The Sporting CP coach talks after the penultimate Liga Portugal game of the season

Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim was satisfied with his side's 0-1 win against GD Estoril Praia, which allowed them to break two more records this season: 28 wins and 87 points.

“After a week of celebrations, there could always be some relaxation, but we always had the game under control. I would be more worried if there had been many chances for GD Estoril Praia or if the game had been very evenly matched, but I didn't feel that. I always felt the game was under control, with GD Estoril Praia waiting for us to lose the ball. The game started a little bit of a stalemate, with it being system against system, one team with the ball and the other without the ball, with no big chances, but we were very competent and serious and we won deservedly once again," he said.

“It was important to break the record for points and victories and now we still have one more game to increase these numbers. It always feels good to break these records and I think that this team, because of the good season they've had, the goals they scored, the spectacle they have provided and because of the atmosphere that was always there at home, deserve it."

"It's also important to win the Taça de Portugal to make it a complete season. It's not going to feel like enough if we only win the league,” commented Amorim, highlighting the ambition to win the cup competition.

“We have one more week to go, and then the league season is over. We can celebrate at the stadium for a few hours, but then we won't talk about the league title anymore. It will be the Taça de Portugal and I'm confident, knowing it's going to be a completely different game. We have to be aware of who the opposition are, who their coach is, what season it is. All of this will come into play, but we will be prepared for it.”

Amorim also praised Diogo Pinto, who debuted in goal with “a very calm performance,” and also spoke about Miguel Menino's first appearance, saying that "Sporting CP like to reward the hard work of young players."

Victory on the road against GD Estoril Praia takes the team up to 87

New champions Sporting Clube de Portugal beat GD Estoril Praia 0-1 on Matchday 33 of the Liga Portugal season, in a game played at the Estádio António Coimbra da Mota.

The title winners were welcomed with a celebration by the Sportinguistas who, once again, gave Sporting CP a home atmosphere by making the short trip over from Lisbon. The team entered the pitch with a guard of honour from GD Estoril Praia, who came into the game already knowing that they would remain in the division next season after a draw for Portimonense SC.

For this penultimate match of the campaign, Rúben Amorim made some changes to the starting lineup. Of particular note was debuting goalkeeper Diogo Pinto, as the 19 year old stepped in between the sticks in the absence of the injured Antonio Adán and Franco Israel.

Also included in the XI were Ousmane Diomande, Sebastián Coates, Gonçalo Inácio, Ricardo Esgaio, Hidemasa Morita, Daniel Bragança, Matheus Reis, Francisco Trincão, Viktor Gyökeres and Pedro Gonçalves.

The afternoon was one of celebration, in the wake of Liga Portugal title number 24, and the game started at a slower pace than usual, but Sporting CP always controlled the action.

In the first half, scoring opportunities were few and far between. Pedro Gonçalves and Daniel Bragança shot over, and Francisco Trincão had a strike go wide.

The most dangerous move ended up coming close to halftime, with Francisco Trincão setting free Pedro Gonçalves on the edge of the area, but his effort was a tame one and GD Estoril Praia goalkeeper Marcelo Carné held onto the ball without any major problems.

At the other end, Rodrigo Gomes' shot hit the post, and the score remained 0-0 at half-time.

At the beginning of the second half, the same rhythm was maintained, with the first 10 minutes going by without any chance for either team. Rúben Amorim started to adjust, and Daniel Bragança and Matheus Reis were replaced by Paulinho and Nuno Santos.

The changes were good for Sporting CP and in the last half hour they ended up showing greater intensity, reaching the opposition area more often and doing so with more danger.

Marcelo Carné was able to make two good interventions off shots from Ricardo Esgaio and Viktor Gyökeres, then from Francisco Trincão's shot, which saw the Brazilian goalkeeper shine again.

In the 81st minute, the goal finally arrived. A run by Gyökeres on the left saw the Swede pass to Nuno Santos, who played across for Paulinho to finish.

Sporting CP then went in search of a second, with Paulinho, close to the 90th minute, twice being denied by the defence.

Amorim then made two more substitutions and handed a debut to homegrown talent Miguel Menino, who entered at the same time as Iván Fresneda. Ricardo Esgaio and Pedro Gonçalves were the players who made way.

Then Koba Koindredi came on to replace Hidemasa Morita, and in stoppage time the best opportunity was Sebastián Coates' header wide.

Sporting CP took a 0-1 triumph and broke the record with 28 league victories, as well as the number of points with 87.

Next week, Liga Portugal concludes with a game at home to GD Chaves, where Sporting CP will receive the trophy.

Sporting CP visit GD Estoril Praia on Saturday (6pm)

A week on from their Liga Portugal title win, Sporting Clube de Portugal travel to the Estádio António Coimbra da Mota to play GD Estoril Praia on Saturday. It will be the 33rd and penultimate matchday of the season.

Ahead of the game, coach Rúben Amorim began by talking about how he experienced the club's 24 such title.

"It was a big party on a special day, but that is already in the past. Everyone was waiting for the title to be confirmed -me more than the players and staff, because I was the only one who was dressed to go on the bus. My belief is always greater than that of the rest of the people. It was a special day, but after two days it no longer feels like anything because we have things to do and goals to achieve," the coach told journalists.

“We still have the Taça de Portugal and we continue on our path, forgetting about the party a little now. Tomorrow we will try to win and not concede goals. The record is 27 victories in a season and we can achieve 28. Above all, if we want to win the next trophy we need everyone to keep up the pace and be prepared so that we can choose the best team. There is still a lot to be won."

He clarified that, due to fitness problems for Franco Israel and Antonio Adán, it will be 19-year-old Diogo Pinto who will play in goal for his debut with Sporting CP's first team.

“Antonio is still injured and cannot play, Franco has had surgery and is out for the rest of the season. For now, Pinto will be the starter. We have Francisco [Silva] on the bench and [Guilherme] Pires as third choice goalkeeper, but we trust everyone. He's a kid who's grown up here, he'll be making his debut for the first team and it's a big weight to carry. But the context helps because we are already champions and all the other players will help him, because he is prepared to help us keep a clean sheet.”

In addition to Diogo Pinto, the coach was asked about a possible debut for Geovany Quenda, but dismissed this hypothesis, revealing however that there could be another player featuring in his first official match: Miguel Menino, a 21-year-old midfielder from the B team.

“There could be a situation where a kid who came up here makes his debut, but it won't be Quenda. We believe a lot in Quenda and that he will eventually be a champion at Sporting CP, but there are other kids whose future, given their age, could lie somewhere other than Sporting CP -and we pay attention to that. These are kids who helped us a lot in training, but they didn't have the visibility others got and they aren't in our plans for next year. Menino will be called up, Quenda will not. We believe he will be a champion at Sporting CP, so he will have time to do so."

As for GD Estoril Praia, who are currently 13th in the table and fighting to stay up, Amorim does not expect an easy time.

“GD Estoril are a team that play well, and playing away from home is not the same as playing at home."

“The team that will play will be set up to win the game, but it will not be the same as against GD Chaves. Management will be carried out so that during the week of the Taça de Portugal everyone is at their best. But you will see from the XI that we want to win, because we have important objectives, such as surpassing Sporting CP's best points and victories records and continuing to keep clean sheets. We have become champions, but there is already the weight of winning another trophy and thinking about next year. The good feelings are over, now it’s time for the Taça de Portugal, the records and preparing for next season.”

The coach looks forward to the Friday fixture against CF Estrela da Amadora

After the international break, Sporting Clube de Portugal are back in action on Friday, to face Estrela da Amadora on Liga Portugal Matchday 27.

Coach Rúben Amorim held a press conference on Thursday and assured journalists that the break “enabled us to recover some players, to rest up, whilst others went away with their national teams.”

“[Gonçalo] Inácio played 90 minutes in the last game and, due to the recovery period and the injury to his hamstring he had recently, we may have to take precautions there. The rest of the squad are ready for the game. We had a mishap with Sebastián Coates, but he has recovered, Marcus Edwards has already done more or less two days of training, and at the last minute we have Francisco Trincão back from injury. At this moment we have to take everyone, because we know it will be a difficult game."

He also confirmed that Pedro Gonçalves will miss out due to injury, saying that "We are going to do our best so that he can be with us next week."

Regarding coach Sérgio Vieira's CF Estrela da Amadora, currently 13th in the table with 26 points, Amorim highlighted that they are a team with “very fast players up front” and recalled the “problems” experienced in the first meeting this season, in Alvalade.

“I think we will improve. We have to be cautious and as strong as we were, for example, against Moreirense FC with stopping the transitions. We need to be very focused. On set pieces there is a specific player from CF Estrela da Amadora who, when he is playing, makes this aspect even more important."

“We have to get back to the mentality of knowing that we can't drop points, we have to win, we know that the season is coming to an end. We are ready for the game," he stressed.

With a game in hand, Sporting CP are the outright leaders with 65 points, one ahead of SL Benfica. They play their local rivals in consecutive derbies, beginning in the Taca de Portugal semifinals on Tuesday.

Before next weekend's league derby, the squad have a total of six players one yellow card away from serving a suspension: Morten Hjulmand, Ousmane Diomande, Nuno Santos, Marcus Edwards, Luís Neto and Ricardo Esgaio. Despite this, Amorim highlighted that the “only squad management that will be done is tactical and physical, as always."

“It's not because there are two derbies coming up, but because there are many players who could be left out of the next game and we don't know which will be the most important game of the season. We have to play every game at 100%," he highlighted, before reinforcing that transfer rumours are not affecting his players.

“Right now, everything is focused on the league. We really want to win trophies and we know the importance of these upcoming games. Anything can happen until the end of the season. We experienced this with our last title, and when we least expected it we dropped six points in four games. I think this game with CF Estrela da Amadora is even more important. It’s about preparing for a different kind of game."

“It was harder to get the message across last year when we were in fourth place. In those stages of the season it is more difficult to make the players believe in the idea and the project, and they always have done. That's not the case this time. We are nine games away from being champions at a club that doesn't win that many titles in a row, so the message is always there."

The comprehensive result keeps the team top

Sporting Clube de Portugal beat Boavista FC 6-1 in a Sunday night home fixture on Liga Portugal Matchday 26, thanks to a hat trick from Viktor Gyökeres, a brace from Paulinho and a goal from Nuno Santos. The win maintains the team's perfect home record in the league after 13 games at the Estádio José Alvalade.

To face Boavista FC, who started the game in tenth place (28 points), coach Rúben Amorim made five changes to the starting eleven from the match against Atalanta BC. The injured Pedro Gonçalves and Marcus Edwards were out, with Sebastián Coates and Hidemasa Morita returning directly to the starting lineup and Nuno Santos, Geny Catamo and Paulinho also selected.

Although the away team had gone two games without losing (1-1 with FC Famalicão and 1-0 against Moreirense FC), as visitors they were on a run of four games without a victory (2D 2L).

Before the action got underway, Matheus Reis was honoured for reaching the milestone of 150 games for Sporting CP.

The game had a difficult start, as after the third minute, at the edge of the area, Gaius Makouta took advantage of a ball cleared by Franco Israel to make it 0-1 to Boavista FC.

A few moments later, Sporting CP had a goal flagged offside to deny Francisco Trincão. Soon after, Paulinho and Matheus Reis both called goalkeeper João Gonçalves into action with crosses that swerved towards goal, and Viktor Gyökeres struck an effort over the crossbar.

Little by little, Sporting CP pushed Boavista FC back and began to impose their game. In the best opportunity of this spell, Ousmane Diomande and Paulinho combined and Gyökeres' shot failed to find the target.

In turn, the visitors from the city of Porto started to waste time, and also did not shy away from accumulating fouls and breaking, whenever possible, the rhythm of the match.

After half an hour, referee António Nobre decided to show a yellow card to each side – for Salvador Agra and Morten Hjulmand – which provoked strong protests from the hosts.

After much insistence, Sporting CP equalised just before halftime. After Paulinho narrowly missed a cross from Gyökeres and Trincão shot from distance to produces a good save from João Gonçalves, the deserved goal to make it 1-1 finally came.

The roles were reversed and this time it was Paulinho, on the left, setting up his Swedish teammate, who sent the ball into the net.

Amorim immediately brought on midfielder Daniel Bragança in the second half in place of Hjulmand, and Sporting CP went out in search of completing the turnaround, maintaining the total dominance with which they ended the first half. In the 49th minute a double opportunity came their way, but Coates' header was saved and on the rebound Diomande hit the ball badly and missed the target.

The goal to take the score to 2-1 didn't take much longer in coming, and in the 54th minute, Geny Catamo sent a perfect, arcing cross into the area and found Paulinho for the finish.

Gonçalo Inácio replaced Matheus Reis after the goal, as the home side pushed for more.

In the area, Gyökeres pulled inside and shot low into the back of the net in the 68th minute and, around ten minutes later, sealed his hat trick by converting a penalty for his 22nd league goal.

Between Gyökeres' two goals, Paulinho had also had an attempt with a header, but was denied by João Gonçalves.

With Eduardo Quaresma, Ricardo Esgaio and Koba Koindredi on the pitch, the action continued with further goals.

It was Nuno Santos' opportunism inside the area, pushing a ball across the line, which made it 5-1, then Paulinho rounded off the night with the final strike.

With the final score at 6-1, league leaders Sporting CP reinforced their status as the most successful attack in the league, with 75 goals scored.

After the international break, they travel to take on CF Estrela da Amadora.

Sporting CP: Franco Israel [GK], Geny Catamo, Ousmane Diomande (Eduardo Quaresma, 72’), Sebastián Coates [C], Matheus Reis (Gonçalo Inácio, 55’), Morten Hjulmand (Daniel Bragança, 46’), Hidemasa Morita (Koba Koindredi, 84’), Francisco Trincão (Ricardo Esgaio, 84’), Paulinho e Viktor Gyökeres.

A back-and-forth game ends with the spoils shared

Sporting Clube de Portugal drew 3-3 with Rio Ave FC in a Sunday night showdown on Matchday 23 in Liga Portugal. Sebastián Coates scored the equaliser for the team, who had previously overcome a deficit to go ahead through Morten Hjulmand and Viktor Gyökeres. 

Facing a team in an uncomfortable 16th place, Rúben Amorim made five changes to the Sporting CP starting XI. Coates, Geny Catamo, Nuno Santos, Hidemasa Morita and Pedro Gonçalves all came in while Eduardo Quaresma, Ricardo Esgaio, Matheus Reis, Daniel Bragança and Marcus Edwards were on the bench – striker Paulinho continued to be an absentee due to injury.

Vila do Conde's Estádio dos Arcos was a daunting place to go. Rio Ave FC hadn't lost in six games at home, since October of last year, and had only conceded three goals in those matches.

Three minutes into the game, the forecast rain and wind arrived, bringing with it a Rio Ave FC goal. From the first attack of the match, a long pass to the left was followed up by Umaro Embaló cutting inside, sending a shot into the net. The disadvantage did not last more than six minutes, however, as off a corner kick, Morten Hjulmand appeared in the area to strike low and restore parity.

A double opportunity to score came shortly after, but Rio Ave's Jhonatan denied Viktor Gyökeres off his hit from outside the area and, on the rebound, he did the same to Francisco Trincão. After the 20th minute, Gyökeres once again aimed for goal, but without success.

Rio Ave FC not only survived this tough phase but also responded with danger. First, with Embaló shooting over the bar when Adán was still getting into position, then Fábio Ronaldo hitting the post off a fast attack.

In a crazy end to the first half, a poor backpass was latched onto for Gyökeres to score his 30th goal for the club -and the team's 100th in 2023/2024. On the next move, in stoppage time, Yakubu Aziz converted a penalty given due to a foul by Nuno Santos.

In between the goals, Trincão was injured, being replaced by Marcus Edwards. At halftime, Amorim made another change by introducing Eduardo Quaresma for Gonçalo Inácio – Diomande occupying the centre back spot on the left.

Upon the restart, Sporting CP's intentions became clear. Miguel Nóbrega needed to cut out a clinical pass by Gyökeres for Edwards in the best opportunity early on. After an hour of play, Gonçalves went down in the area, with the penalty appeal ignored, and Amorim made further substitutions, introducing Matheus Reis for Nuno Santos.

A penalty was given against Sporting CP, as Adán committed a foul in the box. Aziz converted to put Rio Ave FC ahead for the second time.

Sporting CP's reaction was not long in coming, captain Coates appearing when he was most needed. Gonçalves crossed into the area and the Uruguayan central defender rose highest to head in, making it 3-3. He then stayed up front with Gyökeres for the closing quarter-hour. They looked for a winning goal until the end, but both Edwards and Gonçalves shot well over. There was a late sending off for Rio Ave's Pantalon, but no change on the scoresheet.

With this draw in Vila do Conde, Sporting CP were unable to take advantage of FC Porto's own draw in Barcelos and are now in second place with 56 points, two behind SL Benfica. Their local rivals are their next opponents, but in the Taça de Portugal semifinals on Thursday.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GR], Geny Catamo, Ousmane Diomande, Sebastián Coates [C], Gonçalo Inácio, Nuno Santos (Matheus Reis, 61'), Morten Hjulmand, Hidemasa Morita, Francisco Trincão (Marcus Edwards, 44'), Pedro Gonçalves, Viktor Gyökeres.

The coach readies his side for a game against FC Famalicão

In Liga Portugal action, Sporting Clube de Portugal face FC Famalicão on Matchday 20 this Saturday. Coach Rúben Amorim talked about this, and a busy month of February, in his pre-match press conference.

“FC Famalicão are a team who always have talent. In these games, without much responsibility to win, they have the ability to keep the ball and create danger for any team. Their stadium is a different ground, where it is always very difficult."

FC Famalicão are currently eighth and have lost their last two matches. Although they are the joint-lowest scoring team, they have made defensive consistency count, with the joint-fifth best record of 23 goals conceded.

The team led by João Pedro Sousa have not won at home since Matchday 10 (3-1 against Gil Vicente FC), but Amorim talked up the talent present for FC Famalicão.
“If Puma or Chiquinho play, I think they can both play together. Or Puma [Rodríguez] can come inside because he is very fast and very physically strong. [Jhonder] Cádiz touches the ball more often, inside the area, and has a lot of headers, so we have to safeguard the crosses in. On the other hand, a large part of their routine on the left goes through [Francisco] Moura, who is suspended. All of this will come into play,” he detailed.

“They have the talent to beat Sporting CP, but we have to respond to that, because we are fighting for the title and we want to maintain our place at the top."

With Sporting CP about to start a gruelling month of February, featuring seven games in three different competitions (Liga Portugal, Taça de Portugal and the UEFA Europa League), Amorim highlighted that the coaching staff look, above all, at “the space between games, with the focus in general being on the next match."

“Our job was to tell the players, and they are fully aware of this, that everything that happened in the last game - the atmosphere, the pitch, the duels we won and the shots we had - will now have no bearing on this game. It will be completely different."

In Vila Nova de Famalicão, winter signing Koba Koindredi will be among the options to play, but Jeremiah St. Juste will be absent again through injury.

Afterwards, asked to assess Sporting CP's movements in the January transfer market, Amorim highlighted that the idea was to “prepare not only for the present, but above all the future,” both in terms of arrivals and departures.

He first explained that loanees Afonso Moreira and Dário Essugo “needed minutes to gain confidence and take the next step up,” before also addressing Rodrigo Ribeiro's transfer to Nottingham Forest FC.

“For one reason or another, he couldn't develop like others did in the first team. What I wish is the best of luck for Rodrigo, because he has a lot of talent. In a very competitive league, a lot is down to him and his coach.”

Regarding Koba's arrival, he described him as a reinforcement to “prepare and safeguard the future and anticipate things that we think could happen."

“We are not only buying the player he is now, but also what he can become, because in a few years we would have to pay a lot more for a player like him. We didn't get certain players who, perhaps, would be a better value now and a better reinforcement for the immediate future, but Koba is a player for now and very much thinking about what he can become."

"He has a lot of quality, but he still needs a lot of work. The important thing is to see that there is talent and, without a doubt, Rafa Pontelo and Koba are very talented players."
“We have depth in the squad and there are, at most, nine days left until Ousmane [Diomande] and [Hidemasa] Morita will return. I feel that the squad is on the right track and, without major injuries, we have the squad to compete in all competitions and give opportunities to all of our players," he guaranteed.

“The main thing is the league title, but we are not going to give up on the Europa League or the Taça de Portugal. The focus is on becoming champions. It also has a psychological impact on the fans and on the way we want to win consistently, and the impact of us getting into the Champions League. If we can win everything, then great. We will need a lot of luck, but you know that luck is not lacking sometimes.”

The coach reviews the derby against SL Benfica

Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim was naturally disappointed with the defeat to SL Benfica, in a game in which they were always on top of their rivals - even though they played practically the entire second half with a numerical inferiority.

“This is part of football, but it is hard to swallow. Even with ten men, we didn't let SL Benfica create big chances and that was felt in the stadium. With 11 players on the pitch, there is no doubt who was the best team. Therefore, based on what we did, we deserved to win, but it didn't happen", the coach began by saying in his press conference.

"It's a more painful defeat because, although it wasn't a decisive game, it was an important game and we were three minutes away from having a six-point advantage -and now we have the same points. We were the better side, we ended up not winning and it was painful, but I'm already thinking about the break and the next game".

“I'm not saying we're better than anyone else, but today we were the better team and I think that was very obvious. We were very safe at all times of the game, even with one player less, while SL Benfica had a lot of difficulties creating dangerous situations. If we look at the moments of the game, everything went against us. It's very frustrating to play with a man down and it limits us a lot. It was not a good day for Inácio and for us, because we ended up losing, but we are fine and we will continue to be fine”, said Amorim, stressing: “We have to move on. We are tied on points, we have been in the title race for a long time, we have to correct what we didn't do so well and get better".

The coach's preview of the game against FC Arouca

Sporting Clube de Portugal host FC Arouca this Sunday, at 8:30 pm, on Liga Portugal Matchday 8.

Os Leões return home after their midweek defeat in the Europa League and Rúben Amorim is only thinking about a win, saying that whilst it is good to play right after a loss, he would have preferred to have had more time to prepare for this match.

"We enjoyed playing in Europe, but we could have had one more day to prepare for the game and we didn't get it. Nevertheless, the team are ready. The players are fresh because there was rotation during this time", he told the media.

"We know FC Arouca very well; We know that last year we didn't win any game against them and we want to change that this year.Daniel Ramos is a very experienced coach, he knows that as the game goes on it will create anxiety in everyone, so what we want is to start well and play well in the first and second half to win the game. They vary between 4 and 5 in defence, with the winger playing as the fifth man. We have trained for that in the time we had, we focused a lot on what we need to be very good at, we worked on that and I think that tomorrow we will have a good game".

"We have to be hungry, we want to win and we must be very calm in the face of everything that happens. We know that FC Arouca want to keep it 0-0, make transitions, create one or two opportunities and create a bad atmosphere in our stadium. What we have to do is have a lot of confidence, stay calm, be well organised and not let them make too many transitions", said the coach, denying that the defeat against Atalanta BC will affect his Sporting CP side.

"What's done is done. We need to always be optimistic. I believe we can be champions, win trophies and go through in Europe. We've already proven that many times. Tomorrow we have another game, what we want is to stay in first place and that's what we're going to play for".

Amorim also spoke about Jeremiah St. Juste, saying that the central defender "is getting closer and closer" to his return, and commented on the importance of Sebastián Coates.

"For me, as a coach , what he represents is an example in the way he has always played and how he helps his teammates, but I think he can still get better as a player and as a captain, and when I look at him I want him to do more. He is very important for us and you see that the team feel more confident with him on the pitch".

A 0-0 draw with Gil Vicente FC denies Os Leões the three points

Sporting Clube de Portugal were held to a goalless draw by Gil Vicente FC in a rescheduled Liga Portugal Matchday 25 encounter, played on Wednesday night. The draw concluded a run of five consecutive wins in the league and, whilst they were the better side, the team were unable to convert their chances.

Coach Rúben Amorim made five changes to the starting XI from four days prior, with Ricardo Esgaio (returning from suspension), Jeremiah St. Juste, Sebastián Coates, Hidemasa Morita and Youssef Chermiti coming in at the expense of Arthur Gomes, Ousmane Diomande, Nuno Santos and Francisco Trincao. Paulinho was out due to injury.

Gil Vicente FC came into the contest in 13th place in the league table and had not lost at the Estádio Cidade de Barcelos since November.

Sporting CP had three excellent opportunities in a row to start the game: First, a shot from square on by Pedro Gonçalves went out. Chermiti's backheel forced goalkeeper Andrew into a save. Finally, Esgaio benefited from a recovery on the edge of the area, but would also be denied.

From then on, they managed to impose their game more unequivocally. Chermiti was narrowly denied a run through on goal, Gonçalves failed to convert a shot at the back post and Andrew responded with a save from a shot by Matheus Reis. Despite an attempt by Murilo, the danger was practically one-way traffic in the first half.

At halftime, Nuno Santos was brought onto the wing to replace Gonçalo Inácio, and Matheus Reis dropped into the trio of centre-backs.

In the beginning of the second stanza, Gil Vicente FC created their best opportunity, but Antonio Adán rushed out quickly and decisively to stifle a one-on-one with Marlon.
Marcus Edwards appeared to have made it 0-1, but his goal would be disallowed by VAR for offside against Chermiti at the start of the move.

Gonçalves forced another save from Andrew, then had a goal of his own ruled out for offside. Morita, in the middle, would shoot wide and Coates was very close to making the decisive glance on a Nuno Santos cross, as Sporting CP continued to dominate.

Amorim decided to introduce Trincão and Arthur Gomes for Ugarte and Esgaio, as the game closed in on its conclusion. Gil Vicente FC played more and more compactly, making offensive fluidity difficult for Sporting CP. 

In the last opportunity, Edwards had a shot inside the area blocked, and the score remained deadlocked at the end. Despite keeping a fifth consecutive clean sheet in Liga Portugal, they could not claim the three points. 

Sporting CP now have a total of 54 points and have another away trip this weekend, playing against Casa Pia AC on Sunday at 6pm local time.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GK], Ricardo Esgaio (Arthur Gomes 76'), Jeremiah St. Juste, Sebastián Coates [C], Gonçalo Inácio (Nuno Santos 46'), Matheus Reis, Manuel Ugarte (Francisco Trincão 76'), Hidemasa Morita (Mateo Tanlongo 85'), Marcus Edwards, Pedro Gonçalves and Youssef Chermiti.