Jorge Jesus reflects on 4-2 win in Russia

Gelson, Matheus, Ruiz and Montero tallied up a 4-2 win for Sporting in the Russian capital on Thursday evening, taking Europa League Group H down to the final day.

For Jorge Jesus, the chance of a longer European campaign comes as both a blessing and a curse: "You don't get back the identity of a team in four months. It takes years. My name is Jesus, but I can't work miracles! Step by step we are getting to where we want to be, but things are happening quicker than I thought they would and that brings with it other issues. Now we will take on Besiktas, who are the best team in the group, to define qualification. It is becoming a problem, but we will try to keep the team competititve.”

In relation to the match itself, Jesus added: "We knew about Lokomotiv and we knew they only play on the counter-attack. It was really important that Adrien and João Mário did what we asked of them, which is exactly what happened. It was a great game and we could have scored a fifth goal."

To finish, the Sporting coach praised the performances of his young stars, particularly Gelson Martins. “The young lads did well and Gelson is really making a name for himself. He isn't just a promising footballer, he is a certainty. He makes life difficult for whoever he plays against. The Europa League is an important competition and I have been trying to use it to help the lads grow."