Rodrigo Battaglia secures Alvalade move

Rodrigo Battaglia officially signed in at Alvalade this week, making the move to the capital from Sp. Braga. Despite interest from a wealth of club's the Argentinean didn't hesitate to pick Alvalade.

"I am really happy and thankful for the opportunity to represent Sporting CP. I will do my best for this club", affirmed Battaglia after penning the deal, adding: "I have been in Portugal for four years now and I have always thought Sporting CP was a massive club, but now I can see it is even better than I could ever imagine. I have played in Alvalade three times already and really felt the pressure from the fans. They push the players a lot and I can't wait to play here.

Jefferson and Ricardo Esgaio

Sporting Clube de Portugal – Futebol, SAD has reached an agreement with Sporting Clube de Braga – Futebol, SAD for the temporary loan of Jefferson and the permanent transfer of Ricardo Esgaio, with Sporting CP maintaining 20% of the player's economic rights.

Sporting SAD wishes Jefferson and Ricardo Esgaio the best of personal and professional success.

Jorge Jesus sees Sunday's win in Braga as more than deserved and looks to Bas Dost as inspiration for the rest of the squad

Jorge Jesus spoke with the press after his side's 3-2 win in Braga this Sunday afternoon and the Alvalade boss was sure to thank the players and fans for the tribute to his father, who passed away last week.

"My players always want to give me wins and it would have been a huge injustice if we didn't get the three points today. We were really good in the first-half, we missed a penalty and Sp. Braga scored from the only chance they had. This team is growing with every game and we just need a bit more defensively. At half-time I told the lads that goals will come, but that we had to defend better out wide", said Jesus, adding a word on the unstoppable form of Bas Dost: "Bas has the mentality of champion, the image of what I want the future of Sporting CP to be. If he can win the Golden Boot, well Messi is having a really good end to the season."

Bas Dost hattrick sinks Sp. Braga

An injury, a missed penalty and five goals made for an emotional afternoon in Braga this Sunday, with Sporting CP coming away with the three points on Liga NOS matchday 31 courtesy of a hattrick from none other than Bas Dost.

Jorge Jesus' side were dealt an early below with an injury picked up by Alan Ruiz in the 25th minute, which saw the striker carried away to the dressing rooms obviously suffering with his right knee. Not to worry though, as Bas Dost was of course on hand to compensate. With another hattrick added to his personal tally, Dost has now netted on 31 occasions in 28 Liga NOS appearances, totalling 50% of all of Sporting CP 's goals scored in league matches so far this season. The three strikes also keeps up the pressure on Lionel Messi in the race for this season's Golden Boot.

Despite the Dutchman's masterclass, it was a hard afternoon's work for the team from the Portuguese capital, who battled through to secure three points in tribute to Jorge Jesus after the Alvalade boss lost his father during the week. On 13 minutes Ricardo Horta opened the scoring after capitalising on a shot from Rui Fonte that fell into his path after hitting the woodwork. Trailing, Sporting CP rallied on the attack, but possession was proving difficult to translate into chances.

With Podence thrust into the action in place of the injured Ruiz, Sporting CP's first chance to equaliser soon materialised. The number 56 was brought crashing down for a penalty and Adrien Silva stepped up for the spot kick, which he uncharacteristically put wide. Despite a good string of chances, led mostly through the restless Gelson Martins, Sp. Braga held on to their slender lead until the break. However, the second-half was a completely different story, with the starting gun fired from the penalty spot by Bas Dost as Marcelo Goiano fouled Gelson Martins in the area.

Jorge Jesus' charges needed just another 15 minutes to go 2-1 up, when Bas Dost did the business after a pass from Zeegelaar. Braga responded four minutes later when Rui Fonte made the most of a defensive mix-up, but Sporting's Dutch assassin wasn't about to be out done and Dost rounded off his hattrick with a header from a cross whipped in by Schelotto.

Jorge Jesus names squad to face Braga

Jorge Jesus has named his squad for Liga NOS matchday 31 against Sp. Braga on Sunday (18h00).

1 – Rui Patrício
2 – Ezequiel Schelotto
4 – Jefferson
10 – Bryan Ruiz
11 – Bruno César
13 – Sebastian Coates
14 – William Carvalho
15 – Paulo Oliveira
18 – Francisco geraldes
20 – Luc Castaignos
23 – Adrien Silva
28 – Bas Dost
31 – Marvin Zeegelaar
34 – Beto Pimparel
35 – Rúben Semedo
47 – Ricardo Esgaio
56 – Daniel Podence
77 – Gelson Martins
99 – Alan Ruiz

Raul José guarantees a strong Sporting CP for the weekend's trip to Braga

Standing in for Jorge Jesus in this Saturday's pre-match press conference, Raul José promised "a strong Sporting CP", in tribute to the Alvalade coach following the death of his father this week.

"Whenever you lose a loved one it is always painful, but Jorge will be back with the same dedication and passion and the players are with him to get the win on Sunday", opened the Sporting CP assistant coach, adding: "Winning is always the priority for Sporting CP. We are with Jorge (Jesus) and we will go to Braga to get the win with the support of the fans."

As for the weekend's opposition and Sporting CP's chances of still finishing 2nd in Liga NOS, Raul José commented: ""Sp. Braga have some great players and are always strong at home. They have shown against the big teams that they are a solid team, who are difficult to play against. We will have to be at our best to win. We are focused on winning our games and at the end we will see where we finish."

Central defender arrives from Sp. Braga at the age of 27

Sporting CP has reached an agreement for the central defender André Pinto, with the Portuguese international arriving on a four-year deal from Sp. Braga.

Standing at 1.90m tall, the 27-year old already has quite the name for himself, built up during spells with FC Porto, Vit. Setúbal, Portimonense, Olhanense, Panathinaikos and Sp. Braga.

Ticket news for Liga NOS matchday 31 and 32

Sporting Clube de Portugal has announced ticketing information for the coming Liga NOS fixtures (ticket offices open from 10h to 20h).

Matchday 31
Match: Sp. Braga vs Sporting CP
Date: 30th of April (Sunday) at 18h
Location: Braga Municipal Stadium
Price: 20€
Sales: Thursday and Friday in Alvalade

Matchday 32
Match: Sporting CP vs CF Os Belenenses
Date: 7th of May (Sunday) at 11h45
Location: Estádio José Alvalade
Prices from: 5€ (Member) or 13€ (fan)
SALES ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE

The match against CF Os Belenenses will be dedicated to Sporting CP's ladies, with various special offers:

Ladies ticket + exclusive scarf: club member 7€ or fan 13€

- promotion only valid at Estádio José Alvalade ticket offices
- ticker available for any sector of the stadium (subject to availability)
- Scarf offer subject to availability

Anti-crisis tickets (from 5€ and exclusively for club members) and family tickets (21€ for 3 people, one of whom must be a club member with fees paid up to date) are also available.

Wilson Eduardo's 70th minute stike takes three points in Alvalade

Sporting CP slipped to a harsh defeat against Sp. Braga (0-1) this Sunday evening, on Liga NOS matchday 14.

As expected, Jorge Jesus' team took the game by the scruff of the neck early on, creating a series of chances that somehow always managed to find their way into the visiting keeper's hands. As the game progressed, it became clear that neither Bryan Ruiz or Gelson Martins were having their best night in front of goal. Meanwhile, Sp. Braga, temporarily led by the former Sporting player Abel Ferreira, managed to creep their way back into the game and strung together a handful of chances through Wilson Eduardo (6' and 15') and Rui Fonte (32').

After a frantic spell of attacking football down both ends, Gelson came agonisingly close to opening the scoring, when he drilled a shot against the post on the half-hour mark. Looking threatening on the break, Sp. Braga sat back an absorbed the pressure and neither side had found the back of the net when the half-time whistle sounded.

Gelson broke through on goal shortly after the restart and again managed to hit the woodwork. More organised, Jorge Jesus' side looked by far the most likely to score, but some sloppy finishing was punished by a shot from range from Wilson Eduardo with twenty minutes left on the clock.

Holding a slender lead, Sp. Braga bedded down in front of goal and sapped the pace out of the action, courtesy largely of some exaggerated stoppages. Sporting CP threw everything forward in an attempt to scrap a point, but as the final whistle blew the points headed back to Braga.

Jorge Jesus sits down with the press ahead of Sunday's hosting of Sp. Braga

There would be no better present for the Alvalade faithful than a win against Sp. Braga this Sunday, on Liga NOS matchday 14. However, Jorge Jesus has warned of the danger posed by the weekend's visitors from the north.

"We try to play the best football we can every week. Braga are top team though, with a long tradition. We will be facing a competent team who believe they can win points in Alvalade, so it will be a tight game", opened Jorge Jesus, before dismissing any negative impact of Braga's recent change of command: "They will be basically the same side. A new coach won't change much in a day or two. The general spirit of things were set by Peseiro, the new coach will make the spare of the moment decisions. I am expecting a strong Braga, who are just one point behind us right now."

To finish, Jesus bushed off comparisons to last season's campaign, reaffirming his side's title aspirations: "What has changed? Some played have come in and some have left and our opponents are better than they were last years. The season goes through spells and that doesn't mean it will stay like it is now. We are a much more consistent team today and our opponents recognise what we are capable of. We are competing in a league where anything can change from one second to the next. Right now we have less points than at the same period last season, but things can change."