Midfielder picks up thigh muscle injury against V. Guimarães

Adrien Silva suffered a muscle injury to the left thigh against V. Guimarães and was substituted after 36 minutes.

"We have no idea how we let in three goals"

While congratulating Guimarães for coming back from three-nil down, Jorge Jesus considered the draw as a harsh reflection of his side's performance.

"We were a quality side for 75 minutes, with some really dynamic, quick and creative football. We scored three and everyone was probably expecting us to score four. Up until the penalty we controlled the match. It was us who played for the win, although Vit. Guimarães deserve merit for what they did in the final stages", said Jorge Jesus in his post-match conference, adding: "With tiredness hurting us we lost a bit of aggressiveness and we couldn't win the second balls. It was all Sporting for 75 minutes and we have no idea how we let in three goals. It is a shame, because we deserved to win. I congratulate Vit. Guimarães, because they believed they could get back into it."

Sporting CP dominates for 74 minutes before conceding three

It was an extremely harsh final result after how Sporting dominated in D. Afonso Henriques. In fact, Jorge Jesus' side led 3-0 at one point, before two goals from Marega in the space of just a minute gave Vit. Guimarães the momentum to snatch a draw.

The encounter got off to a well balanced start, with neither team really willing to throw anything forward. Guimarães did have a half chance early on when a well placed pass picked out Marega, but the winger took a poor first touch and was able to capitalise. After 20 minutes Jorge Jesus' side took control, holding down long spells of possession and probing forward almost at will. The first big chance came from a snap shot by Adrien, denied by a fine save from Douglas.

The opportunity was a warning for the coming goal and who else but Gelson to rip open the Guimarães defence with a dazzling run and shot that Douglas parried into the path of Markovic for the opener. The goal triggered an avanlance of attacking football from the team from Alvalade and Rúben Semedo came close to doubling the lead, but his looping header ended up with wrong side of the post after a corner from Bryan Ruiz. However it didn't take long for Sporting to find the back of the net for a second time, when Coates made the most of Douglas' miscalculated run off his line. There was however bad news for Jesus at the end of the first-half, when Adrien was forced off through injury (replaced by Elias).

Sporting looked even more dominant after the break and chances naturally followed. First it was Markovic to break through on goal, but the Serbian was unable to beat the isolated Guimarães keeper. It was Elias who fired in Sporting's third, with a well placed effort from outside of the area.

The result looked secure, however a penalty against William Carvalho saw Marega pull one back from the spot in the 74th minute to give the hosts a lift. Just one minute later, the winger on loan from FC Porto converted on a cross to put his side back into contention. Soares scored the equaliser with one minute to play after latching on to a free-kick.

Jorge Jesus looks ahead to Saturday's visit to Guimarães

Sporting will travel to Guimarães tomorrow for what is always a tricky encounter. While Sporting have been in blistering form, Vitória are having a solid start to the campaign, having tallied 10 points. 

Jorge Jesus proved well aware of the difficulties awaiting, but guaranteed that his team have done their homework in preparation to go for the three points: "We have to be as careful as possible when traveling to Guimarães. It is a hard stadium to go to and win, but we are ready for what they will throw at us. Our objective is the three points."

Gelson Martins was also an inevitable talking point in the day's press conference, after the youngster was given his first international senior cap. "Gelson had a great season last year and this year he is making a name for himself, but he still has a long way to go. He is a young lad who knows how good he is and right now he is the only player in Portugal who can bring magic, creativity, speed and the positioning he has learnt at Sporting. It won't be long before Rúben Semedo is called up as well", finished Jesus.

Alvalade side on the road for Portuguese Cup 3rd round

Sporting Clube de Portugal has been drawn against Famalicão in the Portuguese Cup 3rd round. Jorge Jesus will travel to the team in the north of Portugal on the 16th of October, in a fixture moved forward two days ahead of Sporting's Champions League hosting of Borussia Dortmund.

Gelson Martins ecstatic with first senior international cap

Gelson Martins was named with the nation's stars for the first time this week, included in Portugal's squad list for two coming internationals.

"I feel proud. I am still only 21 and I want to carry on growing, but this is really important for me", said Gelson at the news of his inclusion, adding: "This was one of my objectives. First I had to play well for Sporting and then I could represent my country. I have learnt a lot (with Jorge Jesus) and he has been really important for me."

Fernando Santos names quad for matches with Andorra and Faroe Islands

Fernando Santos has named a squad of 24 for the coming matches against Andorra (7th of October) and the Faroe Islands (10th of October).

The big news is Gelson Martins first senior international call up, after the youngster's brilliant start to the season.

Sales information for Liga NOS matchday seven

Tickets for Liga NOS matchday 7, between Vitória Sport Clube and Sporting Clube de Portugal will go on sale at the Estádio José Alvalade ticket office as follows:

WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY (10H TO 20H) | Gamebox 2016/2017 holders
FRIDAY (10H TO 15H) | Club Members
FRIDAY (15H ÀS 20H) | General public

Club members must show a valid Gamebox or Member card (August 2016 fees applicable), with each card valid for one ticket. Each person may bring a maximum of four cards.

V. Guimarães vs. Sporting will get underway at 18h15 on Saturday the 1st of October, in Estádio Dom Afonso Henriques. Tickets are for the North Goal End and are priced at 15€ each.

Bruno César reflects on Tuesday's Champions League win

Bruno César was handed a somewhat surprising start higher up the pitch against Legia Warsaw this Tuesday, but the Brazilian all-rounder looked like a natural in support of Bas Dost in the Alvalade attack.

"It was a hard match, but it was different to what we did in Madrid. We knew we had to win, after everything we did in the Santiago Bernabéu and in the league. We scored in the first-half and managed the game after that. Our objective is to get into the next round and every game is important now. Borussia are a good team and we will have to be at our best", said the Brazilian at the final whistle.

Sporting in cruise control on Champions League matchday 2

Sporting CP outclassed Legia Warsaw on Champions League matchday 2 this Tuesday night, securing 3 points with a 2-0 win to put the pressure on group leaders Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid.

The game actually got off to tense start for Jesus's side, with Legia looking to show that they had shaken off the matchday 1 thrashing by Dortmund (6-0) by venturing forward against what was expected to be a dominating Sporting.

However, the Polish visitor's resistance didn't keep up for long and as soon as Sporting turned up the pace, possession and opportunities followed. First to try his look was Bruno César with one of his usually audacious efforts from range (10'), followed by Adrien a minute later (11'). Bruno César was having a terrorising night going forward and in the 17th minute the stand-in midfielder picked out Bas Dost in the heart of the area, but the Dutchman's shot was cut out by Czerwinski as he raced back into position. One minute later, Gelson somehow managed to hammer a rebound off the underside of the cross bar and out to safety from little more than three metres away.

The first big cheer of the night came in the 26th minute, but it wasn't because the ball was in the back of the net, at least not in Alvalade. Over in England, former Alvalade hero Islam Slimani had opened the scoring against FC Porto and the news was enthusiastically welcomed in Alvalade.

Slimani's goal over a thousand miles away was the signal for Sporting's opener, when Bryan Ruiz popped up at the far post (28') for a goal that had been coming pretty much since the opening whistle.Bas Dost has a couple of opportunities to double the lead with a header wide (32') and an effort cut out by Rzezniczak (35'), before it was third time lucky for the Dutchman with a shot that sent Malarz the wrong way.

With the result essentially guaranteed, the rest of the encounter was largely just management for Sporting, as minds turn to a generally tough encounter with Guimarães at the weekend.