FC Porto drop to sixth after defeat to Sporting | OneFootball

There is little that can motivate a hockey player more than playing in a classic match with the magnitude and historical weight of a clash between lions and dragons. This one, however, had an additional reason for Sporting: to dedicate the victory and the performance to the late Júlio Rendeiro, a goal achieved in emphatic fashion with a 5-2 triumph in the seventh round of the national championship.

Before the game, the João Rocha Pavilion paid tribute to the former Sporting legend and Portugal national coach with a moving minute of silence, attended by president Frederico Varandas in the presidential box.

The green and whites started better and took advantage of their numerical superiority (power play) to open the scoring in the 12th minute with a rocket: Facundo Navarro, free on the right side of the attack, fired powerfully into the back of the visitors’ net.

Just a minute later, one second before the end of the power play, Sporting made it 2-0 thanks to a ball circulation that ended with an unstoppable long-range shot from Nolito.

The lions kept up the pressure and, in the 18th minute, Rafa Bessa started the move from behind the goal and assisted Diogo Barata, who scored first-time—netting against his former team—to set the score at 3-0 at halftime.

If things were already looking tough for the national two-time champions, they got worse three minutes after the restart, in a transition where Rampulla found Verona unmarked on the left and passed him the ball for the Italian to finish off the lions’ fourth goal.

FC Porto’s reaction followed, with Telmo Pinto (42’) reducing the deficit in a persistent play.

However, the lions, who gave everything on the pitch to dedicate the victory to the memory of Rendeiro and also Edo Bosch’s father, who recently passed away, extended their lead again in the 47th minute thanks to an individual play by Rampulla that ended with a deft chip.

The dragons, who improved in the second half, set the final score at 5-2 in the closing seconds through Carlo Di Benedetto.

After seven rounds, Sporting are third with 16 points—the same as OC Barcelos (2nd)—and are two points behind leaders Benfica, who will only play their match of this round on Wednesday. FC Porto, meanwhile, dropped to 6th place (having been 5th), with 10 points.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.