pedro Gonçalves found a good position in the area, but was unable to finish off the chance.

After a Paulinho header saved by Jhonatan, Rio Ave FC could have scored when Leonardo Ruiz went through on Adán, but the Spanish goalkeeper prevented a goal with his block.

In the 41st minute, Nuno Santos had a shot saved by the goalkeeper, and the game went into the halftime break with the score at 0-0.

Sporting CP's dominance was accentuated in the second half and both Nuno Santos, Marcus Edwards and Francisco Trincão tried to make it 0-1 in the opening minutes.

Porro then crossed, Paulinho's shot forced a save from Jhonatan defense and, on the rebound, Francisco Trincão was unfortunate not to hit the target. Rio Ave FC had one of their few dangerous attacks of the second half, with Leonardo Ruiz shooting narrowly wide.

Finally, the deadlock was broken in the 62nd minute. Off a direct free kick, Edwards sent the ball into the area and Gonçalo Inácio, with an excellent header, scored for Sporting CP..

With the score at 0-1, Jhonatan once again denied Paulinho and Trincão, before Amorim brought in Arthur Gomes and Manuel Ugarte in place of Marcus Edwards and Dário Essugo.

The second goal was not long in coming as, in the 73rd minute, Porro sent in a free kick from the left and Boateng deflected it into his own net.

Doubling the lead brought tranquility to the team and to the match itself, which ended 0-2. Sporting CP are the outright leaders of Group B with six points, three more than Rio Ave FC and SC Farense. CS Marítimo, last placed in the group, are the next opponents on Tuesday, December 13th.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [C] [GK], Gonçalo Inácio, José Marsà, Matheus Reis, Pedro Porro, Dário Essugo (Manuel Ugarte, 71'), Pedro Gonçalves (Sotiris Alexandropoulos, 84'), Nuno Santos, Marcus Edwards (Arthur Gomes, 71'), Francisco Trincão (Rochinha, 84') and Paulinho (Jovane Cabral, 84').

The coach gives his thoughts on the upcoming Taça a Liga game

Rúben Amorim is not expecting an easy game in Vila do Conde, where Sporting Clube de Portugal play this Wednesday, against Rio Ave FC in the Taça da Liga.

“It will be a decisive game, even if nothing is decided yet, but what we want is to win, continue to play well and not concede goals against a team that like to play with the ball, that have a very good dynamic and good finishing. They are always dangerous when they can impose their ideas, and they have a coach that I like a lot, in Luís Freire," said the Sporting CP coach.

"We have to pay attention to the individual characteristics of a team that are growing, who are playing at home and that in the cup competitions have an even greater ambition. We have to win and extend a run of consecutive victories to four -which for this group is nothing special because we had a long winning streak last year and we have to get back to normal."

Amorim added that “It's going to be a difficult game, but I'm very excited to see the team, their evolution and what we've practiced. I expect a good game that, as always, we have to win."

Manuel Ugarte, returning from the World Cup, will be among the options available to Amorim.

“He came back earlier than the others, he needs to have a few minutes and he will be called up for the squad. As the game unfolds, we soon see what is best to do, because the important thing is to win”.

One player who won't feature is Jeremiah St. Juste.

"It's a difficult time for him and I know what he's going through, because I've also been through it in my career, but he's very positive about things. He has suffered a lot with this last injury, he's recovering, but we don't know when he'll be back. We will look to find the balance so that he gets to play many games. The important thing is that his quality is there and that he also has a lot of human qualities."

Of his renewal with Sporting CP, signed last week, Amorim stated that “I feel prepared for everything. What I want is for Sporting CP to reach a point in which we can keep our players. I want to be an important part of this project and I really enjoy being at Sporting CP, as well as working with people like Hugo Viana. That, perhaps, has more value than some other things."

Monday training at Academia Cristiano Ronaldo

Sporting Clube de Portugal returned to training this Monday morning at the Academia Cristiano Ronaldo in Alcochete, with their focus on the match against Rio Ave FC scheduled for Wednesday night.

Targeting another win in the Group Stage of the Taça da Liga, the players continued with the preparation for the game in Vila do Conde. They remained without Luís Neto, Jeremiah St. Juste and Daniel Bragança, who are undergoing treatment with the club's medical department.

A further session will be held on Tuesday at 10am, and at 12:15pm coach Rúben Amorim will preview the match in a press conference.

Sporting CP win 6-0 in Taça da Liga debut

Sporting Clube de Portugal opened their Taça da Liga campaign with a comprehensive 6-0 win over SC Farense in the group stage. A Paulinho brace, plus goals from Marcus Edwards, Pedro Gonçalves, Arthur Gomes and Mateus Fernandes, helped the team to victory.

Rúben Amorim made five changes to the starting lineup compared to the visit to FC Famalicão, bringing in Franco Israel, José Marsà, Dário Essugo, Nuno Santos and Marcus Edwards in place of Antonio Adán, Jeremiah St. Juste, Sebastián Coates, Hidemasa Morita and Manuel Ugarte, respectively.

Sporting CP started at full throttle, and racked up eight shots in the first ten minutes. Just four minutes in, Francisco Trincão had a strike saved by goalkeeper Ricardo Velho, and, off the follow-up, Pedro Porro also tried his luck and was inches away from making it 1-0. Soon after, Nuno Santos' shot deflected off a defender and Velho intervened again.

On eight minutes, Porro set up Paulinho, who missed the target.

The deserved opener came in the 20th minute, when Santos found Trincao, whose ball into the heart of the area was met by Paulinho to finish.

Sporting CP scored again two minutes later. Dário Essugo recovered the ball in midfield and the counterattack ended with Paulinho shooting. Velho's save came back to the striker, who converted second time around to make it 2-0.

SC Farense tried to respond with their first shot shortly after the half-hour, Rui Costa hitting his effort just wide, but the play was still controlled by Sporting CP.

Before the break, Porro provided a pass for Marcus Edwards, who danced through the opposition defence, finished classily and took the score to 3-0 at the interval.

Upon the restart, in the 48th minute, Porro advanced down the right and worked a ball into the area, where Pedro Gonçalves placed a shot into the back of the net.

In the 61st minute, Trincão was replaced by Jovane Cabral and the intensity of the game began to drop, but Sporting CP were always close to scoring again. With just over 20 minutes left, it was Arthur Gomes and Mateus Fernandes' turn to come on, replacing  Edwards and Santos.

Cabral's best contribution was a shot wide in the 74th minute, but a few moments later Sporting CP made it 5-0, when Porro's through ball was latched onto by Paulinho and he laid off to Arthur Gomes for the finish.

Mateus Fernandes won a penalty kick, and the 18-year-old midfielder himself was called upon to convert and past Velho, taking the score to 6-0 and scoring on his debut for the first team.

After a 6-0 win, next Wednesday the team play their second game of the group stage away to Rio Ave FC.

Sporting CP: Franco Israel [GK], Gonçalo Inácio, José Marsà, Matheus Reis, Pedro Porro (Ricardo Esgaio, 80'), Dário Essugo (Sotiris Alexandropoulos, 45'), Pedro Gonçalves, Nuno Santos [C] (Mateus Fernandes, 69'), Marcus Edwards (Arthur Gomes, 69'), Francisco Trincao (Jovane Cabral, 61') and Paulinho.

New contract made official this Tuesday

Sporting Clube de Portugal and Rúben Amorim have signed an extension to the first team coach's contract through to 2026.

The 37-year-old coach joined Frederico Varandas, chairman of the Board of Directors, at the Estádio José Alvalade on Tuesday for the celebration of the renewal.

Speaking to Sporting CP media, Varandas announced that it was "a very happy day for Sporting CP."

"We signed Rúben Amorim in March 2020, we are now in November 2022 and we have just renewed his contract until June 2026. This renewal demonstrates a lot about how Sporting CP work today: With discretion, efficiency and a clear direction. It is also a very strong sign of how today Sporting CP are a strong and stable club, with stability being the basis of all success. A contract of this duration always obliges that the parties involved are 100% committed to the sporting project and that there is an extremely high level of trust between them. As president of Sporting CP, I am very happy that we have a contract until 2026 with one of the best coaches in the world and because we will continue to make Sporting CP grow."

Rúben Amorim was equally satisfied with the continuation of his tenure in charge.

"For any coach it is very important to receive the trust of a club when you still have a contract in place, and especially in the worst time we have been experiencing as Sporting CP coaching staff. Renewing with me for a longer period now is a sign of great confidence. Even with the problems that all families have, we have managed to solve them and we are ready for another very difficult three-year cycle. I want to thank all Sportinguistas and tell them that there will be three difficult years ahead; we know that. We are going to have a lot of joy and, sometimes, disappointment too. We will do everything to make Sporting CP a much better club in three years. Thank you for your trust, I am very happy and I am where I want to be."

Since joining the club in the final stretch of the 2019/20 season, Rúben Amorim has already won, a Liga Portugal title (2020/2021), the Supertaça (2021) and two Taça da Ligas (2020/2021 and 2021/2022) as coach of Sporting CP.