The 22-year old extends his stay at Sporting CP

Sporting Clube de Portugal and Daniel Bragança have renewed the player's contract with the club through to 2025, with a buyout clause of 45 million euros.

The announcement was made on Tuesday at the Academia Sporting in Alcochete. The Portuguese Under-21 international put pen to paper in the presence of Frederico Varandas, chairman of the Board of Directors, and expressed what the extension means to him.

"It is a recognition by the club of my work over the years. I am very happy about this renewal, and for the opportunity to continue with my story at this club," he told the media.

"It gives me more motivation to continue doing my job, which is to represent this club. It also gives me more responsibility. I will establish my goals again, and continue to give my all for this club, who believe in me," he added.

He listed the league title, Super Taça and Taça da Liga wins from last season as the three most memorable moments of his career so far, and also praised his teammates for making such feats possible.

"We have great unity at this club. It is also because of them that I am here today to renew my contract. I am very grateful to them, because we had an excellent year. It is also because of them that I will continue to work, because this group deserves 200% effort from all of us."

Bragança has been at the club since the 2007/2008 season, and his rise up the youth ranks serves as an example for young talents.

"Getting here was a childhood dream. I arrived at the academy aged 13, and it was always a goal to reach the first team. I hope that the young players believe in themselves, just as I believed in myself. Dream big, because one day it will come. If you have quality and if you have the focus, good things happen."

Finally, Bragança addressed Sporting CP's members and fans.

"May they continue to support us and believe in us, because they are very important in our victories and the confidence of this group. Now that we have 100% capacity available, I want them to fill the José Alvalade."

“The team are prepared, as always," say the pair

Nuno Santos and Ricardo Esgaio spoke to journalists this week, as they continue to train at the Academia Sporting during the international break.

The two players explained the confidence and the good atmosphere that abounds in the squad, before a series of five games that will take place before the end of October.

“The team are prepared, as always. We have a fantastic group that are ready for adversity. As always, we are taking things game by game: In the Champions League, in Liga Portugal and in the cups,” said Santos, adding: “First we have a game against CF “Os Belenenses” in the Taça de Portugal. We respect our opponents, but it's a game that we have to win and gain confidence from, so that we can then move on to the Champions League, where we will face Besiktas JK with the greatest motivation."

“We have a small group, but with a lot of quality and we are even stronger this year. We are prepared for what is to come,” he continued.

Focused on the team and on Sporting CP's objectives, the winger had been praised recently for his performance and goal against FC Arouca.

“It was another goal and an important victory, but it represents only that. It was, above all, another victory -and the group needed that for morale. I like to play and I want to help the team."

Esgaio, who usually plays on the wing, has already been played in the centre of the defence due to absences for other candidates, but is willing to adapt. “Everyone knows me as a player. I will occupy any position to help the team achieve its goals," he insisted.

“We have had a quiet week, in which we were able to recover and get ready for what is to come. However, with our coach you never get a chance to take things easy; even if there is no competition, he likes to keep the intensity levels up and doesn't let the team relax. That's how we have been working to return to action with high motivation and fitness.

The defender also spoke of Pedro Gonçalves' return, saying that “Sporting CP needs everyone, and Pote is a great asset."

Esgaio, who has come back to the club after four seasons away, revealed that he found “a different Sporting CP” on his return, and was pleased to be able to have the support of Sportinguistas in the stands.

“It has been fantastic to play in front of them. Their support is amazing, as seen in Arouca in the rain. We are grateful for their willingness to help us, and I hope that they will always be with us."

Rúben Amorim once again watches several youth players

Sporting Clube de Portugal's first team squad trained on Thursday morning during the international break.

With several players away representing their respective countries, coach Rúben Amorim has brought up several youth team players to help with sessions and to assess their progress.

Edson Silva, Hevertton Santos, Gonçalo Costa, Rodrigo Ribeiro, Vando Félix, José Marsà, João Goulart, Bernardo Sousa, Lucas Dias, Tiago Rodrigues and Edu Pinheiro have all participated thus far.

Gonçalo Inácio and Pedro Gonçalves are undergoing physio and conditioning work on the pitch during this week's workouts.

Os Leões will train again on Friday, in Alcochete, at 10am local time.

Sporting CP beat SCU Torreense 3-0

This Friday's session for the Sporting CP squad featured a training game against Liga 3 side SCU Torreense. Rúben Amorim's team won 3-0, with goals scored by Paulinho (x2) in the first half, and Bruno Tabata in the second.

All available players were used, as well as several youth team talents. The Sporting CP starting XI consisted of João Virgínia, Matheus Reis, Zouhair Feddal, Bruno Tabata, Manuel Ugarte, Rúben Vinagre, Paulinho, Pedro Gonçalves, Ricardo Esgaio, Daniel Bragança and Lucas Dias.

The squad will next train on Monday, at 10:00am local time, at the Academia Sporting.

The coach looks at his side's performance against FC Arouca

After the 1-2 victory for Sporting Clube de Portugal against FC Arouca, Rúben Amorim, coach of Os Leões, talked in a press conference to analyse the game.

"We deserved to score more goals in the first half. We could have done that, and then the game would have become easier. We didn't, so we went into the second half and they drew level off a transition, but we were able to react. From there, we closed up the game, in order to not suffer from more counterattacks. It was a fair victory. We didn't play as well as in other games, but the important thing was to win," he stressed.

Asked about the decision to bring Ricardo Esgaio, Daniel Bragança and Nuno Santos into the starting eleven, Amorim said that changes were made "with our offensive game more in mind."

"It was important to bring in new players and they are all prepared. We tried to play using the characteristics of our players and I opted for two full-backs next to the centre backs, because they are faster," he pointed out, adding that: "In midfield we wanted to take advantage of [Daniel] Bragança's good form. FC Arouca played higher up than we expected, but we ended up winning."

"With the pressure from FC Arouca we had several transitions where we could have done better, and in the end fatigue started to take over, but we held our advantage," said the coach, before highlighting the defensive work done by the team.

"We didn't give them many chances. The evolution of the team happens at the back, and it takes time. We didn't have a great game, but we controlled things and in the future we will improve," concluded Amorim.

Os Leões overcome FC Arouca 1-2 on Matchday 8

Sporting Clube de Portugal won 1-2 against FC Arouca on Matchday 8 of the Liga Portugal season, as Matheus Nunes and Nuno Santos found the net and sent the team into the international break off the back of three consecutive wins.

The trip to the Estádio Municipal de Arouca brought several novelties: Coach Rúben Amorim gave starting roles to Ricardo Esgaio and Daniel Bragança – for the first time this season - and Nuno Santos, dropping Zouhair Feddal, Luís Neto and Tiago Tomás to the bench.

There was also full attendance permitted, in accordance with the announcement by the Portuguese government on Friday. A heavy contingent of Sportinguistas were present in the district of Aveiro, braving the wet conditions to cheer on their team.

With the opening whistle, the intentions of Sporting CP became clear. The 3-4-3 formation had Esgaio on the right of the three centre backs, Nuno Santos on the left wing and Bragança alongside Palhinha in midfield, with Matheus Nunes moving further upfield. The attacking strategy was evident, and Os Leões threatened twice in the first ten minutes: Efforts from Sarabia (1') and Paulinho (9') would be saved by Fernando Castro, the opposition goalkeeper.

The goal was not long in coming, however. Before the quarter hour was out, Nuno Santos crossed to the back post, Sarabia cushioned the ball down and Matheus Nunes scored for the first time in 2021/2022. The assistant referee initially signalled for offside, but after a lengthy review by VAR, the goal was validated.

Some defensive inattention allowed FC Arouca's first opportunity, which Oday Dabbagh missed for the hosts.

Sporting CP got back in charge and captain Sebastián Coates - playing his 250th game for the club - was just a few centimeters away from converting a ball from Paulinho.

In response, Adán repelled a dangerous deflection from Abdoulaye Ba off a set piece, followed by Sarabia having two chances saved by the opposition goalkeeper before the break.

The action continued in the second half and then with two early goals - one for each side. Oday Dabbagh equalised for FC Arouca off a quick transition, but the reaction was as rapid as it was effective: Just three minutes later, Nuno Santos entered the area and struck powerfully to score.

Amorim opted to change things up in his front line, putting Tiago Tomás and Bruno Tabata on in place of Paulinho and Sarabia. At the start of the last ten minutes there was a lot of fighting for possession, and once more the coach adjusted with the introduction of Jovane Cabral and Manuel Ugarte for Matheus Nunes and Bragança.

There would be no change in the scoreline, and a late push from FC Arouca was capably held off. The 1-2 result means that Sporting CP move up to 20 points in the Liga Portugal table.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GR], Pedro Porro (Luís Neto 61'), Ricardo Esgaio, Sebastián Coates [C], Matheus Reis, Nuno Santos, João Palhinha, Daniel Bragança (Manuel Ugarte 81'), Pablo Sarabia (Bruno Tabata 71'), Matheus Nunes (Jovane Cabral 81') and Paulinho (Tiago Tomás 71').

The coach targets greater effectiveness in front of goal

On Friday, Rúben Amorim previewed Sporting Clube de Portugal's match against FC Arouca, scheduled for this Saturday, saying that he does not expect an easy contest but believes a good result will go his side's way.

“It will be a game like any other. It's away from home at a tough ground, against a team that are certainly well prepared and who in the last game deserved a better result. We know FC Arouca well and we will be prepared, he began.

“We have to win the game and improve, especially in our finishing."

"Even without so many goals, we have created several opportunities. The statistics are worth what they are worth, but they show that we have created chances and got into the box. The only thing lacking is scoring. We're not scoring many goals, but I always believe that in the next game we'll do more -and it's also important not to suffer, because we always score a goal”.

Amorim also spoke about Paulinho, praising the striker once again and saying that he only talks about him so much because of the questions that are asked.

"Paulinho has improved the team a lot. He only has to improve his finishing. He does what I ask of him, he just isn't doing what would make others value him more, which is get goals. I'm very honest in my appreciation for my players. There are periods in which strikers score fewer goals, and you might say that it's a long period, but I've seen strikers from other teams go a year without scoring and then explode."

Os Leões will play at the Estádio do Restelo in the Third Round

Sporting Clube de Portugal will take on CF “Os Belenenses” in the Third Round of the Taça de Portugal.

The draw took place at the Federação Portuguesa de Futebol headquarters on Wednesday, at the Cidade do Futebol.

The match, against the side currently third in Série E of the Campeonato de Portugal, will be held on the weekend of October 16th-17th, at the Estádio do Restelo.

Eighteen Primeira Liga clubs enter the competition in the Third Round.

Sporting CP lose 1-0 in Champions League action

Sporting Clube de Portugal were beaten 1-0 by Borussia Dortmund on the second matchday of the UEFA Champions League group stage. The team battled for a satisfying result throughout, but left Signal Iduna Park without any points to their name.

The Liga Portugal champions made two changes from the game against CS Marítimo, with Matheus Reis and Tiago Tomás part of the starting XI in place of Rúben Vinagre and Nuno Santos (both on the bench, as well as young talents João Goulart, José Marsà and Gonçalo Esteves).

The match began without any great scoring opportunities in the first few minutes. Borussia Dortmund had more of the ball, but Sporting CP performed well, especially defensively, and scared the opposition through a swerving cross from Pedro Porro.

In the 19th minute, Sebastián Coates made a mistake and the ball fell to Hazard, who set up Reus for a shot that Adán easily saved. At the other end, Zouhair Feddal found Paulinho and he tried to tee up Tiago Tomás with an overly heavy touch. Soon after, Paulinho regained possession and tried to finish, but missed the target.

After half an hour of play, Sporting CP came very close to getting the goal when, off a corner kick, Sebastián Coates shot acrobatically over the top. In defence, organised movement led to several offside calls against Borussia Dortmund.

Despite this, in the 37th minute Donyell Malen sent the ball into the net, opening the scoring and meaning that Sporting CP went into halftime losing 1-0.

The second half had less action, but was equally competitive for most of the 45 minutes. Tiago Tomás crossed and Paulinho, with his head, forced Kobel to intervene. In response, a Reus shot was easily saved by Adán.

Rúben Amorim made a first change in the 58th minute, putting Nuno Santos on in place of Tiago Tomás, but the chances of a goal did not abound for either team. One of the few was an attempt cut out by Coates, in the 65th minute, preventing the Germans from making it 2-0.

Jovane Cabral came on in the 74th minute (replacing Pablo Sarabia) and, in the 83rd minute, it was the turn of Ricardo Esgaio, Bruno Tabata and Daniel Bragança to replace, respectively, Pedro Porro, Matheus Reis and João Palhinha.

Before the end, Coates kept up the intensity with a header just wide, but Borussia Dortmund would hold on to deny Sporting CP the points.

Sporting CP will be back in action on Saturday, away to FC Arouca's in the Liga Portugal.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GK], Luís Neto, Sebastián Coates [C], Zouhair Feddal, Pedro Porro (Ricardo Esgaio, 83'), João Palhinha (Daniel Bragança, 83'), Matheus Nunes, Matheus Reis (Bruno Tabata, 83'), Pablo Sarabia (Jovane Cabral, 74'), Tiago Tomás (Nuno Santos, 58') and Paulinho.

The midfielder insists Sporting CP are prepared for Champions League Matchday 2

Matheus Nunes previewed the match against Borussia Dortmund in the group stage of the Champions League, explaining that he is certain that Sporting CP are prepared to win.

"We are ready. We have prepared as much as we prepared for the game with CS Marítimo. We know the quality that BVB Dortmund have, but we also know about our strengths, and that's why we'll face the game looking them eye-to-eye,” the midfielder began by saying, mentioning that the heavy defeat against AFC Ajax is already behind them.

“That game is over. We cannot doubt in our work. We are going to do things in the same way. We believe in our work and there is no reason to doubt what we have been doing,” he stressed.

Praising his teammates and midfielders and talking about the qualities of Daniel Bragança, Manuel Ugarte and Bruno Tabata, he said that “the important thing is the team," whoever plays.

“If we are here, it is because we have the quality. The important thing here is not the individuals. Any one of them can do a good job; the important thing is the team."

At a time when much has been said about the interest of the Portuguese and Brazilian national teams in calling him up, Nunes answered that "I've already made a decision. I spoke with both coaches and after thinking a lot I came to the conclusion that it was better to play for Portugal. I think I'll be happier here and my family said the same. I've made this decision and I'm very happy."