After Sporting-Arsenal loss, Rui Borges sees special record end | OneFootball

Sporting saw its status as a European fortress at Alvalade come crashing down after suffering its first home defeat in this season’s Champions League, against Arsenal (1-0). After an impressive run of five wins against Kairat, Marseille, Club Brugge, PSG and Bodø/Glimt, the Lions slipped up once again in front of their own fans.

This setback brings an end to a 17-match unbeaten run at Alvalade, a remarkable record which still falls short of the mark set by Mário Lino between 1972 and 1974, when Sporting racked up 22 consecutive home wins. It is also only the team’s second home defeat this season, following the loss to Porto in the league, and it was also the first match in which the Lions failed to score, after netting a total of 68 goals in 23 games.

Despite the blow, Sporting’s European history shows there is still reason to believe. Turning around a tie after losing the first leg at home is a difficult scenario, but not an impossible one. Sporting managed it in 2010/11, in Europa League qualifying, when they lost 2-0 to Brøndby at Alvalade but came back in Denmark with a 3-0 win, sealed by a Yannick Djaló goal deep into stoppage time.

On the other side, Arsenal are not immune to surprises either. The Gunners, who now hold the advantage, have only once in their history been knocked out after winning away in the first leg of a European tie. It happened in 2019/20, against Olympiacos, managed by Pedro Martins.

It should be remembered that the second leg of the quarter-final will be played on April 15 at 8:00pm at the Emirates Stadium. Even so, despite the defeat at Alvalade, Rui Borges’ side still believe they can reach the Champions League semi-finals.

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