Jorge Jesus happy with his side's Portuguese Cup showing

"We are in every competition to win, there is no other way for us", affirmed Jorge Jesus after his side's Portuguese Cup win against Vitória de Setúbal (1-0) on Wednesday night.

The Alvalade boss was in his usual analytical mood at the final whistle, noting: "I thought it was going to be a hard game. Vitória play really well at home and they are well set up. The penalty could have made things easier for us, but we did better in the second-half. We had less time to recover for this game than our opponent did and the lads were tired after Benfica, but Byran coming on balanced it out and we started moving the ball around more. Joel looked better down the left as well. It was a good game with a nice goal."

Although squad rotation was largely expected, Jesus made just a single change for the encounter, bringing on Campbell for Bryan Ruiz). "I picked the right squad for this match. I did hesitate to rest William and Adrien, but I knew that Adrien could battle through. I didn't thing mixing things up was the right thing to do tonight", finished the Sporting coach.

Strike form Bas Dost secures passage into Portuguese Cup quarter-finals

Sporting CP claimed a place in the Portuguese Cup quarter-finals this Wednesday, courtesy of a 1-0 win in Setúbal secured with a goal from Bas Dost.

The team from Alvalade made the better start to the game of the two sides, holding down spells of possession against a Vitória de Setúbal side that began to venture forward as time ticked over. Some at times brave attacking saw chances on Patrício's goal begin to materialise, like on 14 minutes when Edinho came close to beating the Sporting CP keeper after a scrappy pass by Rúben Semedo.

Sporting CP responded and six minutes later Adrien could have put his side ahead, but the Alvalade skipper was unable to find the back of the net from the penalty spot, being denied by a fine save from Trigueira.

With the cold setting in, chances started to thin out for both sides. Jorge Jesus' side continued to control proceedings, while Setúbal preferred to sit back and wait for the occasional chance to hit on the break.

The deadlock was finally broken with quarter of an hour left on the clock, when a diving header from Bas Dost connected with a cross from Marvin Zeegelaar. The goal was enough to secure the result and the respective place in the Portuguese Cup quarter-finals.

Jorge Jesus looking forward to this week's Portuguese Cup action

Jorge Jesus sat down with the press this Tuesday evening, looking ahead to the midweek Portuguese Cup encounter against Vitória de Setúbal.

"It is good that we have this game. We are coming out of an important match, that we didn't win. We have been playing well in this competition and it is important for us to go on a good cup run", said the Alvalade boss, going on to speak about the opposition in more detail: "Vitória de Setúbal are a good side in this competition and they have won it twice. We want to get through this round and give our fans something to smile about."

Jorge Jesus's side on the road in the Portuguese Cup last-16

Sporting CP will travel to Vitória Futebol Clube (Vitória de Setúbal) in the Portuguese Cup last-16, in what is the only encounter between two Liga NOS teams.

The fixture will be played between the 13th and 15th od December in Estádio do Bonfim.

Sporting CP's director for football, Octávio Machado, was at the draw and noted: “It is a respectable opponent and I have a lot of personal admiration for them. It will be a hard match, but we want to get into the final of the Portuguese Cup. We will do everything we can to win this."

Draw in full:

Leixões - Tondela

Real Massamá - Benfica

Estoril Praia - Sanjoanense

Torrense - Chaves

SC Braga - SC Covilhã

Académica - Penafiel

V. Setúbal - SPORTING

V. Guimarães - Vilafranquense

Beto makes Alvalade Sporting CP Alvalade debut

Beto made his first start in Alvalade this week, in Sporting CP's win against Praiense.

"It was my debut in a Sporting shirt in this stadium. I had already played here as the opposition though, unfortunately. I was a really passionate moment for me. We let in a really good goal early on, but we responded well. We played seriously and competitively and I am proud to have made my debut", said Beto at the final whistle, adding: "This match was a good opportunity to to give a few minutes to some of the lads who have been playing less and that is how we find out form. We showed respect for Praiense and that reflects well on the lads."

Jorge Jesus praises his squad's Portuguese Cup performance on Thursday night

Jorge Jesus sat down with Sporting TV after his side's Portuguese Cup win this Thursday, in a match which saw the Alvalade boss rotate the majority of his squad.

"We pretty much conceded right at the beginning of the match and that gave Praiense a lift. After that we slowly took control and they couldn't keep up the pace physically. I thought it was a really enjoyable game and we showed a lot of quality in terms of positioning. After the break I just told the lads to carry on, but we were having a bit of a hard time finding space at the back. It became a lot easier as soon as we started scoring", opened Jesus, going on to reflect on the performance of what was a very different starting line-up: "We have 24 or 25 players in the squad and we have to believe in all of them. If we do, then there are certain times when everyone will get their chance. A few of the lads really responded well today I thought. André came on well and he is a good goalscorer. He is a bit different to some of the other players and doesn't get on the ball that much, but when he does he scored. He reminds me f Liedson and I hope he shows some belief in himself."

To finish Jorge Jesus looked ahead to next week's hosting of Real Madrid: "Everybody wants to be in the squad and everyone wants to see the match, which is why the stadium will be full. We will be facing the best team in the world, the European champion, and we will have to be as good as we were in Madrid."

Sporting CP cruise through Portuguese Cup fourth round after scoring five

Sporting CP took another step down the long road to Jamor this Thursday night, with a 5-1 win against Praiense in the Portuguese Cup fourth round.

Despite the evening starting with a brilliant goal for the team from the Azores courtsy of Filipe Andrade, a bit of patience soon resulted in an avalanche of attacking football that the lower league visitors could do little to stop. Paulo Oliveira restored the deadlock with a 21st minute header, before Matheus Pereira saw his close range finish ruled out for offside four minutes later. Praiense had a chance to pull ahead again three minutes later when Stebh cut in from the right, however Ricardo Esgaio managed to get back and put in a last minute clearance ahead of Filipe Andrade at the far post.

The first-half started with a goal for Sporting, when Luciano Serpa brought down Bruno César for a spot kick converted on by Adrien. The goal triggered wave after wave of forays forward and it was Bruno César himself who next found the back of the net, rounding off a superb collective move three minutes after the hour mark. It was also a memorable night for André Felipe, who came off the bench for Luc Castaignos and struck just a minute later, before finding a second with two minutes left on the clock.

A final word must of course be said for Francisco Agatão's Praiense, who battled the ods in an entertaining game of football worth of a cup tie.