Sporting into Champions League last 16 after late Bilbao comeback | OneFootball

Sporting Sporting defeated Athletic Bilbao, 3-2, this Wednesday, January 28, in a match corresponding to the eighth and final round of the Champions League. In a duel marked by two very different halves, the Lions – coming off a win against Arouca – clinched victory in stoppage time and secured direct access to the round of 16 in the prestigious competition.

At San Mamés, the green and whites got off to a poor start and conceded a goal at the home team’s very first threat, with Morten Hjulmand losing the ball in the box to Oihan Sancet (3'), who opened the scoring. Sporting managed to equalize in the 13th minute, with a header from Ousmane Diomande following a corner, but a lapse from Matheus Reis – who had come on due to Gonçalo Inácio’s injury – allowed Gorka Guruzeta to make it 2-1 in the 28th minute.

After the break, Rui Borges managed to energize the attack, which resulted in Sporting’s equalizer in the 62nd minute, with a well-worked pass from Pote to Francisco Trincão, who struck from the edge of the area and made no mistake. In the 78th minute, Adama Boiro brought down Geny Catamo in the box and the referee awarded a penalty, but VAR ultimately overturned the decision in a highly questionable call. In the 90'+4 minute, Alisson Santos completed the comeback and secured a historic win for the Lions.

With this victory – their 24th in 33 matches this season – Rui Borges’ men finish this stage of the competition in 7th place in the standings, with 16 points from eight matches: five wins, one draw, and two losses.

The green and white side will be back on the pitch next Sunday, February 1, against Nacional, in a match for the 20th round of Liga Portugal Betclic. The encounter against the team led by Tiago Margarido will take place at 18:00 at Estádio José Alvalade.

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