Sporting CP ended Tottenham Hotspur’s unbeaten run with a brilliant 2-0 win over the English side in the UEFA Champions League.
Two very late goals from Sporting CP ended the match in a dramatic fashion, with the Portuguese outfit securing their first win against an English opponent. The home team looked more organised and solid most of the time, and they deservingly ran out winner with two brilliant moments in the dying minutes.
Marcus Edwards could have been awarded the goal of the season had he converted that chance after crisscrossing a number of legs on his way to the goal.
The English forward got past three players with his swirling movement, beat all the challenges and then played a one-two with Francisco Trincao before beating Cristian Romero and then tried to poke it past Hugo Lloris who blocked the ball, and it spun around for a corner. The visitors heaved a sigh of relief as they somehow averted the danger.
The scoreline could have been nastier as Pedro Porro was again denied by the Tottenham skipper. The right-back made room for himself and curled in a sweet one, but Lloris paved the ball away with his fingertips.
However, Sporting did not have to wait much as the resultant corner provided the breakthrough for the home side. Pedro Goncalves’s well-placed corner was headed in by Paulinho as Sporting finally managed to break the deadlock with a set-piece goal.
Just when everyone was thinking a Tottenham comeback could be on the cards, another piece of magic from Arthur Gomes killed the game.
Gomes, who had only just arrived on the pitch, received the ball from Paulinho on the left. The young winger stormed past Romero, nutmegged Emerson Royal and put the ball between the legs of Lloris to send the stadium into frantic joy. The Hard Tackle runs the rule over Antonio Conte’s men.
Hugo Lloris: 6.5/10
The French custodian was very commanding in the goal. He kept Tottenham in the game with two excellent saves. His backline let him down as he had very little to do at the time of two goals.
Emerson Royal: 4.5/10
Emerson had a number of gilt-edged chances to register his name on the scoresheet but eventually could not make it up. His attacking prowess has not improved, and he will be blamed for the two goals for his shoddy defending.
Cristian Romero: 5/10
The Argentine defender was not quite at his usual mark as he tried to bomb forward to join the attack but had very little success. He could have done better in terms of defending.
Eric Dier: 5/10
The English international held on to his position quite well but was caught napping a number of times, especially with the pace of Edwards. He needed to marshall the defence at the crunch time but will be disappointed with himself.
Eric Dier’s half by numbers vs. Sporting Lisbon:
91% pass accuracy
2/3 ground duels won
3/4 long balls completed
3 clearances
2 tackles won
1/1 aerial duels won
0 times dribbled pastKeeping the door shut against his first club. ? pic.twitter.com/y26tdXDlya
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) September 13, 2022
Ben Davies: 5/10
Davies tried to put in a good shift as he offered a different dimension from the left side. But he, too, lost ground a number of times while duelling with the Sporting attackers.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: 4.5/10
The midfielder had a rare off night. He misplaced a number of passes and did not offer anything combative to win the midfield battles. Looked lost at times.
Rodrigo Bentancur: 5/10
The Uruguayan midfielder controlled the tempo from the middle of the pitch and had some good moments. He could not convert the possession into something creative and lacked a vision.
Ivan Perisic: 6/10
The former Inter Milan player was good in patches, and there was no one to meet his dangerous crosses. His constant movement down the left flank provided some nervy moments for Sporting defenders but the final output was disappointing.
Richarlison: 6/10
Hhe had one goal ruled out for offside. Richarlison was the most energetic attacking player on the pitch and saw his efforts blocked by the keeper in the first half. The Brazilian attacker took on defenders on his own but needs to be sharper in front of the goal.
Harry Kane: 5/10
Kane dropped deep sometimes to see more of the ball, but overall the Tottenham striker had a disappointing evening.
Son Heung-min: 4.5/10
Son had few chances, but his off form suggests Antonio Conte needs to bench him for a couple of games.
SUBSTITUTES
Dejan Kulusevski: 6/10
Kulusevski injected more energy into the side and even earned a free-kick for his side. He should get the nod ahead of Son in the Premier League this weekend.