A save from Adán and a goal from Nuno Santos sent Sporting to the quarter-finals of the Europa League. After a draw in the 90th minute and at the end of extra time (1-1), the Lions of Arsenal won on penalties (5-3), breaking the tie in a game that was balanced, exciting and well played. The draw for the quarter-finals is today in Nyon, where Benfica will also be set to face the Champions League quarter-final opponents.
To move forward it was necessary to win in England, something the Lions have not managed to do since they beat Middlesbrough (3-2) in the 2004-05 UEFA Cup Round of 16 in a year in which Sporting only stopped in final for CSKA Moscow. Now 18 years old, another win, making it possible to repeat the 2011/12 and 2017/18 quarters and add another 1.8 million euros to the 36.8 million already won.
The suspended absences of Coates and Morita led Rúben Amorim to make two changes to the line-up used in the first leg (2-2), betting on Diomande and Ugarte at the Emirates. Adán recovered from injury and defended the goal he has had for more than three years, with the captain’s armband, worthy of it with some good interventions.
Arteta had promised to do better than in Lisbon and maybe that’s why he promoted more changes at Arsenal. Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, Gabriel and Gabriel Jesus started, but two injuries in 20 minutes forced the coach to change the structure, without taking away the ambition of the shooters, who had Fábio Vieira at the start.
The excellent entry into the lion game had a logical, if misleading, explanation in Trincão’s dribbling. The shot in the 13th minute missed the target by centimeters… and with it Sporting’s hopes of winning. Esgaio also missed a shot by inches and the ball went into the goal of Adán, who was still imposing on Martinelli’s shot but could do nothing to stop Xhaka’s reload.
The goalkeeper had already held his own for the strong in the Alvalade game and was again top lion with three high-level interventions and a launch that isolated Marcus Edwards. The Englishman had what it takes to equalize, but he was nearsighted and shot against the only legs that blocked his way to goal.
From then on, Arteta’s team established itself in the Lions midfield and made no secret of their real intentions to score the second goal. Sporting de Amorim asked for a rest and someone to deal with the genius of Gabriel Jesus, hungry for the ball after months of hiatus. Speaking before the break, St. Juste had the corridor open to goal, but fired into the stands. Ugarte had the merit of finding his way to goal, but saw the ball deflect for a corner kick.
Besides the English fleet, the lions also had to deal with the old problems of effectiveness (or lack of…). Lions and gunners ended the first half with the same number of shots (5), but with a huge difference: the 5 English went on target, while the Lions went sideways or over.
pot changed everything
With a recoverable margin deficit and with 45 minutes left to play, Rúben Amorim’s side entered the second half and pushed Arsenal. It seemed the Londoners had left the killer instinct in the dressing room and paid a high price for their brutality.
Pedro Goncalves freed himself from the defensive constraints to see Aaron Ramsdale in front and beyond, almost daring to shoot from midfield, in a goal that lifted the stadium. The equalizer confused the Premier League leader and Paulinho immediately headed the 2-1. As in the first half, Edwards had another chance to score, but he hit the goalkeeper squarely in the face. It must have hurt Ramsdale and another waste in Sporting’s soul…
In the last 15 minutes, the game became more cerebral. Anorim only changed teams in the 85th minute (Paulinho for Chermiti). More than wanting to win, nobody wanted to lose and so it was necessary to play another half hour and find the winner on penalties.
Source: DN
