A fascinating subplot underpins the Champions League Group D encounter between Sporting Clube de Portugal and Tottenham Hotspur in Lisbon on Tuesday evening.
Eric Dier learned his trade and began his career at Sporting before signing for Spurs and going on to become a full England international. Marcus Edwards made the reverse journey. Highly rated as a youth player at the London outfit, Edwards’ rise to fame has not been as smooth as Dier’s, but the twinkle-toed forward is now thriving in the Portuguese capital.
Paços de Ferreira slumped to a sixth straight defeat after losing 3-2 to Casa Pia at Estádio da Capital do Móvel. Adrián Butzke scored in the 17th minute to give César Peixoto’s side a half-time lead but the beavers couldn’t close it out.
Porto put their disappointing Champions League defeat behind them after beating Chaves 3-0 at Estádio do Dragão. Mehdi Taremi headed home the opening goal in the 5th minute when João Mário’s cross was diverted into his direction.
Three successive wins. Nine goals scored. None conceded. Sporting took another step towards putting their poor early season results behind them with a resounding win against high-flying Portimonense at Alvalade on a sunny Lisbon afternoon.
Braga beat Malmö 2-0 to get their Europa League campaign off to a winning start. It was a professional performance in cold, windy and wet conditions in Sweden.