The coach reflects on the loss in the UEFA Champions League

In his post-match press conference following the defeat against Olympique Marseille in the UEFA Champions League, Sporting Clube de Portugal coach Rúben Amorim analysed the performance from his side.

“We didn't get into the game too well, as we were in a hurry to get the ball upfield. The game was scrappy, and then off a rebound the ball was loose and there was a penalty given against us, which came with a red card. This affected the game a lot, once again," he said.

"Then Sebastián Coates went off because he felt an injury problem, and we conceded the second goal, which made everything more difficult. It was more or less the same story as the game away in Marseille.”

Amorim also reiterated his confidence in Ricardo Esgaio, who was shown a red card in the first half.

“I have the utmost confidence in Esgaio, and when I say this I don't mean that I will have him playing all the time or even in the next game. As long as the players give it their best, they'll have the protection of the coach, and Esgaio will have this because him coming in was my choice. When there are individual mistakes, the responsibility is down to me, because I play them. I have confidence in Ricardo Esgaio, and he is probably the one who is a little less confident," he said, also explaining that Pedro Porro was not in the starting lineup because “he could not play more than 25 or 30 minutes."

Amorim then downplayed the fact that the group has become more difficult, with Sporting CP now third with six points and level with second placed Olympique Marseille.

“We knew that the group was evenly matched and tough. The objective remains to win the next two games. The results cannot change the way we look at games. We know the responsibility we have and that is the objective. We are still in the race, everything is open. What matters is how we turn things around.”

In closing, the coach also sent out a message of confidence to the players.

“We are very good in these moments. Whilst everything is very difficult, I know this team can turn it around. I would not be able to sleep if I abandoned my players now,” he underlined.

Two red cards harm the team in a 0-2 defeat

Sporting Clube de Portugal lost 0-2 to Olympique Marseille on Matchday 4 of the UEFA Champions League group stage, and now find themselves level on six points with the French side in third place.

After Antonio Adán's sending off in the first game between the two teams a week prior, coach Rúben Amorim brought in Franco Israel to make his debut as goalkeeper for the side.

The contest was evenly matched to begin with, until Sporting CP suffered a tough setback 17 minutes in: Ricardo Esgaio received a second yellow card and was sent off in a penalty incident, with Guendouzi putting Marseille ahead from the spot.

With Sporting CP reduced to ten men, Hidemasa Morita was replaced by Fatawu Issahaku, who made his first appearance in the competition, in order to reorganise the team's structure. 

Marseille extended their lead to 0-2 through Alexis Sánchez in the 31st minute.

Amorim responded with changes, bringing in José Marsà and Sotiris Alexandropoulos and taking off Coates and Edwards, which allowed Sporting CP to have more of the ball. On the rare occasions when Marseille broke through, Franco Israel performed well with a pair of interventions.

In the restart after the interval, Trincão was withdrawn for Flávio Nazinho to come on. A more attacking Sporting CP emerged, and in the opening seconds, Matheus Reis broke into the area and saw a shot blocked by an opposition defender.

The opponents, however, took the reins again, as a result of their numerical advantage -extended when Pedro Gonçalves was sent off for a second bookable offence and Sporting CP faced a final half-hour with just nine players on the field.

The pace slowed down a lot and, despite Olympique Marseille having more possession, there were few chances bar off-target shots and a ball that hit the post. 

The game ended 0-2, with Marseille drawing level with Sporting CP in the table -and above them on head-to-head.

The fifth and penultimate matchday of the UEFA Champions League group stage is scheduled for October 26th, with the team traveling to London to face Tottenham Hotspur FC. Before that, they will face Varzim SC this Sunday in the Taça de Portugal.

Sporting CP: Franco Israel [GK], Gonçalo Inácio, Sebastián Coates [C], Matheus Reis, Ricardo Esgaio, Hidemasa Morita (Fatawu Issahaku, 22'), Manuel Ugarte, Nuno Santos (Pedro Porro, 59'), Francisco Trincão ( Flávio Nazinho, 45'), Marcus Edwards and Pedro Gonçalves.

The coach talks about the game against Olympique Marseille

Sporting Clube de Portugal will face Olympique Marseille this Wednesday at the Estádio José Alvalade, on the fourth matchday for Group D in the UEFA Champions League.

In his pre-match press conference, coach Rúben Amorim praised the attitude of the Sportinguistas, who after the defeat in France last week have responded with a high demand for tickets to support the team.

“It's a great sign because it shows that, even with some bad results -especially in the league- the fans are behind the team. This is very good for us and helps us to work. Tomorrow I expect a full stadium and a lot of noise. We need that because we are going to play against a great team," he began by saying, guaranteeing that his side have learned from what happened in the match held a week ago.

“We have learned a lot from the mistakes in the first game, but also from the second half that we had against CD Santa Clara. This team cannot relax for a second, because when that happens in the UEFA Champions League we suffer and the game can be over for you in the space of nine minutes. We're always learning and we always have to be at our best”, he stressed, emphasising the quality of the opposition.

“Olympique Marseille have got a lot stronger. Before the first game, people looked at the results from their first two matchdays, when they were on zero points and we were on six, but we cannot lose sight of their ability, as they are in second place in the French league. Nevertheless, we want to win because our players have a lot of talent.”

After revealing that Jeremiah St. Juste and Jovane Cabral will not be available, Amorim also confirmed that Franco Israel would step in for the suspended Antonio Adán and reiterated his confidence in the young goalkeeper.

“Obviously he's not as experienced as Adán, but he has to start getting playing time and these moments are useful for that. We have the utmost confidence in Franco and nothing will change for us, because we have such a strong style of play that you can't change it in a week. Rather than worried, we are excited because we are going to watch these young players that we want to be the future of the club."

“He will be prepared because he has been working with us for some time. Also, he is a youth international and was at Juventus, along with stars. In addition to that, he also works daily with Vital and is prepared for everything."

 Amorim also reflected on the first game against Marseille, saying that it will not affect his team's mindset.

“Maybe we were the team that people least believed could go through, but we are in the fight. We want to get the three points, but everyone will remember what happened in the first match a week ago -which is important because we started well. The feeling that we came away with was that, when it was eleven against eleven, we were always dangerous. This certainly stuck in the players' minds and that's good. We cannot be distracted because we are going to face a great team, but I have no doubt that we are capable of winning."

​The coach reflects on the win over CD Santa Clara

After the match in Ponta Delgada, Rúben Amorim held a press conference to analyse the result.

"In the first half, CD Santa Clara were very organised and closed off, and we were patient until we scored. Then we had other opportunities and went into the break without letting them make transitions," he began by telling journalists.

"In the second half, we knew that CD Santa Clara were going to take risks, and that's what happened. We had space behind them to use, but we didn't take advantage of it; we lowered the intensity and lost a lot of duels. The good things from today were, without a doubt, the result and the performance of Antonio Adán, who once again demonstrated his full ability."

Amorim revealed that he was happy with the triumph, but stressed that "there is a lot of work to do."

"We lacked something. We lowered the intensity and we are capable of doing better, although we also had good opportunities. We won, and we will prepare for the next game differently, but I'm happy with the victory and there is a lot of work ahead," he said, before praising the attitude of the opposing team.

"We controlled well in the first half and we almost didn't let CD Santa Clara make an attack. They showed that belief carries a lot of strength, and that's why we were champions in our first season. Football is about these things: It's not always the strongest side who win, and we always have to be at our best. Congratulations to CD Santa Clara for their attitude and congratulations to my players for the victory."

"We know we can do more, but whilst at other times we played well and lost the game, this time we had a little bit of the joy of football come to us."

The coach gave his opinion on the fixture against CD Santa Clara

Sporting Clube de Portugal travels to Ponta Delgada in the Azores this Saturday, for a 3:30pm kickoff in Liga Portugal against  CD Santa Clara.

Before the Matchday 9 game, coach Rúben Amorim assured supporters that the defeat in midweek away to Olympique Marseille in the UEFA Champions League group stage did not affect the team's preparation for domestic action.

"The atmosphere isn't the best after a defeat, but the players are prepared. They realised what happened in the last game, which was atypical, despite it having already happened this season. It is our responsibility and we know that, but we are prepared for CD Santa Clara, because we have to win and climb the table," he said in his pre-match press conference.

"In the same way that some victories don't change the situation, because we always have to win, a defeat doesn't take away our focus either. The preparation was normal, because the level of demand is at a maximum and the objective is always to win."

After revealing that, of the group of players who were unavailable in the last match, only Sebastián Coates is back in the squad, the coach also stated that Antonio Adán will continue in the starting XI and reiterated his confidence in the goalkeeper. networks.

“I do my evaluation at the beginning and end of the week to establish the best eleven players to start the game. Adán continues to have complete confidence; 22 minutes do not erase 92 games and four trophies. Although he, like the other players, has to prove himself all the time, he continued to do his preparation. He didn't have such a good day against Marseille, but he continues, in my opinion, to be the best-prepared goalkeeper to start the game. This game is much more important than the next game against Olympique Marseille, which he will miss through suspension."

CD Santa Clara managed to beat Os Leões at the Estádio São Miguel last season, but Amorim is confident of a win this Saturday.

"We want to win and feel the sensation of putting together victory after victory. Last year we lost, and it was one of the few defeats we had, but that doesn't change anything. We don't have any demons to put to bed and we just want to win the game. We are not at our best. We know that we can win or lose against any team, but we have a lot of desire to win and that is what we will try to do," he stressed.

The Sporting CP player wants all three points against Olympique Marseille

Pedro Gonçalves was present at the press conference for Sporting CP's away game against Olympique Marseille, and underlined the team's ambition.

“We always go out there to win. We are Sporting CP. We know it's a tough game, the potential Marseille have, and that Champions League games are always decided by details, but we'll be prepared to have our best game and take the three points”, he began by saying, adding that the fact that the match will be played without fans in attendance would not have a huge impact on the task ahead.

“We know it's different in a stadium behind closed doors, but we also know that Olympique Marseille have great players, have a lot of potential as a team and are extremely strong -with or without fans. It's going to be a tricky game. We are expecting great opponents”.

“Marseille, despite having zero points in the Champions League at the moment, are having a great league season. We hadn't won in the Champions League at this time last year either and we got through to the knockout stages. That could happen to them this year. We are going to go out there to win and to play our game”.

Asked about his desire to score in the Champions League, Goncalves, currently Sporting CP's top marksman in Liga Portugal with five goals, said that “the main thing is always the team. The important thing is that we have a great game and that we take home the three points. If I score, I'm happy, but when my teammates score, I'm the first to go over to them to celebrate”.

The Portuguese international also spoke of Rúben Amorim, praising his coach. “Everyone knows the qualities he has. He picked me up from FC Famalicão, introduced me to a new position and helped me to assimilate some ideas. I have evolved a lot with him and I hope to evolve even more. He is an excellent coach, he talks to us about everything and I am very happy to work with him”.

The coach reacts to the 4-1 loss to Olympique Marseille

Rúben Amorim talked after Sporting Clube de Portugal's 4-1 defeat in Marseille, and gave his thoughts on the way the game unfolded.

“We started well and had everything in our favour, with the goal we scored and Pedro Gonçalves' opportunity to make it 0-2. We were controlling the game, but the first goal we conceded changed things a little and whenever we tried to recover, we suffered big setbacks. After the sending off, the game became very difficult", he explained.

“We did our best, they did our best, but it wasn't to be. It's part of our journey. We have to learn from these moments. These are difficult times, but we are going to turn it around".

“Was it down to us or Marseille's merit? These things are usually linked. Obviously, Marseille had their merits, but the game was under control. Every big moment of the game went against us, but we also have to say that we should have done more to prevent that. It was one of those nights in which everything was hard for us, but that also makes us grow. I guarantee that we will be much more competitive in the future”.

Amorim stressed that “The team are already competitive, but we will try to avoid these mistakes that we have also had in the past. Eleven against eleven, we would have been in the game more. With the sending off, the game was over. Today much of what happened was our fault and we could clearly have beaten Marseille”.

A ten-men side lose 4-1 to Olympique Marseille

Sporting Clube de Portugal lost 4-1 to Olympique Marseille on Matchday 3 of Champions League Group D, playing with ten men for much of the game due to a sending off for Antonio Adán.

The match, which was played behind closed doors due to the UEFA ban imposed on the home team, started with a delay of 25 minutes, due to the Sporting CP bus having been delayed in traffic.

The starting lineup consisted of Antonio Adán, Gonçalo Inácio, Jeremiah St. Juste, Matheus Reis, Ricardo Esgaio, Manuel Ugarte, Hidemasa Morita, Nuno Santos, Francisco Trincão, Marcus Edwards and Pedro Gonçalves.

Sporting CP started the match well and took the lead in the first minute with a goal from Trincão who, after receiving the ball from Marcus Edwards, worked his way down the right shot in a swooping effort to make it 0 -1.

Gonçalves had the opportunity to score a second, when the opposition made a save, and the reaction from Olympique Marseille was not long in coming.
The equaliser arrived in the 14th minute due to misfortune for Adán. The shot-stopper tried to recover a ball back, but Alexis Sánchez intercepted and scored.

The home team followed that up with a goal from Harit to take the score to 2-1.

Sporting CP tried to respond with the ball, while Olympique Marseille continued to press high. In the 23rd minute another setback occured: Adán attempted to take the ball away from Nuno Tavares in the air, but did so outside the area and was sent off for handball.

With his team reduced to ten men, coach Rúben Amorim took off Edwards for Franco Israel to come on as replacement goalkeeper. The home team then benefited from a corner, managing to make it 3-1 through Balerdi.

At halftime, Amorim made more changes, introducing Paulinho, Sotiris, José Marsà and Flávio Nazinho to replace Nuno Santos, Manuel Ugarte, Pedro Gonçalves and Jeremiah St. Just.

Sporting CP were organised, defending more solidly and also managing to build some moves near the opposition area. Sotiris, in the 51st minute, had a chance off a ball from Ricardo Esgaio, shooting wide from the edge of the area.

Sotiris shot again from the perimeter shortly afterwards, but this time the shot was blocked by the defence.

From there, no clear-cut opportunities followed, until Marseille took the score to 4-1 in the final five minutes.

Sporting CP suffered their first loss in the Champions League this term, after two consecutive victories, and will play Olympique Marseille again next Wednesday at Alvalade. 

Sporting CP face Olympique Marseille this Tuesday

Speaking in a pre-match press conference, Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim made clear the objective for his side in France, where this Tuesday they face Olympique de Marseille in the Champions League. 

“A draw is not a good result. We are Sporting CP, a big team in Portugal who are growing little-by-little in Europe. We always want to win. This group can change from one moment to the next and we don't know which game will make the difference in the end. Last year we had zero points at this stage and we managed to make it to the knockout stage, so anything is possible”, he told the media.

“We have to win this game, which is very important for us. This is a competition where we want to win and where we make money, and everyone knows that's important to us too. We want to be a club who are used to these competitions and, therefore, our objective is to take the three points. As the game progresses, we will see if a point would be good for us or not. I hope my players have a great game, that they are able to read it well, that they understand if we can win or if we can draw... but the idea is always to win”, he added.

The situation for both clubs is different in both their respective leagues and in the Champions League, but, according to Amorim, “there is a great similarity between the two teams. Olympique Marseille played two good games in the Champions League and they didn't deserve to lose at home against Frankfurt, and we also noticed that with Tottenham, if it weren't for the sending off, the game would be very difficult for Tottenham. Those were two games decided by details. For us, in the Portuguese league we have also played good games that, in my view, we didn't deserve to lose, but obviously we were to blame, as we made mistakes. That is the great similarity between the two teams: We maintain our identity, play well in both competitions and have had more or less luck in one or the other”.

“We have our identity, we like to play in a certain way and we always play the same way, whether in the Champions League or in Liga Portugal, and we always have to win. Whether we have six or zero points, are seventh or first in the league, our club forces us to always win”, underlined the coach.

“We play practically in the same formation as Marseille , but we play differently. Our concern is always with individual movements and collective dynamics, which are difficult to predict. It will be a battle of ideas and I think that tomorrow individual qualities will make a big difference”.

Amorim refused to reveal his starting lineup for the game, commenting that “Paulinho is coming off an injury, but he has recovered, had an excellent last game and is an option. I won't say which players will play because it changes our dynamics. Playing with Paulinho is not the same as playing with Marcus Edwards. Therefore, I will not help the coach of Olympique Marseille. One of the two will play in the middle is the only thing I can say”.

​The coach sets his sights on Gil Vicente FC

Upon the return from the international break, Sporting Clube de Portugal host Gil Vicente FC at the Estádio José Alvalade this Friday in Liga Portugal action. On the eve of the match, coach Rúben Amorim held a press conference at the Academia Cristiano Ronaldo to preview the challenge ahead.

"Some players went away with their national teams, when we really needed them to be here to integrate them more into the dynamics of the team, as well as several young players who were also called up for youth competition. We didn't really have the opportunity to take advantage of this good period to work with them, since they are clearly the future of our club. However, we worked with other players, like [José] Marsà and Arthur, and we used every minute to improve the players we have," he told the media.

"Morita played for Japan but then he rested, which was good for us, and Ugarte was not given many minutes. There were also good things that were done, and we are prepared for the game this Friday."

A defeat to Boavista last time out ended a run of four wins in a row, without conceding a goal – two games in Liga Portugal and two in the UEFA Champions League.

"We managed to improve in the last games, but the loss against Boavista set everything back a little bit to the beginning of the season. We big clubs really feel the international break, which you take more calmly with a victory. We are not being consistent in our results, but in terms of our performances we have maintained a good level."

Opponents Gil Vicente FC are currently tenth in the table and have lost only one of their last five games, making Amorim wary of the task ahead. Sporting CP have several confirmed absences due to injury, namely Sebastián Coates, Pedro Porro, Luís Neto, Jovane Cabral and Daniel Bragança, whilst Jeremiah St. Juste "will be in the squad but will not play from the start."

"Marsà could be a starter, and we have to remember that he had an excellent preseason," commented the coach. "That's why the players from the B team are here: He's here to earn a spot in the first team and he's ready for it."

"In terms of strikers, all of our front line stayed here during the international break, which made it possible to take a better look at them and their movements.

As for his side's position in the table, Amorim said that "we can't be nervous about it, but we have to be aware of standings. If for two years we were so demanding, we have to be aware of the situation we are in: We have to face it with normality, but with the urgency of winning games and scoring points."

"Sporting CP are always a candidate for trophies, but now it's not worth thinking about the maths. This is not over yet, as there are many points and trophies to play for. Our aim is to win all the games until the end of the season."