Sporting Lisbon: Alisson & Champions League Rise | Match Report

Sporting seemed doomed to succumb to their own mistakes. For almost an hour in San Mamés, that’s what happened. But, as has always happened, there was no lack of attitude or fighting spirit, and that was how the “lions” entered the elite of European football. In another epic night in the Champions League, Sporting guaranteed direct qualification for the round of 16, beating Athletic Bilbao 2-3, with a goal from Alisson Santos guaranteeing the triumph and 7th place in the League stage, while teams like Inter, PSG or Real Madrid will have the additional burden of two more games of play-off in February.

Rui Borges put together an “eleven” slightly different from what he usually presents. In addition to Diomande’s return to the defense axis, Daniel Bragança started to play in a central attacking position, which forced Trincão to move to the left — and he is no longer used to playing on the flank. But Bragança, in theory, would also provide criteria for distribution and some firepower in the Basque area. But it wasn’t even possible to see if the plan would work, because Athletic came in eagerly, and Sporting let themselves be swallowed up.

The “lions” started the game making uncharacteristic mistakes in the defense-attack transition and the Basques were there to take advantage. At 3′, in one of those moments, Athletic took the lead. Confusion with the ball, which did not leave the area, and a deflection through Hjulmand’s legs left it at the mercy of Oihan Sancet, who, with a crossed shot, made it 1-0. It was not at all unexpected that the Basques, fed by the atmosphere of San Mamés, came in with everything. What was strange was that Sporting didn’t even enter.

And things continued like this for a few more minutes, until Sporting won a corner with a rare attack from Fresneda. From the kick, Maxi sent the ball into the area and the returning Diomande headed it in for the equalizer. Only 12 minutes had passed and Sporting seemed to be correcting their false start, stabilizing and going in search of the result. This seemed to happen over the next 15 minutes.

At 26′, Gonçalo Inácio was injured and Rui Borges replaced Matheus Reis. It would be the Brazilian defender who made the mistake that put Athletic back in command. At 28′, Matheus was careless in a duel with Guruzeta, lost the ball and didn’t go after it. The Basque forward went into the area, shot at the post and, on the rebound, made it 2-1. Sporting had learned nothing from their entry into the game — even Hjulmand, usually an impassive leader, seemed infected by lethargy.

Rui Borges had to change something. Quaresma, Morita and Pedro Gonçalves entered, Diomande, Simões and Bragança left, and the team seemed to return to normal, especially with the presence of the 8. Sporting gained a lot with these changes and did something they had never done before, they started to be on top and frequently approached Unai Simón’s goal.

Not even ten minutes had passed and the “lions” had already leveled the score. In interior areas, Pedro Gonçalves isolated Trincão, who scored the equalizer. There was still almost half an hour to play and Sporting, with the emotional upsurge in San Mamés, had the game in hand.

With less than five minutes remaining, Borges launched his secret weapon in the Champions League. In added time, Suárez was left alone to duel with Simón, but the Spanish international won. The ball stayed there, was recycled for a new attack and Alisson, as he has done, shot and was happy. It is said that the young Brazilian could be leaving for Naples, but given what he has achieved (three goals, all in the Champions League), perhaps Sporting shouldn’t let him leave.