Bas Dost at it again, this time with a brace against Nacional

Just 13 minutes had passed when Bas Dost found the back of the net against Nacional on Saturday afternoon, in front of a packed crowd of 43,167. The final strike came following a corner whipped in by Bryan Ruiz, but the hard work was done by Gelson Martins and Schelotto in the build up, with the speedy double breaking away down the flank to claim the corner.

Nacional had a pair of opportunities in thr 19th and 20th minute through Ricardo Homes and Mezga respectively, but Rui Patrício was untroubled and Sporting CP comfortably controlled proceedings with some blistering pace out wide and precision passing through the middle.

In the Nacional goal Fachini was always going to have a tough afternoon with Bas Dost on the prowl for the top spot in the European Golden Boot standings. On 34 minutes Dost looked to have pushed himself into too tight an angle, but he did the business all the same and blasted into the roof of the net.

Tiago Rodrigues (37') tried to get a goal back for Nacional before the break, but it never really looked likely.

The second-half started with an individual effort from Alan Ruiz (53'), before the quality of the action dropped off in the dying stages. Bas Dost and Podence all had chances just before the final whistle, but the big Dutchman's first-half damage proved enough to claim the three points.

Bryan Ruiz again features as an attacking midfielder, this time in Sporting CP's 2-0 win against Nacional

"I am happy with the win and to have set a goal up. I was playing in a position that isn't usually mine because the coach asked me to step in for Adrien, but we will play wherever we have to", said Bryan Ruiz in a flash interview at the final whistle on Saturday night.

Going on to reflect further on his recent introduction as an attacking midfielder, the Alvalade number 10 added: "I already knew a bit how to play in that position, which made things easier. It is just one more position for me and here I have already played on the left, the right and as a second striker. I enjoyed it and I am ready to do it whenever needed."

Although one of the more experienced players in Jorge Jesus' side, Ruiz is also happy to see the Sporting CP coach introducing new blood: "It is important for Sporting CP to use the lads and we will help them grow with our experience."

Jorge Jesus happy with another Liga NOS three points

Jorge Jesus was understandably pleased with his side's 2-0 win against Nacional this weekend, particularly with what he saw as a dominating first-half performance.

"I enjoyed it. It is always important to win and we scored two goals. As far as the performance goes, we did well until Alan Ruiz came off. After that the quality slipped a bit. In defence we never looked in danger and we controlled the few chances Nacional created. I liked how we played in the first-half, but the substitutions didn't work out for us. I thought that the two lads I brought on would do damage with their pace off the ball, but it didn't work out", said Jesus at the final whistle.

Bas Dost found the back of the net again, but Jesus was clearly frustrated with the Dutchman being denied his hattrick: "Bas Dost really was the cherry on the top of the cake tonight. He scored another two goals. I complained about the offside goal and I want to apologise, because the linesmen saw it clearly. A defender was in line with Bas, but the goalkeeper was behind him so he was offside."

Jorge Jesus sets the stage the weekend's Liga NOS action, with Alvalade's youngsters expected to against feature

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Jorge Jesus reaffirmed his confidence in Alvalade's young blood, while stressing the importance of giving the latest batch of Sporting CP talent time to mature.

"Playing for Sporting CP is one thing, playing for Moreirense is another [reference to the return of Daniel Podence and Francisco Geraldes]. We have to be careful with the lads. Gelson Martins had João Mário as an example and when we needed him he stepped up. In relation to Daniel Podence, if anyone believes in him then it is me", opened Jesus.

Nacional are one of the sides who took points of Sporting CP earlier in the season, but the Alvalade is more focused on playing some good football rather than avenging the reverse fixture: "Just like Tondela, Nacional are fighting to stay in this division. Every match is a final for them and that is how they will play tomorrow. Unfortunately for us, they took points off us earlier in the season. We have been playing well recently and hopefully we will get the result and play quality football."

Jorge Jesus finished with a word of praise for Bas Dost, Sporting CP's medical team's work with Adrien and the Alvalade skipper's stand-in, Bryan Ruiz: "We want Bas Dost to finish as the league's top scorer. He can win an individual title, but it will reflect well on the whole team who have helped him. Over the whole season Adrien Silva has been out for four months, but we hope he will be back after the international break and that is down to our medical team. For now I made the right choice with Bryan Ruiz. He played really well against Tondela."

Jokanovic's side looking to find form and escape the relegation zone

It hasn't exactly been a typical season for Nacional. The Madeira based team are generally comfortable in the middle of the table and have even on occasions pushed for a place on the European stage. However and despite currently sitting in 17th, with only Tondela to the rear, Jokanovic's Nacional are on the up and have lost only two in the last seven.

The arrival of Adriano Facchini, Filipe Gonçalves, Zequinha and Aristeguieta have brought in some extra depth to the squad and a recent 7-0 loss to FC Porto was a harsh reflection of the work Nacional have been putting in. Despite the improvement in form, Nacional have let in the second most goals in the league (29).

Down the other end of the pitch, Nacional can boast an impressive average of 12.1 efforts on goal (Sporting CP has an average of 12.7), although only 3.2 are on target.

Looking at Jokanovic's strengths and weaknesses ahead of Saturday's fixture, Nacional have only won once in league encounters in Alvalade (42, in 2005), making Sporting CP the understandable favourite to take away the three points.

The 48 year old Serbian actually players for Nacional, before going on to manage the youth team and senior team on two occasions before his current spell.

The experienced 34 year old made name for himself during four seasons with Gil Vicente. He has let in 13 goals in seven games, but that tally is reduced to 8 if we discount the seven against FC Porto.

Jorge Jesus on Sporting's recent run of draws after a stalemate in Madeira

Sporting CP were held a third consecutive league draw this week. Speaking with the press at the final whistle after the deadlock with Nacional, Jorge Jesus insisted that his team will find their scoring form sooner rather than later.

"We started really strong. We had a fair few chances to get ahead in the first-half, including a penalty. We carried on looking for a goal in the second-half, but the game was very stop-start. We were able to play football in the first-half, but then came a lot of fouls, which is part of what teams looking to defend the result do. The lads did what they could and I thought we showed a good attitude. Of course we were missing a bit of emotional balance at times, but we did everything we could", said the sporting coach going on to reflect on what is now a considerable margin to the top of Liga NOS: "We are seven points off and we have to try our best to turn that around. We will try and push the lads hard during the week, particularly the ones who didn't spend pre-season with us. Defensively we didn't let in any goals and we have to score."

Sporting CP held by Nacional on a foggy night in Madeira

Sporting were held to a stalemate in Madeira this Friday night by Nacional, in a match which saw both teams come together in a tribute to the fight against brest cancer and strokes.

Jorge Jesus made two changes to his side that took on Tondela last weekend, introducing Lazar Markovic and Bruno César for André Filipe and Elias. Sporting did look the most likely to score right from the off and a brilliant chance went wanting in the 8th minute thanks to a last ditch tackle, when William Carvalho saw a penalty saved after a push on Sebastian Coates inside the area.

The team from Alvalade were also looking sure in defence, thanks largely to some calculated defending by Sebastian Coates. On 14 minutes the big Uruguayan dispossessed Hamzaoiu, just before the Algerian broke through against Rui Patrício.

Choupana's typical fog shrouded the stadium half-way through the first 45, but it wasn't enough to slow Sporting's forays forward. Next up it was Gelson Martins with a darting run in the 21st minute, but his shot across the face of goal was denied by a sensational save from Rui Silva. The fans were up celebrating what looked to be a certain goal on the half-hour mark when Bas Dost connected, but the big Dutchman wasted his golden opportunity to open the scoring.

Manuel Machado's dug in after the break and Sporting's attacks slowed. Meanwhile, Nacional started establishing a bulkhead down the other end. On 64 minutes, Ricardo Gomes raced away from Coates and almost got the better of Rui Patrício.

Jesus responded with the replacement of Markovic and Bryan Ruiz for Alan Ruiz and Campbell, but it was Bruno César who came closest in the dying stages, testing his luck on 58’, 74’ and 82’.

Ricardo Gomes had an opportunity to steal the points in the 89th minute, but the Cape Verdean was unable to find the target with his header after getting slightly ahead of Rui Patrício.

Crowd turns out at team hotel ahead of encounter with Nacional

Dozens of Sporting fans made their way to Hotel Meliá in Madeira this afternoon, eager to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars. Goalkeeper Azbe Jug was on hand to oblige, posing for photos and signing shirts.

Sporting will take on Nacional in Estádio da Choupana, at 21h00.

Information for Club Members and fans

Sporting Clube de Portugal headed to Madeira today, ahead of Friday's encounter with Nacional.

The club will hold a some special initiatives for the local and traveling fans:

- Ticket sales for 10€ (with a free postcard gift), from 11h to 17h, at the Hotel Meliá Madeira Mare;

- Autograph session at 15h00 at the same place with one of the players.

Jorge Jesus looks ahead to a tasking trip to Madeira

After last week's slip up to Tondela, Jorge Jesus's side takes aim at Nacional, with a usually difficult trip to Madeira awaiting on Friday.

"It is hard to play against Nacional. It is hard to play Choupana. The big sides have a tough time in this stadium, but we are ready for a competitive match. To come away from Madeira with three points we will have to play well on the attack, like we did against Guimarães. We will face a Nacional team that will play like they usually do", opened the Sporting coach in his pre-match press conference this Thursday afternoon.

For Jesus, it was a meeting of reflection with the press, with the Alvalade boss going on to speak about how his team approaches each game: "We try to get the best out of the team. You can look at that as a strategy for each individual game, but what we do is believe in our players and the way we play. Of course we could look to take advantage of Nacional's weaker points, but the fact that they are letting in goals doesn't mean much.

Sporting CP will take on Nacional at 21h00 on Friday, on Liga NOS matchday 9.