This Sunday, Sporting returned to the isolated leadership of the I Football League and, outnumbered, achieved a difficult victory against Arouca, 2-1, in an eighth round match with many disciplinary measures.
Swede Viktor Gyökeres put the Lions ahead in the 31st minute, but Ivorian Diomande was sent off in the first half (42nd) and Arouca equalized in the 52nd minute through Spaniard Rafa Mújica. However, with one player less, the Japanese Morita condemned the triumph, at 68. On Arouca’s side, Rafael Fernandes was also sent off, due to the accumulation of yellow cards, in the last part of the match, at 87.
Sporting thus returns to the isolated lead of the championship, with 22 points, against 21 for Benfica and 19 for FC Porto. Arouca occupies the 16th and third-last place, with six.
Rúben Amorim made three player changes following the defeat to Italian side Atalanta, returning the starting line-up to Coates, Ricardo Esgaio and Edwards, replacing Matheus Reis, Fresneda and Paulinho respectively, while Arouca replaced Tiago Esgaio and Rafa Mujica. Simão, who is serving a suspension, and Jason Remeseiro.
The start of the match was somewhat uneventful, with Sporting having more possession as expected, but circulating slowly, given Arouca’s good defensive organization, who only saw Sporting take aim in the 24th minute. , into a shot by Edwards .
However, the Arouquense barrier was broken in the 31st minute, again with the participation of the English winger, perfectly discovering Gyökeres’ free kick in front of the goal, who scored the first goal for the first time and all alone.
With a lead, Sporting continued to look for a second goal that would give them more peace of mind, but at the age of 39, Coates missed the fatal deflection on the goal line by inches, and shortly afterwards Diomande received a second yellow card and was sent off.
The departure of the Ivorian centre-back, amid heavy protests from the stands of the José Alvalade Stadium, was a huge setback for the Lions, forcing Rúben Amorim to rebuild the defense for the second half with Matheus Reis, with he sacrificed Edwards.
Realizing there was a better chance of taking points from the game, Daniel Ramos made a double substitution at half-time, introducing Pedro Santos and Jason Remeseiro, who replaced Busquets and Milovanov, and quickly scored the equalizer.
At the age of 52, Rafa Mújica stood out among Sporting’s central defenders and headed in to equalize, reacting in the best way to Jason Remeseiro’s cross.
Sporting responded promptly with a dead ball, supplemented by a powerful shot from Nuno Santos, first against the side nets of Arruabarrena’s goal, and Rúben Amorim was again involved with the entrance of Eduardo Quaresma and Geny Catamo.
Even with numerical inferiority, Sporting tried to return to the lead and did so successfully in the 68th minute, through Morita.clearly visible in the finishing zone, after excellent work by Pedro Gonçalves on the left wing of the attack.
Serra da Freita’s team again threatened with an equalizer, but Adán was alert to the attempts of Rafa Mújica (73) and Cristo González (82), and Sporting could also have expanded, without Arruabarrena’s enormous defense against Catamo’s shot . .
Close to the 90th minute, the already yellowed Rafael Fernandes stopped a dangerous attack by the Lisbon team and also received an expulsion notice, balancing the number of players from each team before injury time, in which Sporting kept the minimum lead.
View the objectives here
1-0: Viktor Gyökeres (Sporting), 31′
⚽ GOAL
Gyokeres 31′
I Liga (#8) | Sporty 1-0 FC Arouca#LigaPortugalBetclic #SCPFCA https://t.co/6oRcwUW7fj pic.twitter.com/T1GZaTZNEQ– VSPORTS (@vsports_pt) October 8, 2023
1-1: Rafa Mujica (Arouca), 52′
⚽ GOAL
Rafa Mujica 52′
I Liga (#8) | Sporting 1-1 FC Arouca#LigaPortugalBetclic #SCPFCA https://t.co/6oRcwUW7fj pic.twitter.com/FoHVrjjMIc– VSPORTS (@vsports_pt) October 8, 2023
2-1: Hidemasa Morita (Sporty), 68′
⚽ GOAL
Hide Morita 68′
I Liga (#8) | Sporty 2-1 FC Arouca#LigaPortugalBetclic #SCPFCA https://t.co/6oRcwUW7fj pic.twitter.com/zyoCArAbwu– VSPORTS (@vsports_pt) October 8, 2023
Source: DN
