Sporting 2-1 Benfica (a.e.t.)
Sporting came from behind to beat Benfica in extra time and make progress to the 5th round of the Portuguese Cup in a typically intense Lisbon derby at the Alvalade tonight.
Mitroglou gave Benfica an early lead, with Adrien equalising for the hosts on the stroke of half time.
No more goals were added until near the end of extra time when Islam Slimani continued his knack of striking at the crucial moment, netting what turned out to be the winner in the 112th minute.
A big crowd awaited both teams, who went head to head less than a month after the Liga encounter at the Estádio da Luz which ended in a convincing 3-0 victory for Sporting. With Jorge Jesus also having got the better over his former employers in the Super Cup in August, the pressure was on Benfica to avoid the ignominy of a third consecutive defeat to their city rivals.
Early strike
And after surviving a scare in the opening exchanges, with Slimani heading Bryan Ruiz's cross against the post, Benfica made the perfect start, taking the lead just six minutes into the game. Gaitán switched play intelligently with a sweeping cross-field pass from the right to the left flank, Pizzi brought down the ball and Mitroglou applied a rasping finish that flew into the net under Rui Patrício's legs.
Despite enjoying an increasing amount of possession as the game went on, Sporting were not as dominant as in the previous matches against Benfica in 2015/16, with the Eagles looking dangerous when hitting the home side on the counter-attack.
But the Lions gradually began to exert more and more pressure on the visitors. Slimani almost scored an equaliser on the half hour mark, Benfica goalkeeper Júlio César pushing his interception against the striker, with the ball ricocheting just over the bar - almost repeating Teo Gutiérrez's opening goal in last month's encounter.
Jefferson then forced César into a sharp save with a stinging shot from distance, and Sporting were on level terms just before the break. Slimani reacted fastest to a looping ball in the box, crossing over Júlio César's head, and Adrien showed tremendous composure to wait for the ball to drop before smashing a volley into the net.
Sporting started the second half strongly, with substitute Gelson Martins and João Mário especially lively, but the Green and Whites struggled to make clear openings. Indeed, Benfica had more efforts on goals as the second half went on, Talisca trying his luck from distance twice, albeit without troubling Patrício, Gaitán almost taking advantage of a mix-up in Sporting's defence and Eliseu firing in a firm shot that the Portugal number one kept out with a sprawling save.
César to Benfica's rescue
The home side ended the half on top though, forcing a series of corners and peppering the Benfica goal in the final minutes, with Brazilian goalkeeper César producing a sensational save to deny Slimani.
Neither side found the breakthrough in the 90 minutes, so into extra time we went, with Benfica enjoying their best period since the opening 20 minutes, pushing Sporting back in the first half of extra time and looking the fresher side.
But with neither team creating chances it looked like penalties were on the cards. Slimani had other ideas. In the 112th minute Adrien skidded a fierce low shot towards goal that César did well to keep out, only for the Algerian to gleefully knock home the rebound. Benfica's players protested vehemently with the referee that Slimani had taken advantage of an offside position (wrongly, as TV replays would show), and Samaris was sent off for a second yellow card in the commotion.
Benfica threw everything at Sporting in the final moments, Luisão taking a nasty tumble and fracturing his arm in an incident where Benfica claimed a penalty. But Sporting held on and the final whistle was greeted by thunderous cheers from the vast majority of the 41,244 crowd.
by Tom Kundert, at the José Alvalade Stadium
Sporting: Rui Patrício, João Pereira, Paulo Oliveira, Ewerton (Tobias Figueiredo, 100'), Jefferson (Esgaio, 93'), William Carvalho, Adrien, João Mário, Bryan Ruiz, Montero (Gelson Martins, 45'), Slimani
Benfica: Júlio César, Sílvio, Luisão, Jardel, Eliseu, Samaris, Pizzi (André Almeida, 61'), Talisca, Gonçalo Guedes (Jonas, 105'), Gaitán, Mitroglou (Jiménez, 95')
Goals:
[0-1] Mitrolglou, 6'
[1-1] Adrien, 45'
[2-1] Slimani, 112'
