It was a dramatically intense season for the club, where things went really wrong in the final third of the season. This was the third season with Jorge Jesus at the helm, and titles were being highly requested from both the fans and the board. Leões actually clinched the first title of the season – Taça da Liga – and almost grabbed their second one, but eventually lost in the Taça de Portugal final against modest Desportivo das Aves. On top of that, Sporting even did a decent Europa League run, having been narrowly knocked-out by the eventual winners Atlético de Madrid. However, none of that seemed to compensate the very disappointing way Sporting ended up being third in League, only one point away from 4th place Braga.
The first six rounds went real smoothly for ‘Leões’, and it soon seemed it was going to be a two-ways challenge with Porto, as Benfica was already dropping points by that time while looking clumsy in their wins as well. However, three draws in just 5 rounds made it all look bad for Sporting. Especially when two of them were while playing at Alvalade, and the one on the road was against the bottom of the table side Moreirense.
Sporting bounced back and had a good run of four wins that made them get back at first place, tied up with Porto, who had lost four points in that period. However, it was a brief taste at leadership as then Sporting would take a very bad run of away games: a draw at Estádio da Luz seemed only natural, but then another draw against Setúbal and a shameful defeat against the last of the table Estoril might have been the crucial moment on Sporting’s league season. Further away, Sporting’s visits to Porto and Braga ended up in defeat and the club went into a crisis.
Right after the defeat at 1.º de Maio, Sporting picked a defeat at Vicente Calderon. It seemed like normal business to lose 0-2 against the big favourites in an international competition, and yet with the second leg yet to be played at home. But inflammatory chairman Bruno Carvalho didn’t take it that way, and started a campaign against the players that ended really bad.
After some comeback in the table that almost got them the second place, Sporting lost the final match yet again on the road, this time at Estádio dos Barreiros. The unstable environment created by the chairman some weeks before resulted in a barbaric episode with some fans severely injuring some players, which was not firmly criticized by Bruno de Carvalho.
The club ends the season with at least one title (better than their rivals Benfica), but they’re having the biggest crisis of their history which must be solved quickly and smoothly in order to have the proper conditions for a decent season start, in a couple of months. As for now, many names might be dropped, including the coach Jorge Jesus, or even the chairman himself Bruno Carvalho. Some of the most important players are also talking about moving out immediately.
Inside the pitch, the best man throughout the whole season was the sensational playmaker Bruno Fernandes. The former Udinese and Sampdoria midfielder arrived at Alvalade to replace the former captain Adrien Silva, but soon it was visible that Sporting managed to do an upgrade there. Bruno Fernandes was decisive in many matches, either with precise assists or even with goals, having had 16 in the season, 11 of which in league. Bas Dost was the club’s top scorer, as expected, collecting 27 goals only in league. Gelson and William had slightly disappointing seasons, even if their influence was still noticeable at times. Rui Patrício had a great season which ended in an unfortunate big mistake in the last match that may have cost that match for Sporting and eventually the second place on the table. Coates and Mathieu formed a very solid duo at the back.
