“Olá” again, folks. Are you ready for another installment of my Sporting CP adventure?
In the previous chapter, we met all our new summer signings and went through a productive (and very goal-happy) pre-season campaign. Today, we’ll progress through the first the first two months of the season proper, which includes the Champions League qualifiers. Can we secure a place amongst Europe’s elite?
(By the way, I hope some of you like that little Ultravox reference in the image above. You can probably tell that my graphics skills are steadily getting better…)
SPORTING vs AUSTRIA WIEN (Champions League – Qualifying Round 3, Leg 1)
Remember when I said Austria Wien shouldn’t cause us any problems? Well, they did. Their gameplan was to soak up all our attacking pressure and then try to grab an away goal on the counter.
The Austrians’ plan worked a treat for the first half. Even after left-back Emir Karic was sent off for two bookings midway through, our silky possession football couldn’t find a way through their wall of defenders. We would need to try something different…
…so we upped the tempo in the second half, and eventually made that breakthrough. Left-back Marcos Acuña exchanged passes with forward Jovane Cabral before finding a gap in the defence and firing home from 25 yards. The Argentine didn’t score ANY competitive goals last season, but was quick off the mark in this!
Cabral also kicked off the campaign with a goal four minutes later. After receiving an excellent ball from midfielder Mattheus Oliveira, the young winger powered a shot that clipped the underside of the bar and then went in off the post!
With an ultra-defensive Austria Wien side failing to register a single shot on target, we cruised to victory in our opening Champions League qualifier. Could we kick off the Primeira Liga campaign in similar fashion?
PORTIMONENSE vs SPORTING (Primeira Liga – Match 1)
Not quite. Portimonense actually gave us a contest, though it ‘only’ took us 41 minutes to break through their defence. Our two scorers from the previous game linked up again, with Acuña’s cross into the six-yard box being slid home by Cabral.
Things didn’t go so well for one of Acuña’s compatriots early in the second half. Having been booked just before half-time, Rodrigo Battaglia collected another yellow within 15 seconds of the restart for tripping home teenager Luquinha, and we were down a man. That served me right for not taking the aggressive midfielder off at the break.
We had to rein in our attacking instincts and try to grind out a 1-0. Portimonense inevitably piled on the pressure, and when Argentine striker Facundo Suárez volleyed in a 77th-minute centre from right-back Emmanuel Hackman, the scores were back level.
A draw now looked the likely result, until Cabral dazzled the Alvinegros in the 90th minute. After receiving a pass from Josip Misic, Jovane skilfully dribbled past two defenders and then poked a shot beyond the onrushing goalkeeper to restore our advantage!
The drama didn’t end there, though, as an explosive counter from Portimonense deep into stoppage time saw them find the net again. Fortunately, Suárez’s volley from Chidera Ezeh’s deep cross was ruled out for offside by VAR, and we held on for a narrow win.
AUSTRIA WIEN vs SPORTING (Champions League – Qualifying Round 3, Leg 2)
We then finished our job in Vienna, with our new man from Switzerland getting the decisive goal on Austrian soil. Centre-back Eray Cömert‘s first Sporting goal was a bullet header from a Mattheus corner after just eight minutes.
As we now led 3-0 on aggregate with an away goal, Austria Wien needed to score four times to eliminate us. They couldn’t manage even one goal, though in fairness, the likes of ex-Aston Villa forward Andreas Weimann did force a few saves out of Luís Maximiano. Otherwise, it was an easy pair of Champions League clean sheets for our young keeper.
For me, it didn’t matter that Luciano Vietto and Andraz Sporar struggled in attack and failed to add to our solitary away goal. We just came to the Franz Horr Stadion to secure a Playoff place, so in that sense, I was happy.
Spartak Moscow would be the last obstacle between us and the Group Stage. The Russian side – and their German managerial wunderkind Domenico Tedesco – had enjoyed a more thrilling ride to this stage, defeating Fenerbahçe 9-5 on aggregate! We would welcome them to Lisbon in the first leg, but before that was a league trip to Vila do Conde.
RIO AVE vs SPORTING (Primeira Liga – Match 2)
Ah, yes. Rio Ave. The scene of our final-day collapse which would’ve cost us a Champions League place had Porto not choked themselves. But hey… at least we didn’t lose to Carlos Carvalhal’s side this time!
The first half was very close, but not terribly exciting. The second half saw the action perk up, especially after we found the net four minutes in. Left-back Kévin Rodrigues‘ first-time long ball into the box was as beautiful as the subsequent finish from Vietto, but alas, the enigmatic winger was inches offside.
Five minutes later, though, we did break the deadlock. Captain Sebastián Coates outjumped Rio Ave striker Mehdi Taremi – the Primeira Liga’s top scorer last season – and headed Wendel‘s delivery into the net to give us a slender advantage.
It didn’t last. Nine minutes from time, our new attacking right-back Zeki Çelik paid the price for pushing too far forward. He was tackled just outside Rio Ave’s box by Matheus Reis, whose clearance found winger Gabrielzinho. With Çelik out of position, Gabrielzinho dribbled into our half, then through our weakened defence, before stroking in a late equaliser. Damn.
SPORTING vs SPARTAK MOSCOW (Champions League – Playoff, Leg 1)
And then we had more problems in Europe. Tedesco deployed the same low-block tactics as his Austria Wien counterpart had done a fortnight earlier, but Spartak Moscow proved much more resilient opponents. We just couldn’t break them down.
It wasn’t for the want of trying, as Acuña made several incisive passes and crosses from left-back. Unfortunately, it seemed like every shot our attackers had was being blocked by a red shirt – if it wasn’t heading wide, that is.
Even after I switched between several gameplans, Spartak’s back six remained unbreached at full-time. They had got exactly what they wanted, which meant we needed to either win or get a score draw in Moscow to book our place in the Champions League Group Stage.
SPORTING vs PORTO (Primeira Liga – Match 3)
That last result didn’t bode well for our first home league game, against arch-rivals Porto. Mind you, Marco Silva’s side had already dropped points in two of their opening three matches, so perhaps they were there for the taking?
Wow! I… I don’t know what to say!
Well… let’s forget about the first hour and cut straight to the chase. After surviving several Sporting attacks, Porto countered by grabbing two goals in quick succession midway through the second period. Right-winger Otávio’s curler from just outside our area was followed up four minutes later by a stunning half-volley from right-back Gonzalo Montiel.
With nothing else to lose except for dignity, we went for broke. With nine minutes to go, Mattheus launched a searching pass over the Porto defence towards Sporar, who went through on goal and then applied a typically cool finish.
Our confidence rose further after Cabral won a free-kick in a promising position with barely two minutes remaining. Having drawn a foul from centre-half Djene Dakonam, our winged wonder unleashed a stunning free-kick that evaded keeper Agustín Marchesín and levelled the scores!
Silva’s side continued to panic, conceding another costly free-kick two-and-a-half minutes into stoppage time. Cabral’s delivery from the right was headed against the bar by Coates, but Vietto half-volleyed in the rebound and completed an incredible Sporting comeback!
SPARTAK MOSCOW vs SPORTING (Champions League – Playoff, Leg 2)
So obviously we followed that epic victory by whimpering out of the Champions League. Frankly, if you have 43 shots on goal and enjoy 55% possession over two legs but STILL cannot score, you’ve clearly got your tactics wrong.
Spartak Moscow kept things tight again, easily blocking pretty much any chance our all-too-predictable attack had. Yet there were no excuses for missing some of the opportunities our players – especially Coates and Vietto – had.
After keeping us at bay, Spartak centre-half Georgy Djikia made an even more devastating impact at our end in the 66th minute. The Russian international was criminally unmarked as he headed in a left-wing free-kick delivery from Alexandr Lomovitskiy. We were 1-0 behind, but we also knew that an equaliser would likely be enough to get us through on away goals.
It never came. Our desperate advances towards goal late on proved too much for Valentin Rosier, who tore his thigh muscle eight minutes from the end. The French right-back was ruled out for two months, and having gone a man and a goal down, our Champions League campaign was over before it truly began.
Spartak celebrated at full-time and were deservedly invited to the land of milk and honey. As for us, we were banished to the one-horse town of Thursday night football…
…and, unbelievably, we would soon face Austria Wien again in our Europa League group! Mind you, neither they nor Danish side FC Midtjylland were likely to be major obstacles to us reaching the knockout phase. Our main rivals for top spot were – ironically – another Russian team in Krasnodar, who had plenty of quality in midfield and out wide.
NACIONAL DA MADEIRA vs SPORTING (Primeira Liga – Match 4)
Demoralised after defeat in Moscow, we then failed to beat newly-promoted Nacional. In fairness, the plucky Madeiran underdogs had already held Porto to a goalless draw in Funchal, and this wasn’t exactly a fun experience for us either.
Luiz Phellype blazing a clear-cut chance over the bar in the first minute was a sign of things to come. With Mattheus thriving in his new left-wing role, we created several more opportunities, but they were either fired off target or saved by Nacional keeper Daniel Guimarães.
It wasn’t all Sporting, though. Nacional actually had more possession (which was particularly frustrating for a ball-hungry team like ours), but their attackers were even more wasteful with the chances they had. With attacking quality in short supply, though, a dire 0-0 was pretty much inevitable.
Another slow start by our standards left us playing catch-up again with Benfica, who were looking ominously strong after just five games. Braga also had a 100% record, which they would take to the Alvalade straight after the international break. In the meantime, I sought to address our creative issues on deadline day…
…by taking Real Madrid wonderkid Reinier on loan. As well as being a masterful passer with outstanding technique, the 18-year-old boy from Brazil had plenty of desire and – like all good Sporting players – a mean long shot. He directly replaced our Croatian utility man Misic, who was loaned to Burnley for the season.
In other transfer news, we kept hold of our coveted left-back Acuña, turning down a €20million offer from Serie A champions Napoli. The bad news: Marcos got upset about being denied his dream move and started complaining to his team-mates.
The good news: the other players ALL sided with me and told Acuña to grow up! He’d better get used to eating in the canteen alone, not to mention sitting on the bench until he gets over this!
SPORTING vs BRAGA (Primeira Liga – Match 5)
The first of five successive home games in September was yet another goalless dirge. Though we halted Braga’s winning start, we could not breach a watertight defence that had still yet to concede a league goal.
For a team with so much flair and ability out wide, I couldn’t understand why Braga would just park the bus for the entire 90 minutes. Whatever Rúben Amorim had drilled into his team seemed to work, though, as they suffocated our attackers of valuable space and often forced them to shoot from distance.
That was not to excuse some of the opportunities we missed. Our most glaring one came 10 minutes from the end, when Luiz Phellype headed Rodrigues’ cross over from inside the six-yard box. Big Phil might have got 15 goals last season, but he didn’t look like he could score to save his life.
And so our sluggish start continued. Surely we would improve on that when Feirense came to town three days later?
SPORTING vs FEIRENSE (Primeira Liga – Match 6)
Well, it depends on how you define “improve”. If only having 42% at home to a recently-promoted Feirense side is your idea of improvement, then you must be incredibly pessimistic!
Though the Fogaceiros did play with some sense of attacking urgency, we still couldn’t expose a more open defence. Indeed, it was our opponents who found the net first, after 38 minutes. Fortunately, centre-half Ícaro was offside when he turned left-back Christian’s long-range drive into the net.
After putting the Fuller hairdryer on full-blast at half-time, we made a quick start to the second period. When Ivan Petryak nicked the ball off Ícario in the centre circle and then burst clean through, only to fire his shot straight at keeper Caio Secco, I wondered whether I’d ever see us score again.
Eventually, we did break the deadlock on 74 minutes, as Acuña cast his Neapolitan dreams aside to make the difference. After collecting a cut-back from 17-year-old debutant forward Telmo Duque, Marcos crossed deep to Cabral, whose volley finally finished Feirense off.
SPORTING vs KRASNODAR (Europa League – Group C, Match 1)
After that was a hard-fought but potentially crucial victory over Krasnodar in our Europa League opener. For once, it was our visitors who were left counting the cost of their profligacy.
I counted at least four wasted half-chances for Krasnodar in a dominant first-half display. Cameroon striker Vincent Aboubakar wasted two, including one which drew a last-ditch stop from Maximiano. That was one of seven saves our young keeper made in virtually the opening half-hour, while Cömert and Coates did well to stop him facing even more.
The half-time whistle gave us precious respite, and we returned for the restart with more confidence. Two minutes in, Miguel Luís‘ through-ball picked out Luiz Phellype, who finally broke his duck after Russia’s number 1 Matvey Safonov reacted far too late to an admittedly tame shot.
Big Phil wasn’t complaining – and certainly not after he doubled his tally late on. A jet-heeled Vietto jinked past Krasnodar’s left-back Cristian Ramírez and then floated a cross to our Brazilian frontman, whose point-blank header clinched the points. We immediately moved into 2nd behind Midtjylland, whose late surge defeated Austria Wien 4-1.
SPORTING vs SANTA CLARA (Primeira Liga – Match 7)
Three days after crushing Krasnodar, we played host to Santa Clara – who were bottom with no points, five defeats, and a -12 goal difference. Guess how that turned out!
Yep. We were utterly dreadful.
There were a couple of bad omens early on. Vietto had a goal disallowed for offside in the 15th minute, five minutes before Mattheus dislocated his shoulder in a robust challenge from Santa Clara midfielder Bruno Lamas. He would be out for the best part of two months.
The man who could’ve put us 1-0 up then gifted Santa Clara the opener. Vietto’s poor clearance from a Costinha free-kick only found Crysan, who put the Açoreanos ahead against the run of play.
We then wasted several equalising chances before a handball from Coates gave Santa Clara a penalty on the cusp of half-time. Iraq midfielder Osama Rashid converted the spot-kick, and we were 2-0 down to the worst team in the division at half-time.
Our second-half response was encouraging, as substitute midfielder Reinier made several threatening passes before Petryak halved the deficit by heading in a Wendel cross. Annoyingly, we failed to break through for a second time, and the stats made for embarrassing reading after our first league defeat of the season.
SPORTING vs VITÓRIA DE GUIMARÃES (Taça da Liga – Round 3 Group C, Match 1)
‘Embarrassing’ was also how I’d describe Vietto’s conduct in our Taça da Liga opener against Vitória. After just 75 seconds, the winger inexplicably dived in two-footed on Mascarenhas, immediately ruining our gameplan!
Playing against 10 men for almost an entire match would surely have been easy pickings for a decent team like Vitória’s. However, they seemed to have been confused by André Villas-Boas’ fancy algorithms and incomprehensible jargon, as they couldn’t even draw a single save out of Renan Ribeiro.
A dire match was eventually settled by an 81st-minute set-piece. Miguel Luís’ corner to the far post found 18-year-old Eduardo Quaresma, who headed in his first senior goal. 17-year-old debutant Chico Lamba also had a memorable day, partnering Quaresma in central defence for the closing stages.
That result sent us straight to the top of our group, with Tondela and Paços de Ferreira having drawn 0-0. Coincidentally, Tondela would host us in our next league game.
TONDELA vs SPORTING (Primeira Liga – Match 8)
Another 1-0 win put us back on the rails, but once again, our performance was as pretty as Sean Dyche clipping his toenails. And even by our recent standards, the first half was completely forgettable.
Both teams showed a bit more attacking desire in the second period, but mid-table Tondela didn’t have enough quality to win the game. They’d scored just four league goals up to this point, whereas Cabral had already matched that haul on his own – and his fifth would secure us the points.
That 70th-minute winner had a fair bit of luck and skill involved. Rodrigues provided the skill with a floated cross to Cabral, whose low header bounced goalwards and took a fortuitous bobble that beat goalkeeper Luis Ribeiro. That frustrated the Tondelenses, who then pushed for an injury-time equaliser without success.
Despite returning to winning ways, the Primeira Liga table wasn’t a pretty sight for Sporting fans. Benfica and Braga were already pulling clear at the top – and if Rio Ave and Porto won their games in hand, we were effectively looking at 6th place. That’s simply not good enough.
While our defensive record has definitely improved, we need to create better scoring opportunities and score more of them. More importantly, we need to stop turning up an hour late for matches! For heaven’s sake, we’ve scored ONE first-half goal so far this season – and NONE in our last 11 games!
Something HAS to change tactically if we’re to get back in the title race. Rest assured, I’m on it.
Well, well, well. To quote Midge Ure again, I’m “dancing with tears in my eyes” after such a disappointing start to the season.
Can I pick up the pieces and put this Sporting team back together again, or is there more misery on the horizon? Come back here on Monday to find out!
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