Bayern come from behind to beat Sporting 3-1 in Munich | OneFootball

Sporting put up a good fight in Germany this afternoon but ended up beaten by one of the Champions League favourites Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.

After surviving an onslaught in the first half the Lions started the second half well and went ahead when Joshua Kimmich scored an own goal after good work by João Simões.

The lead did not last long however, Serge Gnabry equalising from a corner and soon afterwards 17-year-old sensation Lennart Karl put the home team in front. Jonathan Tah then made sure Bayern would be taking all three points with another set-piece goal.

Sporting striker Luis Suárez puts Bayern centre-back Dayot Upamecano under pressure (Photo: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

Four starters miss the trip

Coming into the game on the back of an 11-match unbeaten run, Sporting coach Rui Borges selected an unfamiliar-looking lineup with usual starters Francisco Trincão, Pedro Gonçalves, Geovany Quenda and Gonçalo Inácio all out either due to injury or to provide them with rest.

Sporting struggled to contain a dominant Bayern in the first half. As early as the 5th minute the hosts had the ball in the net, Karl curling a beauty past the diving Rui Silva, but Sporting were saved by VAR who discerned a marginal offside in the buildup.

Rui Silva pulled off the first of several impressive saves when he dived full-length to push aside a Serge Gnabry shot. The Sporting goalkeeper then leapt to pluck a Harry Kane shot out of the air.

In a first half of one-way traffic Sporting’s only dangerous incursion towards the Bayern net saw Geny Catamo’s cross almost result in an own goal, with the alert Manuel Neuer preventing Jonathan Tah’s attempted clearance from opening the scoring.

Kane hits the post

But Bayern were creating chances regularly and Kane was a whisker away from making Bayern’s pressure count when he engineered room for himself brilliantly and rolled a precise shot against the post with Silva this time beaten. Karl came close again shortly before the interval, dribbling into the box and shooting powerfully at goal, with Silva again equal to it, parrying the ball out.

Michael Olise rifled in a shot that skidded wide and as the half-time whistle went the home supporters must have wondered how the game was still goalless.

Sporting stun Bayern

Having weathered the storm in the first 45 minutes, the Portuguese champions came out looking far more composed after the interval. Upon the restart Alisson Santos fired a shot wide, and the Brazilian was involved again as Sporting took a shock lead.

Santos did well to turn in his own half, progress the ball and play an accurate vertical pass into the path of João Simões with the outside of his foot. Simões sped towards goal, danced past Tah and crossed towards Luis Suárez, with Kimmich sliding in to prevent the Colombian from scoring but inadvertently knocking the ball past Neuer into his own net. Cue wild celebrations among the 3,000 travelling Sporting fans in the stadium.

The Portuguese team held their lead with relative comfort for the next ten minutes, but just as their fans were perhaps thinking they would be witnessing an historic night, Bayern hit back with two quickfire goals to turn around the match.

Double-whammy

The equaliser will annoy Rui Borges in particular, Serge Gnabry left completely unmarked at a corner to score from close range. Soon afterwards, a well-worked move created a shooting opportunity for Karl, whose shot on the turn beat Rui Silva, although the goalkeeper will be disappointed he failed to keep it out. Sporting’s players were incensed what they deemed a foul on Suárez at the beginning of the move had not been awarded, but the referee waved away the protests.

Sporting were reeling and Bayern duly scored a third goal as a long cross by Kimmich was headed back into the danger area by Gnabry and finished by Jonathan Tah.

The visitors did not throw in the towel and a swift attack down the right flank paved the way for a big chance for Suárez but an extra touch allowed Upamecano to make a vital interception, and any chance of an unlikely comeback was gone.

“I’m proud” – Borges

“I’m proud of the character and the personality shown by these players,” said Sporting coach Borges post-match. Sporting remain on ten points with two games remaining in the league phase of the Champions League, at home to PSG and away to Athletic Bilbao.