THE Sporting was unable to recover, after the defeat suffered, in the middle of the week, at the José Alvalade Stadium, against LASK Linz, for the Champions League, by 1-3, and ‘fell’, in the early evening of this Sunday, once again, this time, in the reception to Académico de Viseu, for the I League, by 1-2.
João Guilherme was intractable and took advantage of the total lack of coordination on the part of the green and white defense to spread chaos in Lisbon, with two (decisive) goals. In between, the inevitable Luis Suárez did his thing once again, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a defeat that further complicates the account of the title of national champion.
Mosquitoes on ropes in Alvalade
Despite everything, Sporting had a strong entry into the game, with a lot of possession, exchanging it with discretion in search of spaces, in front of the authentic ‘wall’ erected by Académico de Viseu. In the sixth minute, there was even a shout of ‘Goal’, but Nestory Irankunda’s strong shot went wide of the opposite goal post.
However, the good signs only lasted 15 minutes, before giving way to complete unrest. Viriatos did not give in under the pressure and remained faithful to the plan, making the ball reach the penalty area without the need for major flourishes, and all they had to do was break the first line of pressure for the ‘shaking’ to set in.
‘Tremendous’ which, among others, came from the goalkeeper himself, Kaique Pereira (who, once again, relegated Rui Silva to the bench), who, in the 20th minute, tried the ‘funny’ trick of dribbling past André Clóvis, but it went wrong, and he still recovered trying to deflect his compatriot’s shot.
Four minutes later, the visitors were not so wasteful, and, catching the hosts completely unbalanced in defense, they saw Robinho ‘climbing meters’ on the left wing and crossing low into the penalty area, where João Guilherme appeared to deflect, first time, for the goal that opened the scoring.
The disaster was in sight, moments later, when Cihan Kahraman shot what would have been 0-2. However, it was worth the attention of the refereeing team led by Miguel Nogueira, who found that Miguel Breu went beyond the limit when making a throw-in, which is why he quickly canceled the move.
The referee from the Lisbon Football Association would be in the spotlight once again, even before the half-time whistle, when he awarded a penalty in favor of Sporting, due to Ewerton’s foul on Maxi Araújo. A decision that would later be reversed, as indicated by VAR, as the Brazilian goalkeeper touched the ball before the ‘tackle’.
Only Luis Suárez is not enough
The first half ended with a shot by Maxi Araújo against the post, which ended up serving as the basis for an electrifying entry by Sporting in the second half, which resulted in a series of dangerous moves in the penalty area, in which the clear anxiety felt repeatedly led to them being wasted with bad decisions.
Still, whoever has Luis Suárez always has the opportunity to dream of something more, and that was the case, once again, at Sporting. In the 62nd minute, the Colombian international appeared in what is his favorite area, and first time deflected a cross from Iván Fresneda for the equalizer.
The green and white party would, however, end up lasting a mere 12 minutes, the time needed for João Guilherme to once again explore another ‘crater’ in the opponent’s defense and beat Kaique Pereira, with a first-time shot, amidst the lions’ complaints regarding a supposed foul on Maxi Araújo, before Soufiane Messeguem’s cross.
The scenario was complicated, but there was one man who never gave up. More specifically, Maxi Araújo, who was a constant source of danger. Until the final whistle, he scored two more dangerous shots, one of them hitting the post, and the other, for a good save by Ewerton, which kept everything open until the final whistle.
However, the result remained unchanged, meaning Sporting ends the ninth round of the I League in third place, with 18 points, the same as Santa Clara (who will still host Benfica), and nine less than the leader, FC Porto. Académico de Viseu, on the other hand, reaches 17 points and equals Arouca in fifth place in the table.
Game moment
Sporting was on the rise, and with Luis Suárez’s goal, the feeling was that it would be a matter of time before the turnaround came. However, a new defensive lack of attention allowed João Guilherme to score an encore that finally dashed any remaining hopes.
