Sporting CP 1 Atalanta 2
The Warm Up
Shhh don’t tell anyone but Sporting are kicking off at 17.45, what’s going on? In the Farense post I mentioned about Lisbon based parents having that weekly argument with kids about being able to stay up and watch the game. Now it will be a battle to get them to eat their dinner and not be transfixed by matchday two in Europe. Who’d be a parent hey?
Atalanta will pose the most significant goal threat Sporting have faced all season and we will be hampered by the loss of Coates who went off early in the win to Farense. However it appears the injury may not be as bad as first feared. Original reports were that he’s due to miss a month but he took part in Tuesdays training and likely to just miss this fixture. Scamacca has come in during the summer from West Ham with a massive point to prove. Koopmeiners who sounds like a character from Super Mario continues to grow and flourish for the Bergamo outfit and Lookman who has Premier League experience with Everton and Fulham has also been amongst the goals so far this season. The Italians come into the game off the back of a 0-0 draw at home to Juventus.
Good news that St Juste is back to full fitness, however he will of course be lacking match fitness having not played a minute of competitive football since his latest injury. Off the field speculation continues to grow surrounding potential sales; Edwards once more linked with his first club Tottenham and Manchester United have been reported as potentially launching a bid for Inácio in January. A good friend of mine described Inácio as being our Harry Maguire and it wasn’t meant in a complimentary manner. Whilst financially it’ll be a massive boost for the youngster in terms of salary, you do fear it could be a career ender especially given United’s ongoing on field issues. Still it does appear to be a matter of time before he moves on and if we can get his release clause of a reported €60m I’ll happily piggy back him there.
The money markets
The markets have opened up with Sporting 5/4 Atalanta 2/1 and the draw 5/2.
Apologies to Braga having written off their champions League chances and a nod to Bruma whose goal made Roberto Carlos’ famous bent free kick look like it moved in a straight line. Co-efficient points banked for Liga Nos. The pigeons however were hammered 1-0 in Milano. Last season they managed a 3-3 draw with two goals coming in injury time at which point they were already 5-1 down on aggregate in the knockout round to Inter to add a degree of respectability that wasn’t there. Tuesday night was one of the most one sided displays you’ll see in Europe all season. Lautaro Martinez scored four on Sunday and on another night would have claimed five or six goals so many were the chances he clocked up over the 90 minutes. That he didn’t find the net once will be a mystery worthy of a Scooby Doo episode and 1-0 will never give a real indication of how one sided this game was.
Team News
As expected Inácio starts in the middle of the back three in place of Coates, however the Uruguayan does feature on the bench. Reis will start on the left. A surprise start for Fresneda to make his full senior debut for the club in any competition. Previously he’s been limited to just five minutes as substitute though the 19 year old does boast a 100% passing completion rate. I mean sure he’s only made three passes but the stats don’t lie. Esgaio the player to make way. Edwards is replaced by Paulinho in the front three. Atalanta set to employ a 3-4-1-2. Of those mentioned above Lookman and Kooper trooper Meiners will start. Scamacca will provide an option to come off the bench. He looked effective in West Ham’s early Europa Conference games scoring three before injury sidelined his campaign and his summer return to Serie A.
Prior to kick off I’m going to sit on the fence, I think this one is too close to call. On their day Atalanta are as capable as any Serie A side in the league but maybe carry a touch of Sporting in their DNA being hampered by inconsistencies. With a packed midfield pace in behind the defence is likely to be key so maybe a little surprising to see Paulinho selected ahead of Edwards.
First Half
As the teams line up what can you say other than did Nuno Santos read my comments about his hair starting to look like a monks as he shows off his new shaven barnet? Sportinguista’s in attendance are in fine voice and if the game lives up to the atmosphere we’ll be in for a treat.
3 Superb break into the box by Lookman on the left. His pass evades everyone as it runs across the six yard box. Heart in mouth stuff there. Interesting to see in the opening minutes how deep Nuno Santos is on the opposite wing as he provides support for Reis.
7 Zappacosta has Nuno Santos on toast on the right wing as the ball eventually goes out for Atalanta’s first corner.
7 Kolasanic heads down and wide from 8 yards. He’ll feel he should have done better there. Worrying start from Sporting.
15 De Roon converts the bonus point from distance as his effort flies over the bar. You’d be forgiven for thinking Atalanta are the home side. Sporting’s game plan seems to be just to pump it long and bypass the midfield. Nuno Santos is playing the Esgaio roll which is odd given most of the threat so far has come on the opposite flank and it means when Sporting do break he’s having to cover huge distances to try and provide any support.
20 The only positive I can pick up for Sporting so far is we’ve not yet conceded. I say yet… this is karma for pointing out how piss poor the pigeons were on Tuesday night in Milano.
26 Little Cruyff turn in the box from Adán. I’ve got to find one actual positive thing to write in the opening 45.
28 Ederson has a career in the NFL as a punt return ahead of him as he shanks that a country mile over from 30 yards
30 If and it’s a big if – IF we could string a pass through past the half way line we could get at their defence but at present the pass completion from an attacking sense is quite frankly woeful. Finding space isn’t the problem. Gonçalves was in about twenty yards of space in all directions not so long ago but the Italians are marshalling every break.
32 GOAL Atalanta break the deadlock. Well that’s been coming. Clever ball into the goal line then pulled back by Kooper Trooper Meiners to Scalvini who won’t score an easier goal all season. I often say Amorim is emperor’s new clothes and tonight isn’t swaying that opinion. He’s got his tactics all wrong so far. Sporting CP 0 Atalanta 1
34 Gonçalves with a late challenge on Ederson, left his studs in on the top of the boot. I think he’s lucky to escape a yellow there.
36 Lookman shoots on the swivel from six yards out. Luckily for Sporting he was leaning back. Had that been on target you’d have surely been looking at 2-0.
39 Adán with the save from Lookman who struck the ball from outside the box. Half time cannot come soon enough.
42 GOAL Sporting CP 0 Atalanta 2. Ruggeri had acres of space as he was played into the box on the left Adán did well with an initial save low down but the ball popped out under him and presented Ruggeri with an open goal.
Plus one indicated
Half time
Sporting CP 0 Atalanta 2
Sporting have been schooled there. I just wrote a long diatribe only to delete it again. That’s it, that’s the line – Sporting have been schooled!
***
Half time interval and they’re showing the goals again. Inácio shows his naivety and lack of nous as he fails to cover the space in the centre on the second goal. It’s not rocket engineering to work out he needed to continue his run into the middle in case the ball deflected. Instead he just stops and watches on from the best view in the house. I shall piss myself laughing if we get €60m for him. I am however genuinely surprised at how bad Diomande has looked on the right. The overload against him and Fresneda has been constant.
Edwards and Coates look set to come on which will come as no surprise.
I don’t think this is necessarily the case of looking to get something out of the game, this is about not getting hammered on the evidence of the opening 45.
Second half
Coates, Edwards and Geny come on in a triple substitution. Edwards having issues with his ring on the sidelines. That’s not a euphemism. Hjulmand, Paulinho and Nuno Santos make way. I want to say the second half can’t get any worse but clearly it can. Sporting’s XG is currently 0.01
48 Reis shows his frustration as he sends Zapacosta flying. I don’t think the referee will let him get away with two of those without a yellow card this half.
50 Yellow shown to Djimsiti as he hacks down Edwards from behind.
51 Edwards swings in a cross from edge of 18 yard box on right. Inácio with a poor header wide of the left post inside the six yard box. Sums up his performance perfectly.
54 Edwards in nine minutes has had more impact than the starting XI did collectively in 506 minutes. He tries an effort from 25 yards out which was well off target but at least it’s positive. It has to be said though this isn’t an Amorim masterstroke. This is Atalanta inviting Sporting on having waltzed to a 2-0 lead. They think this is job done and they’re probably right in fairness.
59 Toloi yellow carded for taking out Geny in the centre of the park.
60 Geny cops an inadvertent head butt from De Roon. He’s not had the nicest of two minutes in his young footballing career.
67 Esgaio on for Fresneda. It’s definitely not been the most auspicious of debuts for the youngster. You have to question why Amorim decided Europe was the right time to give him his debut against a forward with Premier League and European experience. It’s backfired spectacularly. He believes his own hype a little too much. The mister not the Spaniard.
72 Reis shot from edge of six yard box stings keepers hands. Falls to Diomande who we shall now call jigsaw as he fell apart with a woeful shot. Wait...VAR has seen something as the referee runs off to check the monitor. I’m guessing it’s not to say look how bad that shot was. Ironies of all ironies as Diomande’s woeful shot hit the hand of Scalvini. His reaction was to hold his hand down by his side like a child who stole a cookie which is always a good indication. Referee has given it. Scalvini yellow carded. Well fuck a duck.
75 GOAL Gyökeres makes it 2-1 from the penalty spot. Did not see that coming 30 minutes ago. That dinged off the left post. Another night that bounces back to the half way line. Tonight Mathew it’s going to be a goal. Sporting CP 1 Atalanta 2
76 Keeper was off like Superman to stop Edwards effort as he went one on one. He’s kept his side in it which I didn’t think I’d write tonight prior to minute 75.
77 Geny hits the left post from ten yards. It’s Atalanta we should call jigsaw. What a two minutes for Sporting.
83 Gonçalves fouled but free kick not given, he has a tantrum like a two year old, Atalanta player clearly tells him as much and he sweeps the players legs away with one hand and knocks him on his arse. Well that left me amused. Yellow card and an Oscar nomination on its way for the forward.
90 Scamacca turns and shoots from 22 yards. Great save by Adán to prevent Atalanta’s third and out for a corner
Five minutes shown
+1 Bragança comes on. Within seconds he’s conceded a free kick and booked. That was even quicker than Sunday’s free kick and booking from the same player coming on.
+2 Geny chopped by Scamacca whose also carded for his troubles
+3 Inácio heads from eight yards out. Not sure if he was trying to flick it on or try send it goal wards. Either way it didn’t work.
Full time
Sporting CP 1 Atalanta 2
The Final Word
Despite only being on the pitch for a half Edwards gets my vote for man of the match. Not that it was exactly a hard or extensive choice. Why Amorim persists in a. Playing Paulinho and Gyökeres together I’ll never know and b. Lining up against a 3-4-1-2 formation, how could he not see he was going to need some pace in the forward line? That one’s on Amorim’s naivety. If you came in at half time and only watched the second half you’d come away thinking Sporting were unfortunate not to get something out of the game they weren’t. That was a Gasperini masterclass. On that showing the Italians are set to go far in this competition, Sporting I’m afraid are by no means favourites to join them out of the group. We’ve flattered to deceive in a lot of games this season and finally been found out as we record our first loss in any competition this season.
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