Information for fans travelling to Istanbul

Sporting Clube de Portugal will face Besiktas on Thursday the 1st of October, on Europa League matchday two to be played in Istanbul’s Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadi.

The following information is made available for all Club Members and fans travelling for the match:

- Sporting fans will gather Istanbul’s central square (Sultanahmet Square).

- Sporting, together with the local authorities, will provide buses for fans wishing to travel to and from Sultanhmet Square and the stadium.

- The meeting of Sporting’s fans will be supervised by the local authorities, with buses leaving the meeting point at 17:00.

- Fans can arrive earlier to the meeting point, as restaurants and other services are available.

- The area of the stadium for Sporting fans is the South Entrance.

- The area for 1st class tickets is the west stand.

- A Sporting representative will be available at the stadium for all logistical issues.

Tickets on sale in Alvalade for Boavista and Besiktas

Tickets for the next two matches, which will see Sporting visit Boavista (Saturday) and Besiktas (Thursday) are now on sale.

Tickets for I Liga matchday 6 will be on sale on Thursday and Friday from 10h00 to 20h00 and are priced at 12.5€ (North End). Ticket sales are exclusively for Club Members on Thursday. Kick-off is scheduled from 20h45 on Saturday, in Estádio do Bessa (Porto).

Tickets for Europa League Group H matchday two will be on sale until Monday and are priced from 9€ (Goal End) to 24€ (Central). Besiktas-Sporting will kick-off on Thursday the 1st of October at 20h00 EET.

Montero and Paulo Oliveira on Sporting's Europa League opener

Fredy Montero spoke with radio journalists after his side’s loss in their Europa League opener this Thursday. “It wasn’t the start that we wanted and things didn’t go how we wanted them to. Now we have to pick up away the points that we have dropped at home”, affirmed the Colombian at the final whistle.

In parallel, Paulo Oliveira highlighted that there are still plenty of games to tally up points: “We conceded on the break, but we didn’t let it get to us and we went looking for the result. We still have five games and nothing is decided yet.”

Jorge Jesus on Sporting's 3-1 loss to Lokomotiv Moscow

“Sporting lost against a more experienced team”, opened Jorge Jesus in a post-match press conference on Thursday night.

Reflecting on his side’s 3-1 loss, the Alvalade boss noted: “We didn’t do very well defensively. Lokomotiv created problems for us on the counter-attack. The lads who haven’t played that much did well and I am happy with the choice. If you asked me if I would do the same again, then I would. I know very well what our objectives are. We did what we could to win today and nothing is decided yet.”

Sporting miss out in Europa League opener

Jorge Jesus made three major changes to his side for the Europa League hosting of the Russian outfit Lokomotiv Moscow this Thursday night, introducing Tobias Figueiredo, Carlos Mané and Gelson Martins into the starting line-up in place of Naldo, João Mário (suspended) and Carrillo.

The game got off to a well-contested start, with neither side creating any clear chances on goal and with Sporting holding a slight edge in terms of possession. The bulk of Sporting’s early efforts game through attempts from range from Adrien and Aquilani, before the Russian visitors opened the scoring on 20 minutes from a speedy counter-attack rounded off by Samedov. In fact, attacking on the break proved to be Lokomotiv’s theme for the night, with the Russians looking happy to sit back and let Sporting enjoy length spells with the ball.

Jorge Jesus’ side came out looking much more determined after the break and were soon pushing forward. Montero restored the deadlock with an unstoppable drive high into the net, triggering a spell of Sporting dominance that was more than deserving of a second, before Lokomotiv took the lead again through Samedov five minutes later. The occasional crack began to show in the Alvalade defence and on 65 minutes Diasse effectively secured the three points with his side’s third goal of the night.

Sporting are next in action on the 21st of September, in a I Liga hosting of Nacional.

Alvalade boss in Europa League pre-match press conference

Jorge Jesus shared his thoughts on this year’s Europa League opener in a pre-match press conference on Wednesday. For the Alvalade coach, there is no hiding from what will likely prove to be a tricky Group H campaign.

“This group has three really balanced sides: Sporting, Besiktas and Lokomotiv. The Russians are strong with some well-known players and they are in second in there league. We are expecting problems, but we will be ready for them”, opened Jesus.

Asked if he plans to make some changes to his squad to rest tired legs and a possible pairing of Aquilani in the midfield with Adrien, Jesus said: “It isn’t about resting players. We will choose the right 11 for each particular game, taking into account how the players are. Sporting has a squad that allows us to do that, whether it be due to tiredness, injury or options. Aquilani didn’t play the pre-season with us, so it was important for him to play in Vila do Conde. He played for more time that I thought he would, but he responded well.”

To finish, Jesus spoke about his side’s chances of going on an extensive European run: “I think that the Europa League is getting harder every year. To reach the final you have to play teams who could be in the Champions League, but I believe that Sporting has the quality to go far.”

Adrien Silva sets sights on a lengthy Europa League campaign

Alvalade skipper Adrien Silva spoke with the press this Wednesday afternoon, ahead of Sporting’s Europa League hosting of Lokomotiv Moscow.

“It is true that our objective wasn’t to be in the Europa League, but there is no point thinking about that now. This is a prestigious competition and we want to reach the final, but that doesn’t mean that this competition is more important for us because we didn’t qualify for the Champions League. Every game is important when you play for Sporting”, opened Adrien, going on speak more depth about Thursday’s encounter: “We aren’t comparing this game to the one with CSKA. We have looked at Lokomotiv and what matters is that we focus on what we have to do. We can’t relax, or we will be surprised.”

Sporting set out Europa League squad list

Sporting have included a total of 16 players in the Europa League squad list: Goalkeepers: Guilherme Oliveira, Pedro Silva and Stojkovic;
Defenders: Mauro Riquicho, Tobias Figueiredo, Domingos Duarte and Ruben Ribeiro;
Midfielders: Fokobo, Fábio Martins, Francisco Geraldes and Rafael Barbosa;
Forwards: Gelson Martins, Matheus Pereira, Carlos Mané, Daniel Podence and Cristian Ponde.

List A had already been announced, with 22 players included:

Goalkeepers: Rui Patrício, Marcelo Boeck and Azbe Jug;
Defenders: João Pereira, Ricardo Esgaio, Paulo Oliveira, Naldo, Ewerton, Jefferson and Jonathan Silva;
Midfields: William Carvalho, Bruno Paulista, Aquilani, Adrien, João Mário and André Martins;
Forwards: Carrillo, Bryan Ruiz, Tanaka, Montero, Teo Gutiérrez and Slimani.

Europa League gets underway in Alvalade on the 17th of September

Sporting will begin this year’s Europa League campaign with the hosting of Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow, in a 20h05 kick-off in Estádio José Alvalade, on the 17th of September.

Jorge Jesus’ side will finish the group stages with the reception of Besiktas on the 10th of December, also at 20h05.

Group H fixture list in full:
Matchday 1 (17/9, 20h05): SPORTING-Lokomotiv and Skënderbeu-Besiktas
Matchday 2 (1/10, 18h): Besiktas-SPORTING and Lokomotiv-Skënderbeu
Matchday 3 (22/10, 18h): SPORTING-Skënderbeu and Lokomotiv-Besiktas
Matchday 4 (5/11, 20h05): Skënderbeu-SPORTING and Besiktas-Lokomotiv
Matchday 5 (26/11, 18h): Besiktas-Skënderbeu and Lokomotiv-SPORTING
Matchday 6 (10/12, 20h05): Skënderbeu-Lokomotiv and SPORTING-Besiktas