"Matheus Reis' red card changed everything"

At the end of Sporting Clube de Portugal 1-2 away win at SC Braga on Matchday 2 of the season, coach Rúben Amorim reviewed the game, which represented a fifth consecutive win over the northern outfit.

"Those five victories do not reflect the difference between the teams. We were the better side in the first half, scored the second goal early in the second half, and turned down the intensity a little before the sending off. Matheus [Reis]'s red card changed everything, because we were going to make changes to the team. SC Braga attacked, we defended well and we held onto the result until the end," he began by telling journalists at his post-match press conference, admitting that, "with fans in attendance, the game becomes more intense and emotional."

For the coach, the final result was a fair one on the balance of play.

"We were worthy winners. We withstood SC Braga's attacks well right after the sending off, which gives us confidence. After we made it 0-2, we made a mistake because we switched off a little. With one less player on the pitch, it's difficult. But we have to give credit to how Sporting CP performed until it was 0-2."

Despite a great start, with three wins in three games and the Supertaça trophy already in 2021/2022, Amorim is under no illusions that there is "much to improve". The objective, however, is always the same: To finish every match ahead on the scoresheet. "We want to win every game and we have a very good attitude. We are candidates to beat Belenenses SAD," he added.

Goalkeeper Antonio Adán made several high-level saves that helped Sporting CP claim the three points, and his coach praised the Spaniard as "an excellent goalkeeper who gives us a lot of confidence."

"Just the fact that he saves a dangerous shot relaxes the team. Sporting CP had a little luck again, and so we have to work hard. We have to be aware that we have many limitations and that we have to improve," he said.

A perfect start to the season continues with Os Leões winning 1-2 away from home

In their first away game of the Liga Portugal season, Sporting Clube de Portugal overcame tough opposition in the form of SC Braga with a 1-2 win. Jovane Cabral struck in the first half, with Pedro Gonçalves scoring in the second period.

The fixture was a rematch of the recent Supertaça, won 2-1 by Sporting CP in Aveiro. Coach Rúben Amorim fielded the same starting lineup that had defeated FC Vizela 3-0 on Matchday 1, and also included recent signing Manuel Ugarte -who debuted in stoppage time- and a recovered Pedro Porro in his squad.

Os Leões were looking to extend a run of four consecutive victories over SC Braga, although the opening moments did not feature an abundance of attacking. It was not until the 16th minute that there was a clear chance, when Jovane Cabral sent a direct free kick goal-wards and keeper Matheus had to push the ball away.

Shortly thereafter, Zouhair Feddal tried his luck with a header, which Matheus easily parried clear, and after half an hour of action it was Sebastián Coates' turn to head dangerously -albeit unsuccessfully.

Five minutes before the break, a goal finally arrived. After a cross from Rúben Vinagre, Ricardo Esgaio, from the right, sent the ball on towards the far post, where Jovane Cabral was in the right place to head home and make it 0-1.

Just before the end of the first half, there was still time for a great save by Antonio Adán from Fábio Martins' shot, enabling Sporting CP to carry the advantage into the break.

Immediately after the second half began, Gonçalo Inácio was close to doubling the lead when, off a free-kick from Jovane Cabral, he headed wide.

However, the second goal would come a few moments later. A brilliant move by Sporting CP, which began with a Rúben Vinagre throw-in and involved some seven players, ended with Jovane Cabral setting up Pedro Gonçalves. The latter did the rest, scoring his third goal in the league in just two games.

Amorim shuffled his side half an hour from the end, taking Cabral and Vinagre off in order to bring Nuno Santos and Matheus Reis into the fold.

SC Braga's threats were minimal, such as Fábio Martins' shot in the 73rd minute, but a sending off for substitute Matheus Reis on 80 minutes meant things got nervous before the end. Adán made a magnificent intervention that prevented Iuri Medeiros from pulling a goal back for the home side, but could not keep out an Abel Ruiz effort late on. SC Braga made it 1-2, but there was no turnaround in the scoreline and Sporting CP claimed another win.

Up next is a meeting with Belenenses SAD at the Estádio José Alvalade.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GR], Gonçalo Inácio, Sebastián Coates [C], Zouhair Feddal, Ricardo Esgaio, João Palhinha (Manuel Ugarte, 90+2'), Matheus Nunes, Rúben Vinagre (Matheus Reis, 61'), Jovane Cabral (Nuno Santos, 61'), Pedro Gonçalves (Pedro Porro, 83') e Paulinho (Tiago Tomás, 83').

The Sporting CP coach predicts a difficult match on Saturday

Sporting Clube de Portugal will face SC Braga this Saturday at the Estádio Municipal de Braga, on the second matchday of the Liga Portugal.

Ahead of the game -the second between the two teams already this season- coach Rúben Amorim said he expected a “harder” game than the Supertaça showdown, which Sporting CP won 2-1.

“We have footage of them and we can prepare more carefully for this game, but the SC Braga coach can also do that. Now he will have some players available, such as Lucas Piazón and Fábio Martins, who give him more options. Each game has its own story, but we want to win and continue a winning run", said Amorim.

"It's an important game at an early time in the season, but we like these games”, he continued, before confirming that new signing Manuel Ugarte will be available for the contest.

“He arrived here in very good shape physically, and is a better player than I thought. We are very happy about that. He is one more option that can be used. He has adapted quickly, and Coates' assistance contributed a lot. He is very intelligent and, despite being only 20 years old, he already has some experience and is very mature. When this is the case, integration is easier. He has characteristics that are somewhat similar to João Palhinha, but is different in some aspects".

Also fit to play is Pedro Porro, with Amorim saying that: “He was injured at the beginning of the preseason and didn't play any of our friendlies. Still, he performed very well in training. He has surprised us and is also an option. We are happy because he is a quality player and he was very important last season".

Nuno Mendes will be the only player unavailable this weekend, with his return date unconformed: “He's doing conditioning work and we don't have a date for his comeback. What we want is for him to recover fully, because he is a great asset to our team and we need our players at 100%".

"Our focus is to win the game, have an excellent performance and improve".

Uruguayan midfielder joins from FC Famalicão through to 2026

Sporting Clube de Portugal have signed midfielder Manuel Ugarte as their latest summer reinforcement, with the Uruguayan joining through to 2026. The contract for the former FC Famalicão player, who was presented this Monday in Alcochete, has a buyout clause of 60 million euros.

An international at Under-23 level for Uruguay, Ugarte came up through the ranks at CA Fénix in his home country. He was promoted to the club's senior team, where he stayed for several seasons, and in December 2020 was signed by FC Famalicão for his first experience in the Portuguese league. There, he played 20 games (18 in the starting XI) and scored one goal in the second half of the last season, and also played in the second stage of the Taça da Liga recently at the start of 2021/2022.

Speaking on Monday, Ugarte described the feeling of signing for Sporting CP as "enormous happiness. Not just for me, but for my family as well. It's a huge step up in my career."

The Uruguayan demonstrated that he is aware of the way of thinking that Rúben Amorim and the Sporting CP squad employ, stating that "As has always been said, we will take things game by game and you always have to think in the short term."

The move to Sporting CP reunites him with compatriot Sebastián Coates and former teammate Rúben Vinagre, with the former contacting him to offer any help that he might need. Ugarte says that "everybody made me feel like part of Sporting CP, which is really nice."

Influencing his decision to come to Lisbon was the commitment shown by Sporting CP to young talent.

“Sporting CP have a project. There are many young people who play for the club and the Academia is a great place to learn the concepts of football and to improve as a player. I'm here for what the manager needs," he explained, before talking about his excitement to play in front of the fans.

"I've already imagined playing in the stadium with the supporters there. We players are privileged to be able to enjoy that moment, and the fans should have no doubt that I'll leave everything out on the pitch."

​The coach reflects positively on the 3-0 triumph over FC Vizela

After the dust settled in his side's Friday fixture against FC Vizela, Sporting Clube de Portugal coach Rúben Amorim analysed the match in his post-match press conference. He showed his satisfaction with the 3-0 triumph and a first three points of the season.

“It seemed like a good performance from us; we had a good game," he told journalists. "We started well. FC Vizela came out very aggressive in their marking, following our players and defending well. We knew this was going to happen because they were so motivated for the match. However, we were able to have the ball and create space, and we had some crosses that we could have finished better. We also had a missed penalty.”

“In the second half we knew that it would be difficult for FC Vizela to keep up the pressure that they had sometimes and we scored our first goal. After making it 1-0, even though we switched off a little for ten minutes, we continued to play better. The second and third goals came naturally. We had a good performance,” he reflected, before being asked about the showing by brace-scorer Pedro Gonçalves.

“I think we are all in agreement that in the first half he didn't do as well as expected. Nevertheless, the way he finished in the second half is not normal. He is one of those players who can go missing from the game, but who has an advantage with his coach because we are always expecting something to happen from him. He's a special player in that regard. If he has the objective of becoming the league's top scorer again, then that's good and it helps us.”

The Sporting CP also made a positive assessment of the performances made by newcomers Ricardo Esgaio and Rúben Vinagre.

“Last season we had Antunes and João Pereira in those positions, who gave us a lot, but these two are more like the defenders who played the most last season: Porro and Nuno Mendes. Of course, Esgaio is not the same at taking people on as Porro, but he has great physical ability and already knows the ideas the team have. The option of bringing in Esgaio or Vinagre was often questioned because we already had quality players in these positions. The fans were more eager for other positions to be filled more urgently, but even in that regard I've been lucky, because the two who play in their spots are injured at the start of the championship and the two players we brought in are available.

Finally, Amorim acknowledged that the team “might be under more pressure” after being crowned champions last year, but reiterated that the focus is always on the next game.

“We cannot control what people might say about us or the pressure we might have on us. This is the best way to take things and to move forward. We go game by game. We won the Supertaça, we won the first game of the league season, and now we have a game in Braga, which is always very difficult. We're going to prepare for it in the best way,” he affirmed.

​Sporting CP overcome FC Vizela 3-0 as fans return to the Estádio José Alvalade

Sporting Clube de Portugal got the 2021/2022 league season off to a winning start at the Estádio José Alvalade, providing a resounding 3-0 victory over FC Vizela in front of their home fans -in attendance for the first time in 516 days.

With Pedro Porro and Nuno Mendes both unavailable, coach Rúben Amorim gave starting roles to new arrivals Ricardo Esgaio and Rúben Vinagre against the top flight newcomers, playing for the first time in the Primeira Liga since 1985.

The fans were treated to the displaying of the 2020/21 league trophy by captain Sebastián Coates before kickoff, and once the game got underway Sporting CP took control. Practically without letting FC Vizela touch the ball, they were calm, patient and persistent in the opening stanza.

After trying his luck with a shot over the crossbar previously, on 22 minutes Jovane Cabral enjoyed the first big opportunity of the match. A low pass from Rúben Vinagre found the Cape Verdean, whose shot was on target but blocked by a defender. Soon after, Paulinho also came very close to breaking the deadlock.

After half an hour of play, Sporting CP won a penalty for handball by Koffi. Cabral stepped up to take, but rattled the woodwork with his effort.

Goalkeeper Antonio Adán untroubled in the first half, Os Leões were nevertheless unable to get out in front before the interval -the score remaining 0-0 at half time.

The first goal was not long in coming after the restart, however: Three minutes in, Paulinho served up a pass to last season's top scores, Pedro Gonçalves, who slammed a right footed shot into the net from distance.

FC Vizela attempted a reaction with the help of former Sporting CP B team player Nuno Moreira, but any danger provided was short-lived. In the 64th minute, after a Ricardo Esgaio cross, Gonçalves chested down, loaded up a shot and struck again to make it 2-0.

On 74 minutes, when the visitors appeared beaten, Sporting CP put the win beyond all doubt. After a sprint down the left, Nuno Santos set up Paulinho with a pass, the striker only having to convert from inside the area.

Winning by a comfortable margin, and with just ten minutes remaining, Amorim's men eased the pressure slightly, but were still close to scoring a fourth through Daniel Bragança. His shot was saved spectacularly by Charles.

The victory was a perfect opening to the season for Sporting CP, who are back in action on August 14th against SC Braga on Matchday 2.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GR], Gonçalo Inácio, Zouhair Feddal (Tiago Tomás, 86') and Sebastián Coates [C], Ricardo Esgaio, Matheus Nunes, João Palhinha (Daniel Bragança, 78'), Rúben Vinagre (Matheus Reis, 78'), Jovane Cabral (Nuno Santos, 68'), Pedro Gonçalves (Bruno Tabata, 86') and Paulinho

The coach looks ahead to Friday's curtain raiser

In a Thursday press conference, Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim previewed the season opener for his side against FC Vizela, which gets the Liga Portugal BWIN campaign underway this Friday at 8:15pm local time.

Keeping true to the ideas implemented last season, the coach said that his side will need to have their wits about them with the newly promoted team who visit the Estádio José Alvalade.

“They are a team that our coaching staff know well from CNS, just like we know about their coach. He said he told the players to just enjoy the game, but I know him well and I know that he comes here to win. Therefore, if we are not careful, we could drop points and even lose the game," warned Amorim, adding: “It will be a difficult match, between a team who have nothing to lose and another who have to win at home."

Fullbacks Pedro Porro and Nuno Mendes will be unavailable for the encounter, he confirmed, before underlining the difficulty that lies ahead.

"Every game is dangerous and we proved last year that anything is possible. We have to run more than FC Vizela, because if we run more than them, then we are stronger and closer to victory."

Believing that Sporting CP will make a strong start to 2021/22 League, Amorim also spoke of the support of the fans, saying that the team are "prepared" to receive criticism, but reminded journalists that the fans got behind the players when they went behind in the Supertaça.

“It is part of the game. The players have to grow, we are Sporting CP and we have to face things in the best way," he acknowledged, before fielding a question about the transfer market.

“I am very satisfied with the squad I have at my disposal. We have to improve several things, because not everything was perfect in the Supertaça, and there are players who will get fitter. We have the group prepared, but we can and must improve in all aspects. This season we're going to try to be more domineering.”

Asked about his own impact since joining Sporting CP last summer, the coach dismissed any effusive praise.

"I don't feel like a talisman at all. I have great players, a great technical team and I know I have some luck too."

Sporting CP face FC Vizela on Friday night.

League season opener draws closer for Sporting CP

Sporting Clube de Portugal continue to prepare for their 2021/22 season opener in the Liga Portugal BWIN, scheduled for Friday (8:15pm local time) at the Estádio José Alvalade, against FC Vizela.

Two days before the kick-off of the league campaign, in a Wednesday morning training session, Rúben Amorim had all of his players available besides Nuno Mendes -out with a sprained left ankle- and Pedro Porro, who trained separately but is back to work on the pitch.

The team will have a behind-closed-doors session on Thursday at 10:00am, before Amorim gives a press conference at 6:30pm at the Auditorio Artur Agostinho at the Estádio José Alvalade.

​Supertaça starters undertake recovery work

The morning after their Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira triumph, Sporting Clube de Portugal's first team squad returned to work at Alcochete.

The starting XI for the match against SC Braga did the usual recovery training routine, with the exception of goalkeeper Antonio Adán, who worked on the pitch along with the rest of the squad.

Pedro Porro, who continues to undergo treatment on an injury, was the only player absent from the session, overseen by coach Rúben Amorim.

After a day off on Monday, Os Leões will resume training on Tuesday at 10:00am, behind closed doors.

A 2-1 triumph gets the season underway in style

Sporting Clube de Portugal kicked off the official action for the 2021/22 season by winning the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, beating SC Braga 2-1 at the Estádio Municipal de Aveiro through goals from Jovane Cabral and Pedro Gonçalves. The trophy adds to their success in the Primeira Liga and Taça da Liga last season, is the ninth Supertaça in the club's history, and their first since 2015.

The atmosphere was celebratory right from the get-go, as fans were allowed back into the ground and Sportinguistas were in the clear majority.

Coach Rúben Amorim used the same starting lineup that, last week, defeated Olympique Lyonnais in the Troféu Cinco Violinos.

After a cagey opening few minutes from both sides, SC Braga's Abel Ruiz was the first to try to score, but the ball went well wide of Antonio Adán's goal. At the other end, Pedro Gonçalves' shot was saved by Matheus and, little by little, the contest came to life.

SC Braga would break the deadlock on 20 minutes through Fransérgio, slightly against the run of play, making it 0-1.

The response from Sporting CP was immediate as, less than ten minutes later, Nuno Mendes played a perfect pass to carve open the defence and set Jovane Cabral through on goal. He bested Matheus in the one-on-one, taking the score back level.

Sporting CP dominated and created dangerous situations continuously, and Matheus was called into action when a beautiful 33rd minute cross by Nuno Mendes was shot by Gonçalves for Matheus to keep out.

The SC Braga goalkeeper was not able to prevent Sporting CP from going into the break in the lead however. João Palhinha recovered the ball, Matheus Nunes set up Gonçalves on the right, and last season's top scorer lobbed the ball into the net with a well placed lift.

With the score at 2-1 at the break, Sporting CP came out for the restart determined to extend their advantage. The opposition goalkeeper was put under pressure in the 52nd and 54th minutes, as he saved Pedro Gonçalves and Matheus Nunes' shots, respectively, and shortly afterwards a Nuno Mendes' free-kick narrowly flew into the side netting.

Amorim made his first substitution 20 minutes from the end, bringing on Tiago Tomás in Paulinho's place.

SC Braga enjoyed a timid attempt on goal by Abel Ruiz that failed to trouble Adán, whilst Jovane Cabral struck wide with his response for Sporting CP on 74 minutes.

Gonçalves would shoot off target with the goalkeeper stranded, and fresh substitute Bruno Tabata had an effort from distance kept out by Matheus, but there was no change in the scoreline. After seven long minutes of stoppage time, the whistle was blown and Sporting CP were crowned Supertaça winners.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GK], Gonçalo Inácio, Sebastián Coates [C], Zouhair Feddal (Matheus Reis, 80'), Ricardo Esgaio, João Palhinha, Matheus Nunes, Nuno Mendes, Pedro Gonçalves (Bruno Tabata, 83'), Jovane Cabral (Nuno Santos, 80's ') and Paulinho (Tiago Tomás, 69').