Sporting CP vs Arsenal LIVE! Champions League match stream, latest score and goal updates today

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Evening Standard

·26 de novembro de 2024

Sporting CP vs Arsenal LIVE! Champions League match stream, latest score and goal updates today

The Gunners are seeking their first away win in the competition for more than a year in Lisbon

George Flood|Simon Collings @sr_collings

Vídeos OneFootball

Arsenal return to Champions League action tonight hoping to end their long away day hoodoo on the continent under Mikel Arteta. It is more than a year now since the Gunners last won on their travels in Europe’s elite club competition, winning only one of their last seven and none of the last five, finding goals very hard to come by during that stretch.

Halting such a run this evening would offer a huge boost to their chances of finishing in the top eight of the new league phase and securing direct qualification for the last 16 without the need for a nervy two-legged play-off tie in the New Year. But they could have their work cut out at the Estadio Jose Alvalade against an in-form Sporting team who are unbeaten in Europe so far this season and stunned Manchester City 4-1 at home earlier this month.

The reigning Portuguese champions don’t look to have been adversely impacted by the exit of head coach Ruben Amorim to Manchester United, with successor Joao Pereira delivering a 6-0 triumph in his first game in charge with rumoured Arsenal transfer target Viktor Gyokeres once again among the goals. Follow Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal live below!

Live updates

4 minutes ago

Mikel Arteta swerves Viktor Gyokeres questions

Unsurprisingly given those strong transfer links, Mikel Arteta faced plenty of questions about Viktor Gyokeres’ qualities at last night’s pre-match press conference.

But the Arsenal boss seemed to swerve them all.

“I would like to talk about the team, the coaches and how phenomenal they have been,” he said.

“The run they are on is incredible, that tells you it’s not only about their qualities, but their ambition, the team energy they have, that’s a great challenge we have.”

To come here tomorrow, make a statement and show that we are capable against this kind of opponent to be ourselves and win the game.”

AFP via Getty Images

25 minutes ago

Edwards starts alongside Gyokeres in Sporting CP attack

Joao Pereira changed things up for his first game in charge since being promoted from Sporting B duties to succeed Ruben Amorim, a 6-0 home thrashing of third-tier Amarante in the Portuguese Cup.

As mentioned, both Nuno Santos and Pedro Goncalves are out tonight, while Zeno Debast and Eduardo Quaresma aren’t involved either.

Arsenal will have to be wary of that potent attack spearheaded by Viktor Gyokeres, who is flanked by ex-Tottenham starlet Marcus Edwards and former Wolves man Francisco Trincao.

Ousmane Diomande is a key figure at the back, with Sporting captained by Denmark midfielder Morten Hjulmand - who scored against England at Euro 2024.

Swedish marksman Gyokeres - linked with Arsenal alongside the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United - has 24 goals to his name in just 19 appearances across all competitions so far this season, continuing his impressive rise since leaving Coventry for Lisbon last summer.

AFP via Getty Images

35 minutes ago

Rice, Martinelli, Partey and Havertz all in for Arsenal

So as expected, Declan Rice, Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz all return to the Arsenal starting lineup tonight after being left on the bench against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Jorginho, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus each drop to the bench as a result, as does Mikel Merino with Thomas Partey also starting after his effective goal-scoring appearance as a half-time substitute at the weekend.

Otherwise it’s as you were for Arsenal, with the back five unchanged as Jurrien Timber stays at right-back in the absence of Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori on the left.

Kieran Tierney is indeed among the substitutes.

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

48 minutes ago

Sporting CP lineup

Sporting XI: Israel, St Juste, Diomande, Inacio, Quenda, Hjulmand, Morita, Araujo, Trincao, Edwards, Gyokeres

52 minutes ago

Arsenal lineup

Arsenal XI: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Partey, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli, Havertz

Subs: Neto, Setford, Tierney, Kiwior, Zinchenko, Lewis-Skelly, Merino, Jorginho, Sterling, Nwaneri, Trossard, Jesus

1 hour ago

Sporting CP vs Arsenal head to head history

Sporting have never previously beaten Arsenal in four attempts, with three successive draws in the Europa League following the Gunners’ Danny Welbeck-inspired 1-0 win in Lisbon back in 2018.

Sporting held on with 10 men to achieve a goalless draw at the Emirates the next month, while these two sides met again in the last 16 of the Europa League in March 2023.

William Saliba was on the scoresheet in an entertaining first leg in Portugal that finished 2-2, but Arsenal were dumped out of the competition 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 home draw that saw Granit Xhaka’s opening goal answered by a belter from Pedro Goncalves.

Gabriel Martinelli was the villain in the shootout, with Nuno Santos netting the winning spot-kick.

Getty Images

1 hour ago

A picturesque look at tonight’s venue, the 50,095-capacity Estadio Jose Alvalade - named after one of the club’s founders and first member.

There will be some atmosphere in store here tonight, with Sporting typically so strong and full of goals in front of their own passionate fans - as Manchester City recently found out to their cost.

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

1 hour ago

Arsenal struggling for Champions League goals

Eddie Nketiah - now of Crystal Palace of course - was the last Arsenal player to score a Champions League away goal, scoring for a much-changed side in their 1-1 draw against PSV Eindhoven last December with qualification for the last 16 already secured.

Mikel Arteta was asked during last night’s pre-match press conference at the Estadio Jose Alvalade if he puts their barren run in front of goal in the road in Europe down chiefly to inexperience.

“I wouldn’t say that’s the most important thing, but the efficiency we have shown inside the box, at this level, with the number of chances you are normally able to generate in the Champions League, has not been at the level that is required to win consistently,” he said.

“I always say the Champions League is about the boxes, small margins and details, and you have to get all those right to win, especially away from home.”

AFP via Getty Images

1 hour ago

Mikel Arteta: Arsenal have to take next step

Expanding further on Arsenal’s struggles on the road in Europe, Mikel Arteta urged his team to take that next step in terms of their performances.

“Not all of the games have been the same,” he said. “It’s true that some of those games were when we’d already qualified.

“But it’s true we have to improve the results and we have to find the ways to understand what has been missing.

“Sometimes it’s been performance to be fair, and sometimes it’s been different aspects, and that’s the next step we have to make as a team.”

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

1 hour ago

Mikel Arteta urges Arsenal to make Champions League statement

You have to go back to October 24 of last year for Arsenal’s last away win in the Champions League, when Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus scored either side of half-time in a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

That result came on the back of a shock 2-1 loss to Lens and is the only time in their last seven European road trips that the Gunners have returned to north London with all three points.

They haven’t won any of their last five European away meetings, failing to score in four of those, and Mikel Arteta has challenged his side to develop a ruthless edge and make a statement in Lisbon tonight.

“It’s certainly something we have to improve,” he said yesterday.

“We have the right steps, and looking back at the way we played against Inter, against a team that has been so dominant in the league, were in the Champions League final and should have won it.

“We played and dominated the game we should have won. But the reality is you have to make it happen, and we didn’t.

“Those steps are what we have to take next, be ruthless and be much more efficient in the opposition box, and when we get there do what we have to do to take the three points away from here.”