Sporting crushes Porto 4-1 in Taça da Liga

The Estádio de Alvalade was far from welcoming as Porto was devastated 4-1 by Sporting in the semi-final of the Taça da Liga.

Jesualdo Ferreira's side took the lead with Tarik Sektioui quality strike from the right hand side only ten minutes after the start. However following that score the Azuis e brancos were rough over with four unanswered goals.



Leandro Romagnoli brought Sporting level with the the Dragões nine minutes before the break connecting from the spot.



He added his second from the spot three minutes after the break from the spot after former Rapid Bucureşti man Cristian Săpunaru was adjudged for mauling Hélder Postiga. While some in the media and certainly Porto manager Jesualdo Ferreira debated the call, it is quite obvious that it was the only one the referee, Mr. Carlos Xistra could make.



Former Porto man Derlei (Vanderlei Fernandes Silva) severed the hopes of his old club as he gave Sporting the two goal lead six minutes after the hour. In a controversial call he was he was played in alone on Nuno it what appeared to be an offside before sending the ball in.



Derlei nailed the match shut with a brilliant volley near the spot with ten minutes left to bring the scoreline to a 4-1 conclusion.

Taça da Liga semi-final preview

The Taça da Liga continues today with the Dragões traveling to Lisbon to face Sporting at the Estádio de Alvalade. Jesualdo Ferreira has left Cristian Săpunaru, Milan Stepanov, Nelson Benítez,Freddy Guarín, Mariano González, Ernesto Farías and Tomás Costa out of the lineup and debuting a number of new players including Andrés Madrid. The former former Gimnasia La Plata midfielder joined the Azuis e brancos from Braga on-loan to seasons end and could be an intriguing piece for the champions defense of their crown

Sporting manager Paulo Bento will be without striker Liedson who was injured against CD Trofense on the weekend as well as Miguel Veloso. However Fábio Rochemback and Russian international Marat Izmailov are back to full health.

PSG’s transfer market targets

While PSG have yet to make a mark in the transfer market, Alain Roche has been in hot pursuit of a number of prospects. Although no offers have been made their top priority is Russian international Marat Izmailov, presently with Portuguese side Sporting. The twenty-six year-old ex-Lokomotiv Moscow man is a superb play-maker and leader. Additionally winger Vincent Laban who presently plays for Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta is listed high on the list as he offers the pace and vision the club needs. Although the club is debating investing within defenders Aquivaldo Mosquera of Sevilla and Marco Caneira of Sporting are under consideration if the price is right.

Porto defeats Sporting in Taça de Portugal

Jesualdo Ferreira's Porto rejoice as they defeated defending cup-holders Sporting on penalties and now safely advance the next round Taça de Portugal, a title that has alluded them the previous two seasons.

The match was a spirited affair with fourteen yellow cards as proof that the rivalry is as strong as ever. Tackles were rock-solid hard and intent for victory were sealed in the faces of both clubs but it would be Porto that would leave Estádio José Alvalade as victors. While it should be without surprise, the Dragões saved their most intense performance this season for Sporting and gave it their all in a slug-fest. Sporting opened up the scoring a minute before the half-hour mark as their great striker Liedson preyed upon a poor defending clearance and headed the ball in. Making a name for himself amongst loyal supporters, ex Tokyo Verdy-man Hulk drew the match level just before the hour mark with a clever run he finished off with powerful strike. Beyond the score-sheet there was the brilliance work of Helton between the pipes and if it wasn't for his virtuoso performance the match wouldn't have went to added-time. Still through one-hundred twenty minutes a deciding goal couldn't be had and the match went down to an penalty shoot-out. Things appeared bleak for Porto as Lucho González' effort was off but through the skill of Helton shutting off Sporting's attempt, Porto took the match and moves on towards the title.



SPORTING: Rui Patrício; Abel, Caneira, Polga and Miguel Veloso; Rochemback; João Moutinho, Romagnolli (Pedro Silva, 65m) and Izmailov (Tiuí, 119m); Postiga (Yannick, 82m) and Liedson

F.C. PORTO: Helton; Jorge Fucile (Lino, 100m), Rolando, Bruno Alves and Pedro Emanuel «cap»; Lucho González, Fernando and Raul Meireles (Rodríguez, 55m); Lisandro López, Hulk and Mariano González (Tomás Costa, 46m)

Taça de Portugal

In a repeat of last years Taça de Portugal final, Porto visits Estádio José Alvalade to face Sporting. It is an twist of fate to see these two rivals drawn so early in the competition, particularly as you consider both played in tough Champions League matches earlier this week.

While the Dragões generally only release selected information before matches, Jesualdo Ferreira has been particularly tight-lipped about this and excluding the posted squad list, all commentary is media supposition or a nice way to say, building up content. For the match he has posted the squad list as below with the only change being a fully-fit Jorge Fucile returning in lieu of Cristian Săpunaru.

Bruno Alves, Fernando, Jorge Fucile, Freddy Guarín, Helton, Hulk, Lino, Lisandro López, Lucho González, Mariano González, Nuno, Pedro Emanuel, Pelé, Raul Meireles, Cristian Rodríguez, Rolando, Milan Stepanov, Tarik Sektioui e Tomás Costa,

Going into the match Paulo Bento is confident and with good reason. Besides having tremendous crowd support in defense of the being back to back winners of the Taça de Portugal they are without a doubt playing consistently better than Porto and showing signs that this is "their year." That might be a bitter pill for Port supporters but three wins in seven matches is a deplorable start and reason for concern. Domestically Porto has been terribly inconsistent and showing a embarrassing lack of commitment, losing to Leixões and Naval 1º de Maio in a manner that champions should never allow on the pitch. How this past weeks stunning victory against Dynamo Kyiv will impact them is guess work but hopefully it will be a wake-up call to not only improve performance but remember the crest they wear. While I have uttered it in the past, it's time to see Pelé more on the pitch, not simply because of his abilities but as a representative of the regional product and the obvious connection to the community.

Enjoy the match and I will report on it as it concludes.

Sporting defeats Shakhtar Donetsk

Shakhtar Donetsk's hopes to advance in the Champions League ended with a 1-0 loss to Portuguese super-power Sporting. The match was tightly played before the break with realistic opportunities to score few and far between. Liedson began to assert himself after the break and the Miners seemed to be playing back on their heels. With twenty-one minutes remaining Sporting called upon veteran Brazilian striker Derlei and only four minutes after he was served-up a perfect ball by long-term Lokomotiv Moscow man Marat Izmailov, which he volleyed-into the back of the net.

With the loss Shakhtar Donetsk sits in third place two points above FC Basel in the race for the UEFA Cup spot.

Shakhtar Donetsk v Sporting

As Mircea Lucescu's Shakhtar Donetsk ready to face Portuguese giant Sporting in Lisbon, they have seen their league play improve recently included this past weekends 3-1 victory over Zorya Luhansk. While not a "perfect" match, the Miners are showing signs of improvement and putting the early season problems away.

After the match Mircea Lucescu remarked of the match:

"We won. That’s the only thing that matters. It wasn’t easy to play against a team who hardly created a scoring opportunity in 90 minutes. They were playing defensive football. Before the match we analysed all the goals that we had conceded before. Most of them were scored from standard positions, from corners, from free kicks. We noticed that it hadn’t been due to any team-mistakes but solely due to individual faults. It seemed that we were conceding on purpose, to give the opponents chance to continue their pressure and then to break the course of a match to prove to ourselves that we are capable of doing it. After that it ain’t easy to play a team that have put all eleven men behind the ball. I am not satisfied with the fact that we had to make that much efforts to achieve result. We could have done it much more easier. We lost a number of opportunities after we had made it 2-1. Again, we lost concentration and it didn’t allow us to score more. Nevertheless, I am glad we took the three points. Now we are more enthusiastic to meet Sporting next Tuesday."

Sitting in third place after a series of disappointing Champions League matches where the Miners discarded points late, a victory in Lisbon would bring them level with Sporting with two matches to play.

Regarding the match he commented:

"We are not going to concede tomorrow. We’ve got to organise the match in such a way that we could win it. We could have beaten them in Donetsk. But it happened so, that we made a mistake which allowed Sporting to win. We, in our turn, created 4-5 opportunities after which we could have scored. Besides, the team were depressed after the dramatic match with Barcelona. But now we feel much better. I hope we shall be able to play the tomorrow’s match better. Sporting are a well-organised side, especially when it goes about defensive actions. After their result in Donetsk they shall be more careful here. We must try to avoid making silly amateur mistakes."

When asked of the tactical plan and whether the Miners would use the same plan that helped them beat Benfica to the match he added:

These are two rather different matches. We practically have the same line-up that we fielded against Benfica. Our players have matured during the year. Naturally, Sporting are in a better position asthey have won the first leg of the tie. They can allow themselves to control the match. A draw would be a satisfactory result for them, whereas Shakhtar will only be satisfied with a win.

Sporting manager Paulo Bento is aware his club sits on the verge of qualifying for the final sixteen: "We know that if we win, we're virtually through to the last sixteen."

"We have a clear objective – to get the points that will practically secure qualification for us. We have faith in our ability to go into the game strongly, and when a team has qualities like ours does, and is playing at home with a great atmosphere behind them, of course we feel we have a good chance to win. It would be great for the club, the players, and the coach as well. We displayed great togetherness in Donetsk, and we know we'll approach this match with belief and on the front foot."

Dragões defeat Sporting 2-1

Jesualdo Ferreira unleashed a technical mastermind in directing Porto to a remarkable 2-1 victory over favoured Sporting at Estádio José Alvalade

Coming off the horrible performance in London against Arsenal this week in which Porto surrendered four goals, todays shut down of Sporting's tremendous attack was nothing short of brilliant. Singling out one particular individual is difficult as Porto demonstrated extraordinary tackling and didn't give up a blade of grass without challenge to the Leões. However special note clearly needs to be made of Tomás Costa and Cristian Săpunaru whose work helped thwart Sporting's offensive forays.











With Porto pressuring consistently, Lisandro López opened the scoring at the nineteenth minute to give the Dragões the lead however it was short-lived as nine minutes later Sporting leveled it João Moutinho converted slickly on a "must-see" penalty strike. Standing at the mark he calmly looked towards Nuno and looked to give a false read to the 'keepers right. As he went to strike the ball Nuno leaped to his right and João Moutinho easily side-footed to dead center of where the 'keeper was standing. However only three minutes later Bruno Alves replied to give Porto the eventual game winner. The match played out with Sporting intensely trying to breakthrough but the Dragões demonstrated a level of discipline and fundamentals yet to be seen this year and rarely offered their opposition a chance to score.

Porto returns to action on the 21st as they face Ukrainian super-power Dynamo Kyiv in Champions League action.












SPORTING: Rui Patrício; Abel (Romagnoli 66') , Tonel, Polga e Grimi(Pereirinha 46'); Miguel Veloso, Rochemback, João Moutinho «cap.» e Djaló; Derlei e Hélder Postiga (Liedson 66')
Não utilizados: Tiago, Daniel Carriço, Pedro Silva , Adrien

F.C. PORTO: Nuno; Sapunaru, Rolando, Bruno Alves e Fucile; Fernando, Lucho González (Guarin 83'), Raul Meireles e Tomás Costa (Mariano Gonzalez 58'); Lisandro Lopez e Cristian Rodriguez (Hulk 73')
Não utilizados: Ventura, Pedro Emanuel, Lino e Pelé

Porto - Sporting match preview

FC Porto travels to Lisbon to face Sporting at Estádio José Alvalade in another edition of these clubs storied Clássico meetings.

The clubs are coming at it from completely opposite weekends. While Paulo Bento's club celebrate brilliant play in the Champions League with a 2-0 victory over FC Basel, the Dragões were humiliated by Arsenal 4-0 in a score-line that was in-fact flattering to Porto. Excluding the Leões peculiar performance in losing 2-0 to Benfica last week, they appeared to clear up their defensive problems of last year and very capable of not only winning the domestic championship but making a hearty run in European competition.

Porto is without question licking its wounds from Arsenal and Jesualdo Ferreira will need to address this tactically. Against Arsenal they came out with their customary fast approach and looked to be the aggressor but once they fell behind they dropped their guard and were run rough-shod. Confidence is key with the club right now and Lucho González and Lisandro López need to recognize this and show leadership and patience. The backline needs to begin to communicate better and excluding Cristian Săpunaru, work-rate has been far from desirable. As they approach the tandem of Hélder Postiga and Yannick Djaló they will need to radically improve their marking of Sporting will echo memories of London very quickly.


Tomás Costa, who of course has never played against Sporting and obviously doesn't comprehend the notion of providing your opponent additional motivation, commented pre-match:

"Sporting is a difficult opponent that plays good football but we know well their ups and downs. It’s the ideal opponent for us at this point. We have more pace now and against Sporting, we have to play like we’ve done against Belenenses and Fenerbahçe and prove why we’re the Portuguese champions."