Sporting CP 2 Sport Lisboa e Benfica 1

Sporting CP v Sport Lisboa e Benfica
April 6th, 2024
Estádio José Alvalade
Matchday 27

The Warm Up

When I first started watching Sporting I had two main questions; 'Why do the players all have their first names on the back of the shirt?' Something which quite frankly really confused me and 'who's the fat bloke in a suit sat on the bench?' the answer to which was even more perplexing for me. 'What really? Really, really?’ That would never happen in England there'd be a riot!' I exclaimed in that pretentious manner you'd be right to expect coming from someone brought up on a diet of close on 30 years of English football at that point. Portugal it seemed did things a little differently and why the hell not? Well, I write that, the name thing is fine, Bruno de Carvalho sitting on the bench. Fuck off you egotistical prick.

Over the years I've gotten used to the subtle nuances surrounding both Portuguese football and Sporting Clube de Portugal. It didn't take me long to be annoyed by everyone in England calling the club the wrong name and I still find it highly amusing that the vast majority of songs sung on the terraces are basically a combination of the words força, Sporting and allez set to a combination of different tunes. You could spend hours or days thinking up amazing chants but they'll never stick if they don't have those three key words. Above all else the love, devotion, loyalty and passion shown from the terraces is given over to the club and not to any given player. The stadium is akin to the church and the club plays the role of God in the hymns sung. Rarely do you hear songs about players albeit Paulinho has the one when he scores about flashing his teeth and geese falling over. Have I got that right? Gyökeres will simply have his name chanted. Whereas in England it's not only a combination of the two but in addition there's some really vile chants and taunting against the opposition and certain players. Tragedy chanting it's known as colloquially here. Anything is considered fair game; Hillsborough and the Munich Air Disaster. Chants about Jimmy Saville fucking dead people in a mortuary. Some sets of fans just can't move on past the 1970s in their mentality.

I watch 95% of games with no commentary so my soundtrack is the symphony from the stands which quite frankly is a blessing given some of the idiots we have commentating here especially on co-comms. I'd guess it's the same in Portugal, not that I'd understand what was being said even if I did have it when watching. It struck me on Tuesday night how much self entitlement there is surrounding tonight's opponents Benfica both on the pitch and in the stands. I find them both extraordinarily fickle in equal measure. The level of cheating and gamesmanship from their players was off the charts in that game, throwing themselves to the floor, appealing for penalties and the like. I have to admit even now a few days later I'm quite shocked at how blatant the cheating was. Rarely do you ever see a Sporting player go down (other than Paulinho) with any sort of theatrics, or using simulation to try unfairly win something such as a penalty. I can only really think of Marcus Edwards doing it once this season for which I vilified him at the time. No I lie Reis did it for a penalty rightly over turned. From the stands you could tell the points where they were really on top in the game because the crowd roared but unless I'm much mistaken and it's hidden in my ignorance of the Portuguese language, there's none of the same atmosphere you get generated by the Sportinguista's home and away, week in, week out. It's either a roar, whistles of contempt or deadly silence when they concede and have the wind knocked out of their sails. As I say for me looking on from afar across the English Channel it's self entitlement. Sporting and Benfica are the Ying and Yang of Lisboa. Winning corrupts the mind and the will of the soul.

That got me thinking further and about the symbolism of the eagle - you'll forgive me please for how my brain works. The eagle was the symbol of Rome found on the standard of each legion and the person who held and guarded it thus - the standard bearer. Some of you have learned something today at least. Romans for all their fortitude and ingenuity were quite frankly horrible entitled bastards who massacred their way around the large parts of the globe making them the very definition of self entitled - See where I'm going with this? Fast forward to the modern day and we have Lazio who are found in the epicentre of Rome. Their fans are notoriously right wing, can be seen given the Roman salute on the terraces and their idea of humour is putting stickers of Anne Frank wearing an AS Roma shirt on the Perspex barriers in the Curva. Heaven forbid the club try to sign black players over the last few decades. Horrible bastards with morons in shirts with 88 on the back for HH (Heil Hitler) and again that sense of self entitlement that they should be able to do and say what they want without fear of recriminations. What's on their club crest? Oh yeah - an Eagle. Crystal Palace have an eagle but here they're known as the Stripey Nigel's on account of their club colours and all their fans are boring accountants being called Nigel so that one counteracts my theory and I throw it in for balance. The stripey bit is reference to their shirts not their favoured brand of toothpaste by the way.

I move on to Nazi Germany and the third Reich who took their lead from the Romans with the eagle insignia. Let's be fair as self entitled pricks go in history you'd be hard pressed to find a worse bunch. The symbol of America? The golden eagle. Again a nation of self entitled pricks. Well white American's mainly. Super Eagles of Nigeria - actually let's throw them in with Palace or Palarse as I prefer to call them and use them as counter balance. They're alright. But your honour I give you the Romans, Nazis, Lazio Ultras and the Rabolho all unified by the eagle as the very definition of self entitlement. You must find them guilty.

So basically that was my long winded prolix way of saying the neighbours are from what I can gather a bunch of stuck up pricks who just turn up and expect to win, watching a team of players who'll roll around like toddlers with the terrible twos. Success clearly breeds some horrible personality traits. Should I mention the girl crying in the stands from Tuesday night? Nah she'll have been hammered enough on social media I'm sure. Oh and after that long winded dig 'ding ding ding' it's round four in not one way but two; The fourth Dérbi of the week in various guises and the fourth Dérbi of the adult men's teams this season. This week the ladies lost 1-0 in their first leg of their Taça semi final, Tuesday afternoon the U23s drew 1-1, the men drew 2-2 in the Taça to progress to the final 4-3 on aggregate and now the game that isn't as much a case of must win - but you can argue that it's a case of must not lose.

The neighbours know that three points is vital in this game and will be looking for retribution for being knocked out of the cup on Tuesday and to restore some lost pride. If they're to win the title this season doing the double over Sporting becomes all the more imperative as they sit one point behind having played a game more and they're still involved in European competition unlike Sporting who have their Thursday night's free and thankfully avoided two games against Liverpool which we would have needed like a hole in the head so grazie mille Atalanta for knocking us out. This is for me a game of expectations management. I allowed myself a little bit of joy Tuesday night when the final whistle went but I tried not to get carried away. The more you believe the more it hurts if things don't go your way. One of my dearest friends and people I love most in the world is really confident about this season whereas all I can see is Franco Israel's name on the team sheet every week and my hair greying more with each day that passes. I try to remind myself that we won a championship with Tiago Tomás up front so anything is possible. Checks players goal tally for Wolfsburg this season - 1 in 20 appearances. Still not changing my opinion about him being utter dog shit. Checks also on Gelson Martin's - wow now at Olympiacos in Greece, who knew hey? 1 goal in 7. Still fucking shit then. Anyway digressing back - if we can do it with Tomás then anything is possible. I'm just not betting the house on it or getting my hopes up. Last season I still thought we could pip Braga with our run in of games for the Champions League spot and how fucking wrong was I with the shit we served up home and away like losing to Marítimo? Marí-fucking-itimo who didn't just beat us away - they played us off the park. So forgive me for remaining pessimistic and not taking Tuesday night as a sign we've got this game in the bag tonight or the fact we won the first leg 2-1 at home. Just please don't lose gentlemen. My heart is a fragile thing and I've always said I'll die watching football owing to the stress so don't make it today if my friend is to be right about this season.

Off the field the English media are masturbating furiously and occasionally stopping to type some words about Ruben Amorim and the links to Liverpool before going back to wank themselves into a frenzy. In his press conference yesterday he said he couldn't remain as Sporting coach next season if he didn't win titles in this one. What he didn't say was I'll definitely be packing my bags and heading for Merseyside come the summer which is how the quote was twisted this side of the sea. Odd how I don't read the national news because it winds me up and doesn't help one's general psyche and yet find myself reading headlines in the sports pages which have exactly the same reaction as the one I'm trying so desperately to avoid. Live and learn son. Given I still sit on the side of Emperor's new clothes with the man himself why am I getting rankled? Because of the self entitlement of the pricks in the English media writing this shit who can't even get the name of the club right. Anyone would think they're all secretly Benfica fans.

Useless statistics of the day

Because I have no life I worked out how many dérbi's I've seen since I started following Sporting and this will be number 28. So far I've seen 8 wins, 9 draws, 10 defeats, goals for 35, goals against 41. 62.96% undefeated which I imagine is a better record than that of most longer term fans. I think I've only switched one off in anger which was the 5-0 Super Cup defeat and even then I'd gotten to 4-0 before I decided it was too painful to watch.

The money markets

Sporting 23/20 = 46.51% probability chance of winning
Draw 13/5 = 27.77%% probability chance of stalemate
Benfica 12/5 = 29.41% probability chance of winning 

Team News

At the back St Juste is preferred to Diomande at the right of the back three and Inácio starts on the left hand side. In midfield the more familiar pairing of Morita and Hjulmand returns with Bragança missing out for the Japanese international. Geny who came on to good effect on Tuesday night starts in place of Esgaio and Reis moves forward from his starting position on the left of the three to take the place of Nuno Santos wide left. Up front sees the return of Gonçalves for Paulinho following his injury before the international break. The neighbours start with the same XI who began the Dérbi on Tuesday.

First Half

Benfica get the game underway, Sporting will attack right to left in the opening 45

48 seconds GOAL Sporting CP 1 Benfica 0. Geny Catamo!!!. Gonçalves dribbles into the box from the left and tried to square it to Gyökeres but it hit a defender and deflected up, keeper punches straight to Geny who swept it into the net. What a fucking start!

3 Blistering run from the right into the box from Geny who goes down but no penalty given. In fact he's booked for simulation. What was I saying above?

10 As you'd imagine for a Dérbi it's been a succession of niggly fouls one after another breaking up the flow of the game. Sporting have tried to soak up the pressure in the opening ten. Whether that's the original game plan or on account of the early goal only Amorim will know for certain

11 Rafa shoots from 17 yards and gets the extra point for the conversion to the delight and derision of the Sporting fans in the Curva behind Israel as it sails way over the bar

18 The excitement is palpable every time Geny collects the ball on the right

18 Gonçalves shoots from 18 yards but it's deflected for a corner

23 Benfica suffering from the boy who played wolf syndrome on Tuesday night. Gyökeres and Reis both left one in on a player and no foul given either time

26 Hjulmand fouled 24 yards out centrally. Referee didn't hesitate to blow his whistle. Yellow shown to Otamendi for a flick of the hand at Hjulmand and also to the Dane although I'm not sure what his card was for

27 Gonçalves beats the wall but it goes harmlessly wide of the left post

29 Di María fires over from 20 yards. Benfica yet to fashion a chance of any quality in the opening third of the game

32 Di María rakes his hand across the face of Gonçalves who makes a meal of it in fairness, but there was clear contact and Di María gets away with a warning from the referee. Call me cynical but had that been reversed we'd never have heard the end of it

35 This game now has powder keg written all over it. So far the referee has issued warnings and the odd yellow but at some point a red card will come out of his pocket if players from both sides don't calm it down a notch or two

36 Sad scenes as Di María throws a seat off the pitch as he waits to take a corner. That's helping no one is it and that'll be a massive fine levied at the club

38 Sporting living a somewhat fortuitously charmed life in defence as Israel saves an Otamendi header from inside the six yard box

39 Neres yellow carded for a foul on St Juste

2 minutes indicated

+1 Trincão cleaned out 20 yards from goal centrally. Yellow shown to Bah for the challenge. Poorly worked free kick comes to nothing. Do you think his teammates call him Humbug?

+2 GOAL Free kick conceded by St Juste wide left. Floated into the back post where Bah heads into the net to make it Sporting CP 1 Benfica 1. Talk about book ending goals in a half of football. What is it about us conceding in dérbi's with seconds remaining on the clock? Bah fucking humbug indeed

Half time

Sporting CP 1 Benfica 1

Well despite the extraordinary start to the game with Sporting racing to a 1-0 lead with less than a minute on the clock, in truth it's been the visitors who've had the better of the opening 45 and I'd wash my mouth out with soap and water if was saying it aloud rather than writing it and they deserve to go in level. It really pains me greatly to have to write that. It's not been a great spectacle to watch but it never is in my experience with a Dérbi. For all Geny's industry in the opening twenty minutes he's not been able to carry it through the entire first half. Gyökeres has been bustling and making his presence felt but to no avail. Trincão has struggled to make an impact and that which Gonçalves has had has mostly been in the form of wind up merchant. I'll remind myself and everyone else that up to this point we've won 13 straight at home but Sporting will need a new game plan in the second half and look to play more on the front foot. The midfield have been virtual passengers with transition tending to take bypass them totally in an attacking sense though they've certainly had their hands full in their roles from a defensive point of view.

Second half

No changes from Sporting but we did see a clip of Amorim talking to Quaresma going through tactics so presumably we'll see him at some point in the second half.

Sporting get us underway

45 30 seconds gone and Inácio concedes the first corner of the half

46 Geny concedes another corner. Sporting clear and counter attack. It was 3 on 1 at one point but somehow with Gyökeres in acres of space on the right Gonçalves pass found the only defender back

48 Powerful header from Gyökeres 10 yards out from a cross in from the left wing but straight at the keeper. That's only their second shot on target in the entire game and they've had to wait over 45 minutes for it

50 Sporting maintaining possession of the ball much better this half. Again whether that's tactical from Benfica to allow them more of the ball owing to their equaliser or an increase in quality from Sporting it's hard to say

51 Gyökeres smashes the bar with a thunderous drive from 12 yards

53 Morita replaced by Bragança

56 For all their drive and purpose, Sporting still have nothing to show for it. They need a second goal for which there can be no doubt because Benfica are more than capable of scoring twice in a game and head to head records may play a decisive factor come the end of the season

64 Coates to the rescue. That should have been 2-1. Neres rounds Israel and his effort is goal bound. Coates had past the ball with his body but somehow deflects it for a corner with his trailing leg

69 Look up industrious in the dictionary and you'll find the name Viktor Gyökeres who's giving his marker a torrid time

70 Gonçalves and Inácio depart for Edwards and Diomande. Gonçalves maybe just feeling that long lay off in his legs

72 Hjulmand concedes a silly foul in the final third. He's got to watch himself already on a booking. Tengstedt shown a yellow from the bench having been substituted a couple of minutes ago presumably for remonstrating the lack of a second yellow to the Dane

75 Sporting are looking for a hero to step up. Will we find one?

78 Koindredi and Paulinho stood waiting to come on

79 Trincão and Hjulmand make way for the pair. Big ten minutes for Koindredi who's barely featured since his move in January

80 Snap shot inside the box by Di María well saved by Israel. That was hit with purpose and was heading towards the top corner

81 Israel comes to collect and has the wind knocked out of him on impact with the floor

85 Yellow shown to Aursnes as he wipes out Geny. Yes those observant of you will have noticed if you remove the u n and last s from his name it would mean I was talking about an arse wipe

86 Coates tries an ambitious bicycle kick 20 yards out but it goes wide right. Nothing wrong with the technique just a shame it was wayward

87 Bragança shot blocked for a corner as the camera shows Jose Mourinho watching on. Just needs the Jaws theme tune to now play on the stadiums PA system

88 How have Sporting not scored there? Ball came to Bragança at the back post and he looks like he stood on the ball. VAR decision awaiting on a possible penalty for a foul on him after

90 Referee runs to the monitor … no to Nuno Santos to book him. For fucks sakes. Talk about a wind up merchant he had me fooled. Corner to Sporting

91 GOAL Sporting CP 2 Benfica 1 Corner headed clear by a defender but straight to Geny who pinged it back into the left hand corner from the right of the 18 yard box. I think the youngster is in tears. I've a few in my eyes. I asked if there was going to be a hero - Please let that be the only answer to my question as he's mobbed by his team mates

Plus six indicated and that's announced with three of them already played with the excitement of the second goal

+5 Yellow shown to Paulinho though not sure what for as he was nowhere near the ball when he was booked

+5 Coates clears a yard off the goal line. Has there been a more important clearance? Israel gives him the biggest hug

+6 Times up but we're still playing. Blow your fucking whistle referee

+7 Where is he getting this time from? From the goal dick head! Oh yeah.

+8 Second yellow to Aursnes and a yellow to Antonio Silva. The former trudges off the pitch with Benfica now down to ten men

Full time

Sporting CP 2 Benfica 1

The Final Word

Wow. Let's just mention the current home record for the purposes of historic documentation. Played 14 won 14. Geny has just written his place in Sporting history with his brace. He won't have to buy a drink in Lisboa ever again. Maybe it's written in the stars after all. I'm still not getting ahead of myself even though the win puts us four clear with the game in hand. Levels up the head to head record just as importantly. There's a long road still to go with battles to be fought against the likes of Porto and Vitória but we have momentum and more importantly the players have belief.

Player of the match? That's not even a question is it and if it was it would be a fucking stupid one. Can only be the baby faced assassin Geny Catamo. What a debut season he's having for Sporting capped with a goal for his country at the African Cup of Nations. He shone in pre season and you could see we had a player on our hands. I was maybe a little too gushing off my praise of him in the early weeks but my opinion of him hasn't wavered and it certainly won't after tonight. You could see what the winner meant to him. I imagine under the bundle of players as he lay crestfallen on his back celebrating the winner you'll find evidence of tears on his face and for all the kids watching what a beautiful lesson in life that it's OK to display emotion.

Well done to the referee tonight. A Dérbi is never going to flow and despite the yellow cards he did show, he also showed a great deal of common sense. I think he probably had it at the back of his mind that a red card within the 90 minutes could have had a massive say in where the title goes and he didn't want fingers pointing at him. He demonstrated that football should be the winner and you don't see that very often. Sure he's got a lot of screen time but I don't think for a second unlike some match officials I've seen in Portugal he was angling for it. You saw him talking to Di María and Gonçalves and warning them both very clearly, carry on in that manner and you won't be getting a second chance - you'll be off. The red came in additional time when he really was left with no choice. Had Hjulmand been sent off you really could have had no complaints.

Let's hope the players can enjoy it for tonight but park it just as quickly and realise that whilst they've not only won the league Dérbi and knocked the club's biggest rivals out of the Taça de Portugal all in the same week, they've won nothing yet and it'll count for nothing if the wheels come off in the next couple of matches.

As a footnote I think I might have fucked my vocal chords after that second goal went in.

Apologies to my neighbours. It's not my fault they play football at stupid o clock in Portugal or that Geny is an Inglorious bastard. Oh Geny, Geny... Geny, Geny, Geny, Geny Catamo. See here he'd have his own song.