A Gonçalo Inácio goal and a debut for Dário Essugo come in a 1-0 win over Vitória SC

Sporting Clube de Portugal's Liga NOS title campaign continued apace with a hard fought win over Vitória SC, whom they bested 1-0 on Matchday 24 to keep a 10-point advantage over closest rivals, FC Porto.

Without the suspended Sebastián Coates and the injured Nuno Santos, coach Rúben Amorim made two changes to the starting lineup from the recent win over CD Tondela. He fielded a first XI of António Adán, Gonçalo Inácio, Luís Neto, Zouhair Feddal, Pedro Porro, João Palhinha, Daniel Bragança, Nuno Mendes, João Mário, Tiago Tomás and Pedro Gonçalves.

Opposition coach João Henriques also made adjustments, adapting to the suspension of his two first choice centre backs. Bruno Varela, Amaro, Jorge Fernandes, Mikel, Sacko, André André, Pepelu, Lameiras, Edwards, Estupiñan and Rochinha were all in his initial lineup.

Os Leões came close to an opener on 15 minutes, off a shot from João Mário that was kept out by Bruno Varela. Immediately afterwards, Pedro Gonçalves nearly made it 1-0, first from a tame shot and then from a strike against the woodwork from a Pedro Porro cross.

A disallowed goal for Tiago Tomás caused controversy, as VAR adjudged that the ball had gone out of play at the start of the move. Protests fell on deaf ears, and Sporting CP had to do it all over again.

Adán was finally tested just before the half-hour mark, parrying an Edwards shot. This was followed by an off-target header from Estupiñan that served as another warning.

The goal eventually came on 42 minutes, via a set piece. João Mário put the ball in, Tiago Tomás crossed and João Palhinha attempted a header, but it fell to Gonçalo Inácio. He nodded the ball across the line to hand Sporting CP the lead, although it was not without a delay to the celebrations: the goal was initially ruled out for offside, but after consulting VAR, referee Tiago Martins reversed the decision and awarded it.

After the interval, a Vitória SC side trailing the game offered up more of a threat, but were incapable of troubling Adán. The hosts probed with a Tiago Tomás shot from distance, kept out by Bruno Varela.

Rúben Amorim decided to shuffle the pack on 71 minutes, incorporating the returning Paulinho -back from injury- and Tabata in place of Tiago Tomás and Daniel Bragança. That made Sporting CP a more attacking side, albeit without an abundance of opportunities.

An exciting moment came with the introduction of Dário Essugo, a midfielder who made his debut for the first team just days after his 16th birthday, in a 10-minute cameo.

There was no change in the scoreline before the end, and Sporting CP took their 20th league victory of the season -setting themselves up well going into the international break.