Sporting 3-1 Galatasaray: Lions get Champions League campaign off to a positive start | OneFootball

Rodrigo Zalazar celebrates scoring a stunning free kick against Galatasaray (Photo: Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images)

Sporting came from behind to beat Galatasaray 3-1 in Lisbon tonight to begin their 2026/27 Champions League campaign on the right foot.

An early own goal by captain Gonçalo Inácio put the visitors ahead, but strikes from Geny Catamo, Luis Suárez (penalty) and Rodrigo Zalazar had the Sporting fans celebrating at the end of the night.

Tom Kundert reports from Alvalade.

Shaky start as Galatasaray dominate first half

Rui Borges orchestrated Sporting’s best ever run in the Champions League last season as the Portuguese team made it to the quarter-finals before being narrowly beaten by eventual runners-up Arsenal.

The successful campaign was initiated by a superb league phase with the Lisbon outfit accumulating 16 points from their 8 matches. But this is a very different Sporting team with a host of new recruits, and the lack of cohesiveness was again in evidence in a disjointed first-half display.

Galatasaray got off to a dream start when a long throw-in the 5th minute ended up being deflected into his own net by Gonçalo Inácio. The Turkish champions looked like the home team in the opening 45 minutes as they were camped in Sporting’s defensive half of the pitch.

At this stage Borges’ decision to relegate three in-form regulars to the bench – Iván Fresneda, Zeno Debast and Flávio Gonçalves were replaced by Georgios Vagiannidis, Eduardo Quaresma and Luís Guilherme respectively – seemed to have backfired.

Doumbia and Zalazar lost

Sporting rarely managed to play through Galatasaray’s high press, with expensive new signings Doumbia and Zalazar looking lost in terms of their positioning.

The home fans began to show their frustration, especially as on the rare occasions when Sporting mounted an attack, the Turkish defence showed evidence of being extremely porous. On 18 minutes a quick passing combination involving Maxi Araújo, Doumbia and Luis Suárez ended with the Colombian scoring, but the goal was ruled out for a Maxi offside at the start of the move.

Sporting equalised in the 27th minute from a counter-attack instigated by the excellent Quaresma, the ball eventually bouncing around the box and Geny Catamo pouncing to volley home.

However, the goal did not shift the momentum, with Galatasaray, spurred on by the noisy travelling fans, continuing to boss the game. In the 37th minute the Turks seemed certain retake the lead as Leroy Sané cut through the Sporting defence, but he smashed his shot over the bar with the goal at his mercy.

As the half-time whistle blew, the only good news for Sporting was that they were not losing, the visitors peppering 7 shots at goal compared to just 2 from the home side.

All change in the second half

The second half was a different story, especially once Sporting got their noses in front shortly before the hour.

Goalkeeper Rui Silva found Doumbia with an accurate vertical pass, the Italian setting Suárez racing towards goal with a through ball. The striker rounded goalkeeper Çakir but fell under the challenge of Jakobs and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Suárez himself took responsibility, rifling in a low hard shot for his fifth goal in four games.

Sporting at last began to stamp their authority on the match, Suárez going close to another goal but shooting narrowly wide.

The moment of the night came in the 63rd minute when Zalazar curled in a beautiful 25-yarder into the top corner direct from a free kick to make it 3-1.

Galatasaray all but disappeared as an attacking force, even after bringing on ex-Sporting winger Rafael Leão who was roundly booed.

Guilherme and Sergi Altimira went close to scoring a fourth for Sporting.

“Important win for a young team” – Borges

“It was important to start off with a win. We have a young team and a lot of our players were playing in the Champions League for the first time,” said Sporting coach Rui Borges post-match.

“In the first half Galatasaray pressed us high up the pitch and we found it difficult to get our game going.

“We were better in the second half, more intense and more competitive, stronger in the duels. We ended up scoring our goals and we didn’t let Galatasaray create danger. I’m happy with the collective capacity of the team.”