Sporting win Liga NOS opener with tactical masterpiece in Alvalade

Sporting's I Liga opener actually turned out to be an easy encounter than expected this Saturday night, not so much down to Marítimo's performance, but more the result of some strategic brilliance from Jorge Jesus, Slimani's absence through suspension meant that the Alvalade boss' saw his options in attack limited. However, João Mário floating in the middle behind Bryan Ruiz and Gelson in support of Alan Ruiz did just the trick. The Argentinean was particularly firery on the night, creating space and working hard off the ball.

João Mário had a fair few chances on goal that he might well have done better to finish (12', 17', 42', 52), but a bit of reluctance to try his luck saw the opportunities go wanting. With rumours flying around regarding a potential transfer, the Alvalade crowd took the opportunity to give the number 17 a standing ovation when he was substituted.

Rui Patrício was also in his usually brilliant form, making his first notable stop in the 16th minute to deny Diawara, following a rare foray forward by Marítimo. A flash of flare from Bryan Ruiz in the 20th minute saw the Costa Rican pick out Jefferson in space in the 20th minute, but the Brazilian's effort was comfortably scooped up by Gottardi. A goal was looking likely and it finally came from an unstoppable header by Coates, when the giant centre-back converted on a corner whipped in by João Mãrio.

Martítimo had what was probably their best chance of the encounter six minutes before the break, but Patrício wasn't going to be easily beaten and the sides went in to the dressing room deadlocked.

The second-half was the perfect opportunity to mix things up and Jorge Jesus obliged, switching out Jefferson for Bruno César. Five minutes later Coates missed what would hae been his second, before Bryan Ruiz showed how it should be done (61') with a cool finish to essentially put the result to bed.