Sporting lose but keep hope: Champions League qualification still possible | OneFootball

The sixth round of the Champions League ended up making Sporting drop six places in the standings. The 3-1 defeat against Bayern Munich, along with the results of the other clubs in this round, pushed the Lions down to 14th place with only two games left in this stage.

For now, the team led by Rui Borges finds itself outside the direct qualification zone, but they are firmly in the playoff spots, with 10 points, which was one of the main objectives for the Alvalade club in this edition of the millionaire competition.

In theory, Sporting could even secure their qualification via the playoff as early as the next round. However, the opponent ahead is not exactly easy – PSG. Although they believe they can put on a good performance against the French side at Alvalade, it is in Bilbao where the points necessary for the Lions’ future in the competition may be found – last season, 11 points were enough.

With this defeat – the fourth in 23 matches this season – Rui Borges’ team remains on 10 points in the competition and has dropped to 14th place. With only two games left in this stage, Sporting is in the knockout playoff spot, but still as a seeded team.

The next Champions League match is scheduled for Tuesday, January 20, 2026, at 8:00 PM, against PSG, at Estádio José Alvalade. After that match, only the trip to Athletic’s ground remains, scheduled for the 28th of the same month.

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