Sporting CP beat FC Arouca 1-2 in Leiria

Sporting Clube de Portugal booked their place in the Taça da Liga final with a 1-2 win against FC Arouca, as their defence of the crown continues. Two goals from Paulinho helped the team through to the last stage of the competition.

Rúben Amorim decided to bring in Ricardo Esgaio on the right, replacing Pedro Porro, and returned Jeremiah St. Juste to the defensive axis in place of Gonçalo Inácio. In midfield, Morita partnered with Manuel Ugarte, with Pedro Gonçalves moved forward to complete the attack alongside Marcus Edwards and Paulinho. Francisco Trincao missed the game due to illness.

At the Estádio Municipal de Leiria, Sporting CP were up against a side in excellent form and sixth in the league table, but were in control of proceedings in the early stages. In a clever move, Edwards outwitted three defenders and laid the ball off to Nuno Santos, who crossed for Paulinho -his strike being stopped on the line.

Strong attacks, mainly down the left wing, created difficulties for the Arouquenses, who barely had the ball for more than a few moments. Sporting CP settled in the midfield and began to mount chances, including a strong shot from distance by Nuno Santos, tipped out by goalkeeper Thiago.

Shortly before the break, Nuno Santos had another attempt on goal parried away by Thiafo, off a direct free kick, followed by a goal for FC Arouca ruled out for handball after a VAR check.

In a frantic end to the first half, Sporting CP made it 0-1. Nuno Santos crossed behind the opposition defense, where Gonçalves played on to Paulinho. The striker forced the ball over the line to put the team ahead in the seventh minute of stoppage time.

In the second half, Matheus Reis believed he had doubled the lead in the 53rd minute, but the goal was disallowed for offside. FC Arouca showed signs of mounting a fightback, and got their equaliser in the 58th minute, as Dabbagh made it 1-1.

On the hour, Gonçalo Inácio came in for St. Juste and Sporting CP went on the attack, trying to recover the dominance they had shown in the opening stages. The chances did not take long to emerge, with Santos crossing from the left to Paulinho and the latter having his effort blocked.

Antonio Adán was called into a rare save soon thereafter, and that was the signal for Amorim to make further adjustments: Pedro Porro and Arthur Gomes both came on for the last quarter of an hour, and the former did not take long to send a shot whistling past the post.

The winning goal finally arrived in the closing ten minutes, as Santos' cross was pushed into the net from close range by Paulinho. The eighth goal by the striker in the Taça da Liga this year -the highest in the competition so far- earned Sporting CP a 1-2 win and a place in Saturday's final against either Académico de Viseu FC or FC Porto.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GK], Matheus Reis, Jeremiah St. Juste (Gonçalo Inácio, 64'), Sebastián Coates [C], Ricardo Esgaio (Pedro Porro, 77'), Hidemasa Morita (Arthur Gomes, 77'), Manuel Ugarte (Mateo Tanlongo, 85'), Nuno Santos, Marcus Edwards (Youssef Chermiti, 85'), Pedro Gonçalves and Paulinho.

Sporting CP best FC Vizela 2-1 at home

Sporting Clube de Portugal took a 2-1 win over FC Vizela on Liga Portugal Matchday 17, through goals from Pedro Gonçalves and Pedro Porro.

Rúben Amorim fielded an unchanged starting XI of Antonio Adán, Gonçalo Inácio, Sebastián Coates, Matheus Reis, Pedro Porro, Manuel Ugarte, Pedro Gonçalves, Nuno Santos, Marcus Edwards, Paulinho and Francisco Trincão.

The game started out with both teams creating opportunities to score, but none of these broke the deadlock. Sporting CP were the first to create danger, just five minutes into the game, through Paulinho, after a long ball by Sebastián Coates, but Buntic would block the strike. FC Vizela responded through Osmajic, but Adán also responded well to keep the effort out.

Sporting CP had the most promising chance of the initial spell, as Trincão was played through on goal, but the visiting goalkeeper got the better of the equation again.

Under ten minutes later, Trincão went close again, but slipped when lining up his shot and Buntic gathered without any problem.

A Paulinho header wide and a Nuno Santos strike over continued a series of attacks for Sporting CP, and just before the break Pedro Porro crossed from the right, Paulinho shooting wide. Porro's own effort shortly after was held by Buntic and the game reached halftime with the score still 0-0.

Hidemasa Morita replaced Marcus Edwards for the restart, accompanying Manuel Ugarte in midfield, and Gonçalves moved up into the place vacated by the Englishman.

Off a corner won by FC Vizela, Sporting CP went on the counterattack, ending with Gonçalves shooting over from inside the area.

Gonçalves had better luck on the hour, when Matheus Reis had a shot deflected by the goalkeeper. The rebound came to Porro, who knocked it to his teammate to score.

With the score at 1-0, Paulinho came close to scoring a second, as he beat a defender at the edge of the area and shot against the post. Minutes later, he had the ball in the net -the goal ruled out as he had taken it out of play beforehand.

In the 75th minute, FC Vizela equalised through Méndez, in a move which was controversial as the ball had hit the referee in the buildup.

Amorim made more changes, giving a full debut to Mateo Tanlongo and a first appearance at home for Youssef Chermiti, as Ugarte and Gonçalves made way.

In the 90th minute, with seven more of additional time awarded, VAR intervened in favour of Sporting CP: Paulinho was hit in the head by Igor Julião and a penalty was awarded.

Porro slotted home to make it 2-1 giving the three points to his side in a deserved win.

Sporting CP's next fixture is on Tuesday, in Leiria, in the Taça da Liga semi-final against FC Arouca.

Sporting CP face FC Vizela this Friday in Alvalade (9:15pm)

This Friday, Sporting Clube de Portugal will host FC Vizela at Estádio José Alvalade, on the 17th Matchday of the season in Liga Portugal.

Before the match, coach Rúben Amorim analysed the opposition, currently eighth in the table and with the joint best attack in the competition outside the 'Big Three' and SC Braga, with 18 goals.

“The players that they have up front are very skillful and have a lot of quality in their finishing. The striker they have is looking for depth and complements the others -Nuno Moreira, Kiko Bondoso and Samu- who have been playing lately. They are very strong and, having a player up front who likes to run and free himself up, they can create a lot of problems for us," he began by saying at the Academia Cristiano Ronaldo.

“In defence, they have two intelligent centre-backs and the full-backs push up well; they are the ones who give depth to the flanks because the rest of the team play inside. We have studied the opposition and it will be a very difficult game against a team that are well rested. They changed coaches, they have implemented their ideas, and the players are responding," he stated, adding: “The pressure is on us: We are playing at home and we have to win. There is this, in addition to not conceding goals again against a team that scores a lot. It will be a good challenge, but we are prepared."

Amorim assured that, despite Sebastián Coates, Pedro Porro and Nuno Santos being at risk of suspension if they see the fifth yellow card of the season, plñus a run of several games in a short period of time until the end of January, “there will be no any holding back."

"We have to beat FC Vizela and get consecutive victories, bearing in mind that before the defeat in Madeira and the draw against SL Benfica, a game that we could have won, we were coming off a good run. It's not worth saving players because if they feel worn out, others come in. Squad management will be done when this sequence of games starts."

“All matches are difficult for us, and sometimes the ones that don't seem so difficult are the hardest. We have to have the team at maximum strength, as it's the only way to win the game."

To close, the coach also confirmed the return of Hidemasa Morita, the 27-year-old midfielder who recently recovered from injury, and young Mateus Fernandes going back to the B team.

"Morita will be called up and Mateus will play for the B team this week. With him not playing in the first team, we manage to give everyone minutes and that's not bad. Players having the feeling of returning to the B team is part of the training process", he explained, admitting that both the Japanese and Jeremiah St. Juste "have a limit to the time they can play and will not play the full 90 minutes."

Sporting CP are back at home on Matchday 18

Sporting Clube de Portugal trained this Tuesday at the Academia Cristiano Ronaldo in Alcochete, preparing for their home game against FC Vizela (Friday, 9:15pm, Estádio José Alvalade).

Daniel Bragança is still undergoing a treatment programme and was the only squad member absent from the session led by Rúben Amorim, whilst youngster Francisco Silva, a 17-year-old goalkeeper, was called up to train with the first team.

The coach looks back on the 2-2 draw with SL Benfica

In his press conference after Sporting CP's 2-2 draw with SL Benfica, coach Rúben Amorim analysed that his players put in a solid performance at the Estádio da Luz, but that they lacked better control when leading the game.

“Above all, we were up against a great team. We need to have the same consistency over the full 90 minutes that we had in certain periods, especially in the first half hour. That takes time with a team that has had changes made and that has young and new players. That's what was missing -maintaining consistency,” he began by saying.

“We twice lost the lead from moves from SL Benfica that we had prepared for, but we were up against very good players. We knew that Gonçalo Ramos runs to the near post a lot and that's what he did to make it 1-1. Still, the way we handled the game and attacked, even after conceding, demonstrates that the team are sometimes a bit bipolar, which has a lot to do with experience. In order to keep performing as we did at the start of the game, experience is needed and these players will acquire that."

Amorim also underlined that his team "always try to win the game, and as a result, I leave here frustrated, but confident because a coach has to look to the present and the future. There are things we can take from this to make players grow, and in that respect I am satisfied, but we should have won because we needed it more than SL Benfica."

"Both teams had a lot of respect for each other.That can be seen from the opportunities that came at the end, with us attacking in transition and SL Benfica in a different way. It's in the DNA of both teams to always want to win , but there was respect for each other."

The commented on Youssef Chermiti's debut for the first team, showing satisfaction with the performance from the 18-year-old.

“We are discussing a new contract with Chermiti and if he signs, I won't look for another forward. He, Rodrigo Ribeiro and Paulinho are my forwards. From what I saw of him today, you have my word that if he re-signs, I won't look for another striker. Everyone gets their time because the club's project is long-term."

In closing, Amorim looked at the standings, and is refusing to throw in the towel.

"Nothing is lost. It's true that we are getting further and further away from the UEFA Champions League places, but we were already nine points behind SC Braga before and managed to close the gap. We have to go game-by-game and look on the positive side, because anything is possible."

Sporting CP draw 2-2 at the Estádio da Luz

The derby between Sporting Clube de Portugal and SL Benfica at the Estádio da Luz ended in a 2-2 draw earning both teams a point apiece in Liga Portugal. Francisco Trincao and Pedro Gonçalves were both on the scoresheet for Os Leões.

Still without Hidemasa Morita available, coach Rúben Amorim made two changes to his starting XI. Gonçalves returned to the side from suspension to partner Manuel Ugarte in midfield, and Nuno Santos replaced Arthur Gomes on the left wing. There was also a call up for Youssef Chermiti to form part of the squad.

As expected, the contest started evenly matched, with many duels in the middle of the park, but it was Sporting CP who created the first opportunity. Pedro Porro, from a direct free kick, forced Vlachodimos to make an excellent save, then a sprint by Marcus Edwards led to him picking out Paulinho -with the goalkeeper again intervening.

Sporting CP managed to break through Benfica's pressure and enjoy more of the ball, limiting the home side to only getting close to Antonio Adan's goal on one occasion in the 20th minute: João Mário and then Rafa were both denied.

In response, on the 27th minute, Sporting CP made it 0-1 with an own goal by Bah, who deflected the ball in off a cross by Marcus Edwards.

Forced to chase the game, SL Benfica swiftly restored the stalemate through Gonçalo Ramos, in the 37th minute, and through to the interval there was no more danger of note from either team.

When the teams came back out, practically from the first move off the restart, Paulinho was knocked down in the area and, after a VAR check, referee Artur Soares Dias gave a penalty.

Gonçalves stepped up to the spot, and converted to return the advantage to Os Leões -to the delight of the 3,000-plus Sporting CP fans in attendance at the away end.
Right afterwards, Trincão could have added to the lead, but shot over.

Another spell of pressure from Benfica followed, and with it came another equaliser, as Gonçalo Ramos made it 2-2.

After the goal, SL Benfica continued to have more of the ball, but never managed to scare Adan and Sporting CP gradually balanced out the control of the game. Amorim decided to freshen up the team, with the addition of Arthur Gomes and Youssef Chermiti, the latter an 18-year-old striker making his debut for the first team.

In the last ten minutes, Jovane Cabral came in for Trincao. Chermiti almost enjoyed a dream debut with a long ball that found him in the area, but his shot went over the top.

A final score of 2-2 saw the spoils shared in the Lisbon derby. Sporting CP are back in action on Friday, January 20th, at home to FC Vizela.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GK], Gonçalo Inácio, Sebastián Coates [C], Matheus Reis (Jeremiah St. Juste, 67'), Pedro Porro, Manuel Ugarte, Pedro Gonçalves, Nuno Santos, Marcus Edwards (Arthur Gomes, 77' ), Paulinho (Youssef Chermiti, 77') and Francisco Trincao (Jovane Cabral, 89').

The coach is determined ahead of the Sunday derby

Sporting Clube de Portugal visit SL Benfica on Sunday on the 16th matchday of the Liga Portugal season, and coach Rúben Amorim gave a preview press conference for the big derby. In it, he began by ensuring that his side "are motivated" to recover from the defeat away to CS Marítimo.

"It came at a good time and what happened there has already happened at other times of the season: A key moment, in which we were turning the situation around, in which we are set back a little bit," he explained.

"It has to do with the inexperience of the team, who are not used to fighting for trophies, and that takes time. What we have to do is come in with more intensity and play better with the ball. I want the team to better understand the phases in the game and to be very strong in duels, because we are going to be facing a great team."

"We have to look at the table and realise what points we dropped, where we lost them and how."

Asked about Hidemasa Morita, Rúben Amorim explained that the Japanese is fit, but will not be in the squad.

"We have to think about how we need the players in the long term, and training for a day at low intensity won't get you into contention. We have other players and I think that next week he will be fit, but he will do what the others do: Adapt to the workloads. We're not going to take a risk with a player because we're playing SL Benfica that. The best players will play according to their fitness," he stated.

Amorim warned that "the distance is already too great even for the UEFA Champions League spots" and that the derby "is an important game," but responded by saying that the focus must be on "going game-by-game, improving in possession."

"The league table says that we are far from SL Benfica, but to my way of thinking we can beat SL Benfica either at Alvalade or at the Estádio da Luz. That is the idea that the players have to have," he stressed.

"In recent years we've won some trophies, we've been selling well and moving the club forward. At the moment, we've had bad results for a few months and we want to reverse our position. That's football. We're a talented team that isn't always consistent, but that on any day can beat any team. Football is about the moment and a year ago everything was different," he added.

Asked about Mateo Tanlongo, Sporting CP's winter reinforcement, Rúben Amorim said that he is "a young player who will need to grow".

"He's arrived, we're short on defensive midfield players and he is already in our plans. He's another player with quality, but who needs time. Whether he's going to earn a place or not, is up to him."

The squad ready themselves for a vital game against SL Benfica

The Sporting Clube de Portugal squad trained on Thursday morning at the Academia Cristiano Ronaldo in Alcochete, ahead of the derby against SL Benfica scheduled for Sunday (6pm) at the Estádio da Luz.

Rúben Amorim once again had his entire squad available, with the exception of Daniel Bragança and Hidemasa Morita, who are still undergoing treatment for long-term injuries with the Medical Department. He also brought in youth team player Youssef Chermiti to train with the first team.

The Sporting CP coach's verdict on the loss to CS Marítimo

Rúben Amorim was disappointed with the defeat for Sporting Clube de Portugal against CS Marítimo, and expressed in his post-match press conference that his side did not start the game in the best way.

“We didn't get into the game well and we lacked quality in our duels. They were stronger than us at that stage of the game and we had problems bringing the ball out. We couldn't settle down," he said.

"Then we managed to balance the game out, but we had to be better than we were. We weren't fast enough to create more danger. In the second half we started very differently, but we ended up conceding the penalty and that made everything more difficult. CS Marítimo defended the result and we created some chances, but the game became very confusing and with many stoppages."

“This team have a lot of talent when things go well and they start seriously. When they don't, we have to look for things within ourselves and we, as a team, haven't managed to take that step yet. We have to work on all these aspects. There is a lot to do and a lot to win," he added, then recalled what he had said before the game:

"What we do at home, we have to do in every game."

A 1-0 defeat to CS Marítimo hinders Os Leões

Sporting Clube de Portugal's trip to Funchal ended in defeat for Rúben Amorim's men, as they were bested by CS Marítimo at the Estádio dos Barreiros. A harsh loss left the team unable to carry momentum into their big derby next weekend against SL Benfica.

Amorim made changes to his starting eleven, fielding Antonio Adán, Gonçalo Inácio, Sebastián Coates, Matheus Reis, Pedro Porro, Manuel Ugarte, Mateus Fernandes, Arthur, Marcus Edwards, Paulinho and Francisco Trincao.

CS Marítimo started the match well and, during the first 15 minutes, caused problems for Adán and did not let Sporting CP break into the final third frequently.

After the first quarter of an hour, just two minutes, Sporting CP came close to opening the scoring three times.

First, Paulinho received the ball from Pedro Porro from the right, and forced Marcelo Carné to make a great save for a corner. From that set piece, Gonçalo Inácio to head over. That was followed by a deflection that prevented Paulinho from scoring.

CS Marítimo responded to Sporting CP's warnings and again created danger, in particular with a shot by Bruno Xadas that went over, but after an extended spell of possession for Os Leões, the game reached the interval goalless.

On their return from the dressing room, Sporting CP were a faster, more focused prospect. As a result of this momentum, Porro was brought down twice in a row in the area, but referee Hélder Malheiro did not blow for a penalty on either occasion.

Minutes later, a spot kick was given, but in favour of CS Marítimo after a foul by Mateus Fernandes on Liza. Cláudio Winck converted to make it 1-0.

Sporting CP were forced to chase the game and, for that reason, Amorim immediately introduced Nuno Santos, and then Rochinha. Pushing higher up the pitch, the team were almost caught on the counterattack but survived the break.

With 15 minutes left, Jeremiah St. Juste and Jovane Cabral replaced Sebastián Coates and Marcus Edwards.

Intensely looking for an equaliser, in the 84th minute Sporting CP nearly got their reward, with Matheus shooting into the side netting.

In the 89th minute, after the referee had checked VAR for a possible penalty in favour of Sporting CP sent in a low cross from Santos, but Porro did not quite reach the ball in time to shoot at the back post.

Rochinha hit wide and the siege on the opposition area continued, but CS Marítimo survived the onslaught and Sporting CP went home from Madeira empty handed.

Next up is the Lisbon derby against SL Benfica, away at the Estádio da Luz.