No-nonsense Sporting beat Brugge 3-0 in Lisbon in Champions League | OneFootball

Sporting continued their excellent Champions League campaign by clocking up their third successive home win by outclassing Club Brugge in Lisbon tonight.

Goals by Geovany Quenda, Luis Suárez and Francisco Trincão gave the Portuguese champions a thoroughly deserved 3-0 victory and lifts Rui Borges’ men into the top eight with three matches remaining of the league phase of the competition.

Tom Kundert reports from the José Alvalade stadium.

Man-of-the-match Maxi Araújo set the tone for the match and his own display in the early exchanges with an audacious roundhouse turn to set up a chance for Quenda who struck a powerful effort wide.

Brugges replied with Portuguese winger Carlos Forbs showing his pace, Rui Silva saving his effort from a tight angle.

Red card scare

Disaster seemed to have struck Sporting in the 9th minute when captain Morten Hjulmand was shown a straight red card for a high kick that left Stankovic in a heap on the floor, but upon VAR review the referee downgraded it to a yellow.

In an open game with both teams playing enjoyable proactive football, Christos Tzolis and Luis Suárez exchanged chances, but it was the home team who grabbed the all-important first goal in the 24th minute.

Simões passed to Geny Catamo on the right wing, the Mozambican showing tremendous acceleration and dribbling skills to skin his marker and shoot for goal. Nordin Jackers saved the shot but the ball fell to Quenda, who turned smartly and slotted the ball into the corner of the net.

The hosts soon doubled their lead with Catamo again the catalyst, turning and playing a perfectly timed through ball to Suárez, who kept his cool and dinked the ball over Jackers to make it 2-0.

Sporting on fire

Sporting were now playing some champagne football, Francisco Trincão and Luis Suárez close to scoring again before the break after some beautiful one-touch combinations sliced through the Brugges defence.

Suárez spurned a glaring opportunity to score again upon the restart, Quenda putting him clean through on goal. The Colombian this time opted to round the goalkeeper but a last-ditch challenge by Joaquin Seys saved the day for the Belgians as the Sporting striker hit the post.

To their credit, Brugge did not throw in the towel and enjoyed their best spell of the match for the next 20 minutes, applying heavy pressure on Sporting and winning a series of corners.

They looked certain to pull a goal back in the 65th minute when substitute Nicolo Tesoldi played a one-two and was clean through, his shot beating Rui Silva but rolling just wide of the post.

Trincão makes sure

The miss proved Brugge’s last chance as Francisco Trincão made the most of a fine assist by Quenda to sweep in a shot on the turn and make it 3-0 in the 69th minute, ending any doubts about who would be walking away with the points.

Iván Fresneda, often the ugly duckling for the Alvalade fans, almost got a goal his faultless performance deserved but Jackers saved his shot from a narrow angle.

Sporting coach Rui Borges took advantage of the comfortable scoreline to give Champions League minutes to academy youngsters Salvador Blopa and Rodrigo Ribeiro and the two substitutes almost combined for a goal in the dying seconds, Ribeiro’s pass latched onto by Blopa but Jackers made a brave save, unfortunately injuring himself in the process with the referee sensibly blowing for the final whistle there and then.

An eighth victory in Sporting’s last nine matches in all competitions (the other match being a draw against Juventus in Turin) and the fact a total of five Sporting players who contributed tonight are Alcochete products – Gonçalo Inácio, João Simões, Geovany Quenda, Salvador Blopa and Rodrigo Ribeiro – is ample evidence of a club in a good place right now.

Sporting: Rui Silva, Iván Fresneda, Ousmane Diomande, Gonçalo Inácio, Maxi Araújo (Matheus Reis, 86’), Morten Hjulmand, João Simões (Hidemasa Morita, 63’), Geny Catamo (Salvador Blopa, 76’), Francisco Trincão, Luis Suárez (Rodrigo Ribeiro, 86’), Geovany Quenda (Alisson Santos, 76’)