Champions League: Sporting hold Juventus to 1-1 draw in Italy | OneFootball

Sporting had never won in Italy but after twenty minutes it looked like the curse may be about to be broken. Maxi Araújo put the Portuguese champions into the lead with a superb team goal and Francisco Trincão was unlucky to see his shot crash off the underside of the bar and out.

But Juventus came back strongly, forcing Sporting to retreat further and further towards their own box, the super aggressive Dusan Vlahovic leading the charge for the Italians, and it was little surprise when the Serbian netted the equaliser.

Sporting disappeared as an attacking force but defended stoutly, goalkeeper Rui Silva and captain Morten Hjulmand outstanding, and they return from Turin with a precious point.

Sporting quick out of the blocks

Under new coach Luciano Spalletti Juventus were in desperate need of points after two draws and a defeat in their opening three Champions League games, but it was the visitors who started the better.

Sporting applied constant pressure all over the pitch, the hard-running Fotis Ioannidis up front leading by example, and the Lions showed commendable composure when Juventus tried to rob the ball high up the pitch, hogging possession for lengthy periods with their sure passing.

Sporting take lead following brilliant move

The opening goal was a prime example as a brilliant move saw Sporting string 10 passes together, most of which were first-time, to progress the ball from their own half to the edge of the Juventus box. Trincão invited Maxi Araújo to try his luck with a lovely lay-off and the Uruguayan duly rifled a low angled shot in off the post.

The home supporters were almost stunned by a second Sporting goal, another slick move giving Trincão a shooting chance inside the box. His right-foot effort beat Juventus goalkeeper Di Gregorio but crashed back into play off the underside of the crossbar.

Vlahovic takes centre stage

No quarter was being given by either team as the game turned more physical, with Ousmane Diomande and Vlahovic especially playing out a tremendous battle.

Juventus ramped up the pressure, Vlahovic denied an equaliser when Rui Silva produced a miraculous reflex save to keep out the Serb’s powerful close-range header. An action-packed encounter continued to deliver, Vlahovic bringing another sharp stop out of Silva who had to dive to push his shot away for a corner.

The Old Lady were getting plenty of joy attacking Sporting’s right side of defence, Vagiannidis and Quenda unable to shut down the threat, and it was no surprise when the equaliser appeared precisely from that area. To be fair, it was another excellent piece of attacking football as Thuram and Vlahovic combined cleverly to get behind the Sporting defence, the striker finishing from close range to make it 1-1.

Francisco Conceição goes close

Juventus almost completed the turnaround soon afterwards. The right side of Sporting’s defence was again breached with ease and only a timely Gonçalo Inácio deflection stopped his international teammate Francisco Conceição from scoring after good work by Kenan Yildiz.

While the first half had been a half of two halves, with Sporting in ascendancy before Juventus took over, the second half was largely one-way traffic. Sporting were struggling to keep up physically with Juventus who poured forward, although things improved for the Portuguese team after Rui Borges made a triple substitution, Geny Catamo, Eduardo Quaresma and Luis Suárez coming on for Quenda, Vagiannidis and Ioannidis.

Captain fantastic

Despite Juventus continuing on the front foot, the Italians were failing to create chances, with Sporting doing a good job at slowing the game down when they had the chance, captain Morten Hjulmand regaining his best form at the best possible time with a magnificent display.

The effort the visitors had made to hold back the tide clearly resulted in mental exhaustion in the closing minutes of the match, with a series of careless giveaways threatening to undo all Sporting’s hard work.

In stoppage time it needed an alert Rui Silva to push over Jonathan David’s header and Filip Kostic saw his shot deflected narrowly wide.

Sporting in contention to make progress

Several Sporting players collapsed to the ground upon the referee blowing the final whistle, and the hard-earned point could prove crucial. Sporting have 7 points from their first 4 Champions League games, and welcome Club Brugge to Lisbon next, before playing Real Madrid and PSG in successive matchdays.

(Photo by Stefano Guidi/Getty Images)