43,000 tickets already sold for Liga NOS matchday 30 Lisbon derby

Sporting CP informs that 43,000 tickets have already been sold for the Lisbon derby, on Liga NOS matchday 30. The remaining 7,000 tickets will be put on sale for club members, with each member able to purchase up to two tickets (ticket officers open from 10h to 20h):

CENTRAL – STAND A | Club Member (€45) or guest (€70)

CENTRAL – STAND B | Club Member (€40) or guest (€60)

Children under the age of three are not permitted for this high risk match and all spectators must have a valid ticket.

João Pereira brushes off Sunday's Lisbon derby defeat

João Pereira took a moment to speak with the press at the final whistle on Sunday, affirming that the loss will do little to shake Sporting CP's title chase.

"I thought we had a great second-half. Nothing is going to shake us, we are in the fight. Even when we were losing 2-0, we did everything we could to turn the result around. The boss looked at Benfica's weaknesses and told us how we could get at them, but unfortunately we didn't get the result", said the Portuguese international.

Jorge Jesus unhappy with the evening's refereeing

The Lisbon derby's refereeing was the obvious choice for the first round of questions in Jorge Jesus' post-match press conference on Sunday and the Alvalade boss didn't pull his punches.

“We were penalised. There were two crucial incidents that Jorge Sousa didn't see. Pizzi involuntarily controlled the ball with his hand inside the area, which led to the counter attack that Salvio scored from. Then it was another bad decision from the referee in the incident with Nélson (Semedo). We are being constantly penalised and it takes points off us. The refereeing team was not up to the standard of the big teams. We were penalised and we lost, despite being the best team. The first incident didn't give Benfica a goal, but if the play had been stopped like it should have then the attack would never have happened", said Jorge Jesus.

The Alvalade boss was also asked about his decision to bring off Bas Dost in the second-half, to which he responded: ""Dost isn't the fastest player and he was tired. We needed pace and a player who could push the intensity a bit. That was the idea behind bringing on André."

Jesus went on to analyse the evening's encounter in greater depth, considering his side the most dominant after the break: "For me, it was a good match between two great teams. Sporting CP did a lot better in the second-half and Ederson was the best player on the pitch. Rui (Patrício) didn't have a lot to do in the first-half and straight after Benfica's second goal Bas Dost hit he post. Without taking away from how Benfica played, we were beaten by refereeing decisions."

Two clear penalty appeals waved away in harsh defeat in Estádio da Luz

Sporting CP missed out in Estádio da Luz this Sunday evening (2-1), on Liga NOS matchday 13.

Jorge Jesus' side made an encouraging start to the encounter and in the space of two minutes (8' and 9') the first two chances materialised, both down the same flank. First it was Gelson who tried his luck after tricking his way into the box, but the youngster's shot lacked venom and was comfortably collected by the Benfica keeper, before Bas Dost came up an inch short of linking up with a pin point pass from Bryan Ruiz.

The game was actually brought to a temporary halt in the 15th minute, when referee Jorge Sousa was forced to ask for Sporting CP's technical area and a section of the pitch to be cleaned, due to the number of papers being thrown onto the pitch. In the second-half the same problem came up again, this time with the stadium announcer requesting the fans to refrain from throwing the papers from the evening's choreography onto the pitch.

Everything looked to be going to plan for a dominating Sporting CP, before referee Jorge Sousa failed to pick up on a handball by Pizzi after a clearance by Lindelof (24'). To add insult to injury, Salvio opened the scoring from the resulting attack. The evening's official again attracted the negative limelight five minutes before the break, this time by not punishing a handball Nélson Semedo.

The second-half got underway with a stinging shot against the post from Bas Dost (46') after a pass from Joel Campbell, who had been introduced at the break for Bruno César. Jesus was looking for an injection of pace and that is exactly what the Costa Rican brought, reflecting the work being done down the other flank by Gelson Martins. A minute after the Dutchman's attempt, Raul doubled Benfica's lead following some sloppy play in the area, before Sporting CP finally got a more than deserved goal (69') that in all honesty did little to help the fans forget the evening's refereeing.

Jorge Jesus expecting Adrien and Gelson to be available for Sunday's Lisbon derby

Jorge Jesus spoke with the press in a much awaited press conference this Saturday afternoon, ahead of a Lisbon derby that sees Sporting CP and SL Benfica currently separated by just two points at the top of Liga NOS.

"The derby is always special, independent of who the two teams are doing in the league. What the table looks like right now doesn't mean anything and both sides are under pressure. Both sides have to win. Honestly, it will be the team that controls the emotional part of the game that will be best positioned to win", opened the Sporting CP coach, before speaking about his options for the Liga NOS matchday 13 encounter: "We have had a few problems with a couple of the players since coming back from Poland, particularly Adrien and Gelson, who haven't trained since we arrived. We will see how the lads are tomorrow, we still still have a bit of time."

The press were understandably keen to provoke a reaction out of Jorge Jesus, with the Sporting CP coach having managed both Lisbon giants. However, the Alvalade boss played it cool: "Both of us lost in the Champions League and we both have the chance to be at the top of the league. We are both on the same level right now and this will be an intense game for both of us. We are confident in how we play and we know we can win the three points. The way this team has grown, both defensively and offensively, over the last 18 months means that we can deal with whatever Benfica throw at us."

To finish, Jesus highlighted the importance of the extra experience in his side, which is packed full of Euro 2016 winners: "Being a European champion is a sign of the individual quality of a player and that reflects in our team. If my memory serves be right, not a single one will be playing against us tomorrow. Each derby is a derby and this will be my 20th. It will be a really intense game and this is the kind of occasion that the players love."

Lazar Markovic shares his thoughts on Sunday's Lisbon derby

Lazar Markovic was inevitably called upon to share his thoughts ahead of this Sunday's Lisbon derby, having played on both sides of the fence.

"We will be looking for the three points for our fans and to put us top of the league. Our coach knows what he is doing and we believe in ourselves", said the 22-year old Serbian in an interview with Sporting TV, before going on to reflect in his time at Alvalade so far: "It is a great club. I am really happy to be here and I will carry on doing by best."

Under-20 world champion one of Portugal's most promising youngsters

Sporting CP has officially agreed a contract with Gonçalo Nunes, who actually represented Benfica last season. Aged just 17, Nunes is already under-20 world champion.

Gonçalo Nunes, trained just down the road at Paço de Arcos, couldn't hide his satisfaction with the move: "It is a dream come true for any player to get into the senior team, especially at a club like Sporting."

Octávio Machado on the lack of punishment for Benfica

Octávio Machado gave a hard-hitting press conference following Sunday's Liga NOS fixtures, in what were the last of the season.

"Penalties are only against Benfica after the 95th minute, when they are already winning 5-0. It happened in the first match against Estoril when it was 0-0 and it happened again today, against Nacional. In the last match of the season, the decisive match, another penalty was not given when the game was 0-0", said Sporting's director of football.

Rui Patrício on Saturday's loss to Benfica

Speaking with the press at the final whistle on Saturday night, Rui Patrício put his side's loss down to a lack of effectiveness in front of goal.

"Benfica scored from the only chance they had, but football can be like that. I think we played really well and we had a lot of chances that we didn't make the most of. That was the only difference", commented the Alvalade keeper at the final whistle, before guaranteeing that the league is still far from decided: "There are still a lot of games to play. We will fight to the end and this result honesty doesn't' change anything."

Jorge Jesus comments on Saturday's loss to Benfica

Speaking with the press at the final whistle on Saturday night, Jorge Jesus considered the final result to be far from a fair reflection of what happened on the pitch.

"Benfica left here today without knowing how they won. Even a draw would have been bad for Sporting after what happened out there tonight, but losing is worse. Football can be like this sometimes and all that really matters is who won. I really want to give credit to my players, because I thought they were brilliant and absolutely dominated Benfica in the second-half", opened the Alvalade boss, adding: "Benfica scored, but Rui Patrício didn't have to make a single save all night. Benfica didn't even create a single chance and we managed to pull off some impossible misses.

"Despite the result, Sporting showed that we are a lot stronger. Sometimes even teams who play like small clubs win", Jesus went on to add, before reaffirming that the title race is still on: "We have lost first place before and got it back. The lads know that we are capable going top of the table again and that is what we will try and do."