Bryan Ruiz reflects on Wednesday's encounter with Monaco and the use of the captain's armband

Their are plenty of new faces in Alvalade this season, but the pre-season also saw another debut which has been a long time in the making, with Bryan Ruiz given the captain's armband for Sporting's encounter with Monaco on Wednesday night.

"It is a pleasure for me", opened the Costa Rican, before going on to speak about the match itself and the fans: "We did well in the first-half. Of course we were a bit tired after the break and our opponent made the most of that. We will get better as we play more matches, but I would say we deserved more. I want to say thank you to the fans. It is really nice see the fans travel around Europe with us and I hope that carries on."

Jorge Jesus on Sporting's pre-season opener against Monaco

Despite Sporting's 4-1 loss to Monaco this week, Jorge Jesus saw plenty of positives in his squad's performance.

"The result always means something of course, but the most important thing is that the players had to do more than they are ready to at this stage of the pre-season. We did some positive things and the younger lads confirmed the hope we have in them, especially in the first 45 minutes", opened Jesus, referring to the performances of Gelson Martins, Matheus Pereira and Daniel Podence

Jesus finished with a word on the squad as a whole and the choice of the Juan Antonio Samaranch Stadium in Lausanne: "All of the lads did well going forward I thought. In defence we didn't so well, because we couldn't control Monaco's forwards. The location was really well thought out. A lot of Portuguese immigrants live in Switzerland and it is important for the players to be exposed to the fans."

Sporting CP miss out in fiirst pre-season friendly in Switzerland

It was always going to be difficult to keep up with the pace of a Monaco side who are well advanced in their pre-season preparations and it was the pace of the action that made the difference on Wednesday evening, despite a well balanced first-half.

Jorge Jesus opted to maintain the same defensive quartet who closed out last season – Sebastian Coates, Rúben Semedo, Schelotto and Zeegelaar –, while Azbe Jug was handed a start in goal. Sporting's attack was trusted to the young trio of Matheus Pereira, Gelson Martins and Daniel Podence, in support of Hernán Barcos. In the midfield, Petrovic made his debut, while Bryan Ruiz was handed the captain's armband.

Sporting got the game off to an exciting start, with the young trio up front and down the wings combining well. That was precisely how the first chance materialised, when Matheus Pereira carried play down the left flank in the 10th minute and linked up with Daniel Podence down the middle. The ball ended up at Gelson's feet, but the youngster was unable to find the target with hsi shot across the face of goal. Despite the early Alvalade dominance, it was Monaco who took the lead, when Gemain converted on a cross from Mandy in the 12th minute.

The goal did little to shake Sporting's confidence, as Podence led another wave of attacks before finally getting a deserved goal. Hernán Barcos did well to pick out the young forward, who kept his cool in front of Badiashile to level the scoreboard. However, Monaco took just seconds to reply, when Falcão restored the lead following an attack down the left.

Matheus Pereira had a chance before the break with a free-kick that was just inches off the mark, before pulling an instinctive save out of Badiashile in the 36th minute following a corner whipped in by Bryan Ruiz.

Jesus sent his squad out unchanged after the break and they could have equalised after just a minute of action, but Bryan Ruiz's cheeky chipped effort finished just wide after a superb pass from Matheus.

The Sporting coach rang the changes as the half progressed, bringing on Palhinha, Teo, Iuri Medeiros, Bruno César and Slimani for Petrovic, Podence, Matheus Pereira, Gelson Martins and Hernán Barcos, but the alteration had barely bedded in when Monaco extended their lead from a quick break and a lethal pass of Dirar, rounded off by the movement of Falcão (66’).

Monaco pushed the pace in the closing stages and Guido Carrillo made it 4-1 with eight minutes left to play.

Aquilani and Jefferson were also given a run out in place of Bryan Ruiz and Zeegelaar.

Spalvis looking to shine in pre-season

Sporting CP are already in Switzerland under the watchful eye of Jorge Jesus, with the Alvalade new faces having the chance to attract attention head of the coming campaign.

"Everything is great. This is a new experience for me and I think it is going well. Not all of the players can speak English, but they are all good lads and the squad is great. We don't feel isolated at all, we are part of a team", said Spalvis in an interview this Tuesday afternoon.

For the 21-year old Lithuanian, pre-season is a chance to earn a place in the squad: "Pre-season is always difficult, especially at the start. We have four hard games coming up and I am looking forward to getting started."

Groups of fans turn out to catch a glipse of their favourite stars in Geneva

Sporting CP touched down in Switzerland on Monday night, with dozens of fans eagerly awaiting at the airport for the contingent led by president Bruno de Carvalho to arrive.

It was a special moment for the Portuguese immigrant community in the region, who can now look forward to seeing Jorge Jesus' side in action.

Club announces prices for pre-season friendlies in Lausanne

Ticket prices for Sporting CP's friendlies in Lausanne, Switzerland, have been announced as follows:

AS Monaco - Sporting CP (13/7, 20H30CET, Juan Antonio Samaranch Stadium, Lausanne)

Normal (17.5€ /19 Swiss Francs)

Student (13.8€/15 Swiss Francs)

Child (4.6€/5 Swiss Francs)

Executive:

Normal (26.7€/29 Swiss Francs)

Student (18.4€/20 Swiss Francs)

Child (4.6€/5 Swiss Francs)

VIP

One price (91€/99 Swiss Francs)

FC Stade Nyonnais - Sporting CP (14/7, 20H00CET, Colovray Stadium, Nyon)

Standing (13.8€/15 Swiss Francs)

Seated (23€/25 Swiss Francs)

Zenit - Sporting CP (16/7, 19H00CET, Chaill Stadium, Montreaux)

Normal (17.5€/19 Swiss Francs)

Student (13.8€/15 Swiss Francs)

Children (4.6€/5 Swiss Francs)

Executive:

Normal (26.7€/29 Swiss Francs)

Student (18.4€/20 Swiss Francs)

Child (4.6€/5 Swiss Francs)

Sporting CP - PSV Eindhoven (18/7, 20H30CET, Stade de la Fontenette, Carouge)

Normal (17.5€/19 Swiss Francs)

Student (13.8€/15 Swiss Francs)

Child (4.6€/5 Swiss Francs)

Executive:

Normal (26.7€/29 Swiss Francs)

Student (18.4€/20 Swiss Francs)

Child (4.6€/5 Swiss Francs)

VIP

Single price (91€/99 Swiss Francs)

Serbian enjoying his time at Alvalade so far

Radosav Petrovic is one of Sporting's most exciting signings in what has been a busy summer transfer window and the 27-year old couldn't be happier with the quality of hsi new squad. Speaking exclusively with Sporting TV after Saturday's training session, the midfielder reflected on his time in Lisbon so far.

"It was my first training session, so I am a bit tired. It is normal. We are at the start of pre-season, but the two weeks we have done so far have been excellent. The most important thing is that we keep up the pace now and I feel great. The players have made me feel really welcome and I am really happy with everyone. We have great facilities here now and it is up to us to put the work in."

The Serbian international went on to reveal what Jorge Jesus had already shared with him: "I am still at the beginning. The coach showed me what he wants me to do in my position. I am trying to take on everything, so that I am ready for the start of the season. Today we trained with the B team and it was important for us to iron out any mistakes. I see a lot of quality in the squad, with four in the Portuguese national tam right now. There are a lot of really talented young players here and the atmosphere is great."

Slimani, Podence and Spalvis in top form with two goals each

The squad had their first kick around of the pre-season this Saturday morning, in a session pitting the senior team against the B team in a match that finished with 10 goals.

After getting his players warmed up, Jorge Jesus fez put out his first XI of the season. After 60 minutes of action on what was an exceptionally warm day, the Sporting coach rang the changes and it wasn't long before Slimani, Podence and Spalvis had put the result to bed.

Jorge Jesus with a squad of 32 for the 8th pre-season session

The squad were back out on the pitch this week for what was their 8th pre-season training session of the pre-season.

The session also gave the players a chance to wish Alberto Aquilani happy birthday, with the Italian even being presented a cake by his teammates! Meanwhile Wallyson is being introduced to full training after recovering from injury.

Squad in full:

Azbe Jug, Vladimir Stojkovic, Guilherme Oliveira, Luís Maximiano, João Pereira, Ezequiel Schelotto, Ricardo Esgaio, André Geraldes, Sebastián Coates, Paulo Oliveira, Ewerton, Naldo, Rúben Semedo, Jefferson, Marvin Zeegelaar, Bruno Paulista, Radosav Petrovic, João Palhinha, Ryan Gauld, Alberto Aquilani, Federico Ruiz, Bruno César, Carlos Mané, Daniel Podence, Gelson Martins, Matheus Pereira, Iuri Medeiros, Alan Ruiz, Bryan Ruiz, Lukas Spalvis, Hernán Barcos and Islam Slimani.

Alvalade open to mark club anniversary

The entire first team squad was in Estádio José Alvalade this Friday, to celebrate the club's 110th anniversary.

Jorge Jesus was also out on the pitch, along with president Bruno de Carvalho and Octávio Machado, mixing with the hundreds of fans who had packed out the stands to mark the occasion.