A goal in each half by Viktor Gyökeres and Zeno Debast got Sporting’s Champions League campaign off to a positive start in Lisbon tonight against ten-man Lille.
The French outfit were proving a tough nut to crack until a fine Gyökeres strike and an Angel Gomes red card in quick succession shortly before half time turned the game in Sporting’s favour.
Belgian centre-back Zeno Debast scored a wondergoal in the second half to confirm the three points for the Lions in the new league format of Europe’s premier club competition. Tom Kundert reports from Alvalade.
Rúben Amorim chose an attacking line-up with Geovany Quenda and Geny Catamo in the wing-back roles, both youngsters making their debuts in Europe’s foremost club competition.
Lille included Angel Gomes in their starting XI, the midfield schemer who is Nani’s cousin and who impressed on a season-long loan at Boavista before going on to become a full England international.
If Sporting CP and their fans thought they were going to sweep Lille aside with ease like they had all domestic opponents in the Primeira Liga this season, they would soon realise this was a much tougher assignment.
In a cagey opening period Lille kept possession well and most of the match was played in Sporting’s defensive half with the Lions struggling to break through a well-marshalled French back line.
Inácio forced off
Moreover, the home team suffered a setback in the 13th minute when centre-back Gonçalo Inácio – so often the initiator of Sporting’s attacking gameplan – picked up an injury and had to be replaced by Matheus Reis.
In the 17th minute the hosts finally created danger, Pote picking up a Gyökeres pass and ploughing his way towards the box before turning and shooting wide.
Diomande had to be alert soon afterwards to make a vital interception as Jonathan David seemed poised to head an inviting cross into the net.
Sporting almost broke the deadlock in the 29th minute with Gyökeres and Pote again combining well, the former playing a delicious diagonal pass into the path of the latter whose shot forced Lucas Chevalier into an excellent save.
Pedro Gonçalves is denied the opening goal by Lucas Chevalier. Photo: Arlindo Homem ©
Gyökeres scores again
The pressure was building from the Green and Whites and it told in in the 38th minute. Pedro Gonçalves picked up a high ball into the box that the Lille defenders were unable to clear and found Gyökeres. The big No9 still had plenty to do but he ran across the box and smacked a low angled shot into the net to the delight of the vast majority of the 41,024 spectators at Alvalade.
It was the eighth successive game in which Gyökeres has scored at least one goal for club and country, having found the net 12 times in total in that sequence.
Things immediately got worse for Lille when Gomes picked up his second yellow card for a crude challenge on Gyökeres and was sent off.
The irrepressible Swede then set up Trincão but his shot on the run was too close to Chevalier who saved comfortably.
HT Sporting 1-0 Lille
Amorim made his second change at the break, bringing off Hidemasa Morita for Daniel Bragança. The midfielder settled well as Sporting looked to make their man-advantage count.
Quenda and Bragança headed wide and Catamo shot narrowly off target as Sporting pinned back the Ligue 1 outfit.
Lille made a triple change, including the introduction of former Sporting youth player Tiago Santos, but before the substitutes could break a sweat they found themselves 2-0 down.
Stupendous strike
Daniel Bragança slipped a sideways pass into the path of Zeno Debast and the Belgian unleashed a rocket of a shot with Chevalier unable to do anything other than watch the ball arrow into the top corner of the net at a frightening speed.
The wonderful hit got the home fans rocking in the stands, and Sporting threatened to run riot. Bragança forced Chevalier into a diving save with Quenda hitting the rebound inches wide.
Viktor Gyökeres in action against Lille. Photo: Arlindo Homen ©
Gyökeres went on one of his typical cavalier runs to create a chance for himself but his shot was deflected into side-netting.
Lille at last created danger in the final minutes of the game, with Reis and Diomande making timely interceptions, and goalkeeper Franco Israel pulling off an excellent save from Cabella after a mistake by Araújo had let in the substitute.
Alexsandro had the ball in the Sporting net shortly afterwards, but he had scored from an offside position.
Amorim keeps his feet on the ground
There was still time for Amorim to give Conrad Harder his debut, the Norwegian teenager not far away from making the occasion with a goal as he headed narrowly over the bar.
Sporting clock up a sixth successive victory, but Amorim was not particularly effusive in his post-game comments. “The result was better than the performance,” said the coach. “We didn’t play a brilliant game but we won and we move on.”
Sporting: Franco Israel; Zeno Debast, Ousmane Diomande, Gonçalo Inácio (Matheus Reis, 13’); Geovany Quenda (Maxi Araújo, 73’), Hidemasa Morita, Morten Hjulmand, Geny Catamo; Francisco Trincão (Conrad Harder, 88’), Viktor Gyökeres, Pote
Lille: Lucas Chevalier; Thomas Meunier (Tiago Santos, 63’), Diakité, Aïssa Mandi (Ayyoub Bouaddi, 63’), Alexsandro; Zhegrova, Mitchel Bakker (Gabriel Gudmundsson, 82’), Benjamin André, Angel Gomes, Osame Sahraoui (Rémy Cabella, 71’); Jonathan David (Mathias Fernandez-Pardo, 63’)
Goals:
[1-0] Viktor Gyökeres, 38’
[2-0] Zeno Debast, 65’
