Tottenham beaten in Portugal as Sporting CP record first win against English opponents

Sporting Lisbon registered their maiden UEFA Champions League (UCL) victory over English opposition with a 2-0 success against Tottenham Hotspur at the Estádio José Alvalade, also seeing them start a UCL group with two wins for the very first time.

Sporting manufactured the first opportunity of a lively opening half, as Hugo Lloris had to be on his toes to tip Pedro Gonçalves’ strike around the post.
Facing Portuguese opposition in Europe’s premier club competition for the first time in 60 years, Spurs responded in kind, and Richarlison’s close-range header into the arms of Antonio Adán brought an animated response from three-time UCL runner-up Antonio Conte on the touchline.

In pursuit of their first away European victory in six matches, the visitors restarted similarly to how they began the game, as Adán denied Emerson Royal on two separate occasions in the opening moments of the second half.

Sporting then began to weather the attacking storm, but Harry Kane was millimetres away from connecting to Ivan Perišić’s enticing cross just before Antonio Conte introduced Dejan Kulusevski off the bench.

But the vocal power of the Estádio José Alvalade would yet conjure a late twist, and substitute Paulinho glanced Pedro Porro’s inswinging corner past the helpless Lloris.

Capitalising on Spurs’ shell-shocked state, Sporting stunned Conte’s side again in the third minute of added-on time, when Arthur Gomes scored on his European debut.
Spurs manager Antonio Conte said that the hosts played a good game but didn’t see much of a difference between both teams despite the defeat.

“I think Sporting played a good game, and in the end, they won, but if the game finished as a draw, and we are talking about a regret that we didn’t win tonight. I didn’t see a lot of difference between them and us, in the aspects.” Conte said.

Meanwhile, Liverpool got a 2-1 win against Ajax in their first UEFA Champions League victory for this season. Mohamed Salah and Joel Matip got on the scoresheet for the Reds.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu