Juventus 1 Sporting CP 1

 

Juventus v Sporting CP 
Tuesday November 4th, 2025
Allianz Stadium 
Champions League Matchday 4

The Warm Up 

At the time of writing Juventus haven't won a game in eight and have lost the last three on the bounce though by the time they face off against Sporting next Tuesday they'll have played against Udinese at home and Cremonese away so that could change. For now at least on paper there doesn't seem a better time to be going to Turin. That could of course prove to be famous last words for the Italian side somehow always seem to get the better of the lions by hook or by crook. It's about time we got some fortune in this fixture. 

The two last met in the Quarter Finals of the Europa League in the 2022/23 where Sporting agonisingly lost 2-1 on aggregate. Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, despite their best efforts at the José Alvalade it wasn't meant to be for the side which had famously knocked out Arsenal in the previous round with the help of Gonçalves infamous strike from the halfway line. In Turin, Gatti scored his first goal for the club bundling home the ball from a yard in a game the lions dominated for long periods but couldn't take their chances. Rabiot put Juventus ahead in Lisboa after 8 minutes played, sweeping home from 7 yards. Edwards equalised from the penalty spot on 19. Sebastián Coates missed two glorious chances in the last three minutes. The lions presented with 4 big chances over the course of the 90 minutes missing 3. So not much has changed when comparing that particular metric to this seasons. It's certainly a loss which still smarts with a lot of fans. One of those what could have been fixtures. Prior to that two Champions League group fixtures in the 2017/18 season in the space of a fortnight. Juventus 2-1 winners in Turin and they shared a 1-1 draw in Lisboa. 

The club was founded in 1897 by a group of students and can lay claim to being Italy's second oldest club behind Genoa. Most commonly known as Juve or by their nicknames La Vechhia Signora (The Old Lady) and I bianconeri (The white and blacks). They're one of the rare clubs in Italy that play in a ground that the club owns themselves rather than by the local council. The Allianz Stadium has a capacity of just 41,507 which seems tiny given they're the best supported club in all of Italy. 

They're owned still by the Agnelli Family most famous in Italy for being the owners of FIAT. They also have the controlling stake in Ferrari through their firm Exor though you'd have to ask an Italian why ownership of the former carries with it more weight and importance on their shores. They added Chrysler to its list of companies after it filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and they provide the link to the Jeep shirt sponsorship of recent seasons. The families association with the club began in 1923 and presumably ended the first time around owing to World War II when it stopped in 1943. It recommended in 1947 and they have remained as owners ever since. Like a lot of European clubs it's foundation came as a sports club which it's other activities were ceased in 1970. Most famed for their tennis players, they even boasted a skiing team in the 1960s and 70s. Their first name incidentally Sports-Club Juventus with the latter part coming from the Latin for youth. Who says these posts aren't educational?

Between 2011/12 and the 2019/20 season the old lady won an unprecedented 9 straight Serie A titles and yet since that period haven't won another. In all 36 national titles which enables them to adorn their shirts with 3 golden stars denoting every tenth win. In the January 2025 Deloitte listings, Juventus placed 16th with revenues of €355.7m below both the Milano clubs. The neighbours 25th on the list with revenues of €224m. No mention of Sporting unsurprisingly. Juve with reduced earnings following another in a long line of scandals this time involving payments to players during COVID. They took the punishment of missing out on Europa League football and returned to last season's Champions League where they finished 20th on one point more than Sporting.

We've seen the lions sporting different iterations of pink kits during the month of October in recent seasons in support of breast cancer and were it not for Italian washing powder and fading fabrics the world may have known a very different Juve. They started out in pink shirts and it was only because they began to fade that they swapped to black and white and they owe their identity to the English club Notts County when one of their fans shipped the clubs kit over to Italy for the team to play in. To the best of my knowledge they never adopted their moniker of the Magpies. I could see if I can make le gazze stick. 

Whilst the derby d’Italia is contested between Juve and Internazionale, their immediate city rivalry is with Torino, now time to one Franco Israel since the summer. 

Current coach Igor Tudor (although he may not still be that by the time the two sides meet next week*) was originally employed on a short term basis after departing with the services of Thiago Motta after 42 games in which he won just 18, drew 17 and lost 7. Tudor with 10 wins, 8 draws and having already lost 6 times. This game probably has 1-1 written all over it. I'll try remember that when it comes to the pre-match predictions game. 

Undefeated at home in the league they've played 4, won 2 and drawn 2, scoring 7 and conceding 3 and currently occupy 8th with the previous caveat of their two games still to play before this tie. 

In the Champions League they began with an 8 goal thriller as the English defender Lloyd Kelly rescued a point in the 5th minute of injury time as they drew 4-4 with BVB who of course knocked Sporting out of last season's competition. The Germans had led 4-2 with 5 minutes of normal time remaining and the turn around owed much to the persistence of forward Vlahovic who wouldn't accept defeat on the night. Juve scored 3 of their 5 big chances, BVB just 1 of their 3. XG 1.92 to 1.71. 

Next an away trip to Spain to Villarreal and despite going in at the break 1-0 down, they rallied to take a 2-1 lead. Ex-lion Renato Veiga equalised with a minute of time remaining to make it 2-2. Plenty of chances either end of the pitch as Juve missed 2 of their 3, Villarreal 2 of their 4. The yellow submarines who Sporting beat in pre-season with a slightly higher XG of 1.72 to 1.60.

Again to Spain in their last fixture, this time against European Royalty in the form of Real Madrid where they went down 1-0 to a Jude Bellingham goal in the second half meaning they've collected 2 points from a possible 9 and will be desperate for a win against Sporting to keep any hopes of the knockout stage alive as we reach the halfway stage of the new league format. The scoreline flattering the Italians somewhat as Real missed 2 of their 3 big chances with 28 attempts on goal, and there's some people moaning Sporting only scored 3 of their 29 against Tondela. Juve missed their 1 big chance and the XG 2.69 to 0.59. It could have been a lot worse. 

Their league campaign got off to a winning start 2-0 at home to Parma despite finishing the game with ten men. 2 of 4 big chances missed, 25 attempts and an XG of 2.35 to 0.62. Italy's two oldest clubs met in round 2 and Juventus beat Genoa 1-0 as Vlahovic scored for the second straight game. No big chances conceded but 1 of 2 converted. Their XG 1.03 to 0.55. 

Two wins became three with another Derby d’Italia for the ages and for the second season a 4-3 win. This time Adzic the hero on 90 minutes and as a nod to how spectacular some of the goals were on the night the final XG was just 0.68 to 0.96 in a game that produced 7 goals. Both sides converting their single big chance apiece. It should be noted the 4-4 with BVB came straight after this game so with 8 goals in 2 games they clearly knew where the net is, however with 7 conceded in 2, not yet figuring out how to stop them from going in. 

From that point onwards everything has gone Pete Tong. 

Conçeicão, yes son of and ex-Porto player, gave them a 1-0 lead away to Hellas Veronas, Italy's favourite Grecian club. They conceded a penalty two minutes before half time which was converted and their winning start came to an end with the match finishing 1-1. The goal from the Portuguese their only big chance. Hellas missed their other one and recorded an XG of 1.53 to 0.47. Juve with 72% of possession proving my old adage that all too often it counts for nothing and is a pointless metric. There's no titles for most passes completed come the end of the league campaign. They then fail to beat Atalanta at home, the visitors leading 1-0 at half time and would finish with 10 men in the 1-1 draw. Still undefeated but four vital points dropped and any hope of a title charge this campaign already starting to slip just five games into the season. Atalanta the scourge of Sporting's past missed their 1 big chance, Juventus converted one of their 2, XG 1.59 to 0.73. 

AC Milano at home finishes 0-0 and the first time they fail to score in any competition. Somewhere the sword of Damocles is being wheeled out to be placed above Tudors head. Again the old lady miss their 1 big chance though AC missed all 3 of theirs finishing with a higher XG of 1.74 to 1.13. The good thing is at least they're still unbeaten. Every silver cl… oh. Como away and a 2-0 loss and no disrespect to Cesc Fabregas’ side but that's not a fixture they should be losing given the size of the two clubs. However it probably doesn't come as a surprise given the level of investment in their squad since their promotion last season. Juve again spurning their solitary big chance, Como converting one of theirs and the XG 1.46 to 0.88.

Lazio away their last fixture to date at the time of writing and Juventus left Rome suffering a 1-0 defeat having gone behind in the opening ten and unable to find a way back into the game and with that, truthfully any hopes of the Serie A title gone up in smoke and it's not even November. To add insult to injury Lazio without a single big chance over the 90, Juve missing all 3 of theirs and finished with the higher XG of 1.49 to 0.78. 

There's another face familiar to Sporting in the Juve ranks having also signed João Mario from Porto. The lions spent last January courting Alberto Costa from Vitória only to see him move to Turin. He was back in Portugal before he had time to even think about buying a home, signing for Porto in the summer. Conçeicão will definitely provide a threat and I can remember him giving us a torrid night in one of the Clássico's before his departure for Italian shores. My other pick of players to look out for the highly rated 20 year old Turk Kenan Yildiz who has one goal and three assists to his name in his 8 league games and what a goal it was to against Internazionale. His hero growing up Alessandro del Piero so no surprise to learn he took the famous number ten shirt. He was born on the day Juventus beat AC Milan on May 4th, 2005 a fixture that would feature heavily in the Calciopoli scandal. There's your pointless fact of the day. I won't bore you with the details of all Juventus’ scandals however, there's been more than a few over the decades. 

As mentioned above the city of Turin is home to both Juve and Torino and it's the latter who were very much once the darlings of Italian and European football. Nicknamed Grande Torino they won multiple Italian championships in the 1940s and 50s and their side provided the backbone of the Italian national side. On May 5th, 1949 their aeroplane crashed in what became known as the Superga tragedy as they flew home from a friendly match against our neighbours Benfica. All but two injured players who didn't make the trip sadly lost their lives as 18 players were killed in total along with the coaching staff and Italian journalists who were also on the flight. It's reported that 600,000 people flooded the streets of the city to pay their respects as a nation mourned. 

This if course the lions second game in Italy having travelled to Naples for Matchday 2. Turin a vastly different city to visit and it is ridiculously beautiful from an architectural point of view and because of the surrounding area. You're not going to find 100 foot murals of Alessandro del Piero painted onto the sides of high rise flats here like you would do with Diego Maradona in the south. This is one of the cities where you begin to realise in comparison to Naples why the north of Italy are said to look down their noses at their compatriots in the south of the country. In Portugal I'd suggest that's reversed with Lisboa in the south looking down at the likes of Porto and Braga in the north but I might be wrong, frequently am in fairness. Amongst it's nicknames Città magica which it doesn't take a genius to work out translates to Magic City. It's backdrop the wonders of the mountains of the Alps. Here you'll find an abundance of restaurants, churches, art galleries, piazza's, theatres, opera houses and possibly most famously the shroud of Turin. 

Summer Transfers

Incoming

Chico Conçeicão - FC Porto for £27m
Nicolás González - Fiorentina for £23m
Michele di Gregorio - Monza for £12m
Pierre Kalulu - AC Milano for £12m
Edon Zhegrova - Lille for £14m
Lloyd Kelly - Newcastle for £14m
João Mario - FC Porto for £10m
Ikoma Lois Openda - RB Leipzig for £2.7m
Jonathan David - Lille - Free 

Outgoing

27 players in total departing. The expression you're looking for here is not on your nelly. People left. The end

Random facts - This fixture is a day short of the one year anniversary of Sporting CP 4 Manchester City 1. 

*Igor Tudor fired by Juventus, I saw it coming at least. Wish I'd have written above the lions will come away with a 4-0 drubbing instead as predictions go that come true . 

Wednesday night update -

Of course after my post going live and Tudor being given his P45, Juve's poor run comes to an end with a 3-1 home win against Udinese. Vlahovic with the opener from the penalty spot within the first five minutes. Zaniolo made the game interesting equalising on the stroke of half time. Gatti restored the lead before a second penalty 90 minutes after the first converted this time by Yildiz finally put the game beyond any doubt. Definitely a massive turn around as they scored all 3 big chances created. The XG also a highly impressive 3.17 to 0.50 as they recorded 25 attempts to just 8. Almost as if the temporary mister Massimo Brambilla just said knock yourself out lads and go have some fun. If so it certainly worked. 

Luciano Spalletti has agreed to be the new mister of Juve. Previously coach of Napoli where he won the Serie A title and then of the Italian national where his tenure ended on a sour note mid-qualifying campaign.

Saturday update 

Cremonese 1 Juventus 2

A dream start for the new mister as Kostic swept home a loose ball inside the area from 7 yards unmarked after just 1 minute and 24 seconds on the clock. McKennie tried a back heel which deflected off a defender right into the path of the Serbian unmarked and it was all too easy in the end against the newly promoted side. The old lady doubled their lead on 67 minutes when a cross from the right again deflects off a defender straight into the path of Cambiaso whose shot from ten yards deflects up off Audero and into the net. Cremonese victims of their own downfall twice. In the 82nd minute the home side pump a long ball down field to Jamie Vardy. Gatti looses his footing and slips allowing the English striker to run clear and sweep home into the bottom left hand corner from 10 yards to make it 1-2 on the night. A Dennis Tørset strike from a free kick in the 86th minute well wide of the left hand post from distance the last chance for either side and Juventus claimed their second straight win coming into form just before Tuesday night albeit a somewhat fortunate win in terms of how their chances were presented to them. Four big chances for Juve including the two goals scored. 15 attempts to the home sides 9 with their Day 2.03 to just 0.47. I don't envisage that the lions would ever leave a lone man up front but if a 38 year old Vardy can still race clear of their last defender we've certainly far more pace in our side to take advantage of any gaps behind the defence and an area to try exploit for sure. Juve 5th at the end of the night with only Bologna below that could leapfrog them in the table if they beat Parma away tomorrow. Level on points with both Inter and AC Milano who are both in action tomorrow. AC with the tougher game at the Giuseppe Meazza against AS Roma. 

Sporting B

Sporting B v Feirense

Starting XI 

Diego Callai, David Moreira, Rômulo Jr., Bruno Ramos, Salvador Blopa, Manuel Mendonça, Rayan Lucas, Samuel Justo, Paulo Cardoso, Rodrigo Ribeiro and Rafael Nel.

Substitutes Used 

Rafael, José Silva, Felicíssimo, Flávio Gonçalves and Couto

Back to earth for some of those who featured in the midweek thumping of FC Alverca 5-1. The young lions looking to take advantage of Vizela’s current bad run of form. They fell behind in bizarre fashion. Feirense cleared their lines to the right of their area maybe half a yard from their goal line with a punt up to the halfway line. Rayan Lucas got caught in two minds with time to write his memoirs and inexplicably dispossessed by Tiago Ribeiro who stole a march on the Brazilian and slotted home past Callai into the bottom left hand corner from 24 yards. Not what you want to celebrate a week where you've made your debut and had it confirmed the lions will pay the €4m fee for your services. Take nothing away from the Ribeiro strike though which was of phenomenal quality. Sporting B 0 Feirense 1. Manuel Mendonca levelled on 36 minutes collecting a Rayan pass to fire home into the bottom left hand corner from 18 yards. Sporting B 1 Feirense 1. On 42 minutes the visitors conceded a bizarre penalty when lé handled inside the area. You see him arms perfectly behind his back as he makes his way to the edge of the 18 yard box but does that thing we'd all do when a ball is coming towards your face and throws his arms up and moves his head out of the way. Luis Godhino, he of Taça de Portugal final game awarded a clear and obvious penalty to the lions. After a long wait Rafael Nel took the strike with the time on the clock now 45 minutes and his effort down the centre was saved by Altube but an infringement was spotted and finally 3 minutes into additional time he converted his second effort once more choosing to go straight down the centre as the keeper dived left. Sporting B 2 Feirense 1 at half time. 

The lions extended their lead just a minute into the second when Nel claimed the assist for Ribeiro’s goal from six yards which he back-heeled past Altube inside a crowded area. Sporting B 3 Feirense 1. Rayan having been found wanting for the first, wasn't satisfied with his assist in the first half and took out all his anger in the 49th minute on the match all as he smashed it from 18 yards onto the bar having been setup by Salvador Blopa who of course had a dream debut at the José Alvalade on Tuesday night scoring a brace. A quartet of changes on minute 61 for the lions which isn't something you see very often at any level. On 77 the pick of the games goals came from Leandro Antunes who level with the right of the six yard box smashed home a volley past Callai to make it Sporting B 3 Feirense 2.

Torreense now up the second, the lions four points clear.

Sporting CP Feminino 

Sporting CP v Torreense 

Starting XI - Potra, Eaton-Collins, Barron, Cancelinha, Bea, Neto, Perez, Arques, Haugen, Santiago and Raphino 

Late heartbreak at home for the ladies who remain second in the table despite a 2-3 defeat. Brittany Raphino gave Sporting the lead heading in from a corner on 14 minutes from 5 yards out. A Weimer penalty on the stroke of half time saw the two sides go in level at 1-1. Things got worse 7 minutes into the second half when Hayes tapped in at the far post unmarked from 2 yards to make it 1-2. The goal of the game came from Georgia Eaton-Collins who smashed the ball into the top right hand corner from 17 yards to bring the lionesses level. Having conceded on the stroke of half time, they sadly didn't learn their lesson as Torreense were gift wrapped the winner on the stroke of full time. Catarina Potra inexplicably passing to Rodríguez who slotted it back past her from 7 yards like all her Christmas' had come at once. 

Monday update - Doris invited to join mister Rui Borges for the pre-game press conference the only useful thing from which we learned from his part was that Sporting have never won away in Italy. Otherwise he looked very much like a man thinking fuck me I could be sat with my feet up in hotel right now. 

The new Juventus misters record in the Champions League for anyone interested is 29 wins, 15 draws and 23 losses. 

Sporting admin

Links have resurfaced linking Hjulmand to Juventus. Well fuck-a-doodle doo oldest trick in the book that one trying to distabalise an opposition player before two sides meet. Do bore off. 

Fresneda linked with Manchester City. The Spanish youngster of course one of Hugo Viana's signings when still at Sporting. 

Rui Borges linked with the Wolverhampton Wanderers job. Wolves are the only club in the top seven tiers of English football who haven't won a game this season. I'm sure he'd jump at the chance to leave the current Portuguese Champions and Champions League football to take that opportunity. Sounds the sarcasm claxon. 

João Giao linked with the vacant position at Casa Pia but said to have no interest in the role having secured promotion to Liga 2 with Sporting B and currently sitting top of the table. You imagine he's got eyes on Rui Borges job one day. Varandas loves a succession plan as we saw with João Pereira this time last year. 

In the markets

Juventus 10/11
Draw 5/2
Sporting 29/10

UEFA Youth League 

Juventus U19 v Sporting CP U19

Juventus Training Centre Continassa

Matchday 4 

A 2pm kick off for the young lions whose record in this competition reads played 11, won 8, drawn 2, losing 1, GF 25, GA 10. They remain unbeaten this season to date with 2 wins and a draw.

Their record includes a 2-0 win over Manchester City and a 3-0 win against Arsenal. Their biggest win against AS Monaco 4-0. Their only defeat came in their eventual illumination last season at home to VfB Stuttgart 3-2. Another chance for the youngsters to continue making a name for themselves especially after so many were involved in the Taça da Liga win over Alverca last Tuesday night 5-1. Salvador Blopa lest we forget marking his debut with a brace. (Apparently included in the first team squad alongside Rayan Lucas, Callai, Bruno Ramos and Ribeiro.)

Their current run of games in order of results -

DWWWWWWLWDW

Starting XI 

Gouveia, Momade, Taibo, Felicíssimo, Costa, Camacho, Mendes, Bafdili, Grombhai, Martins and Gonçalves 

Substitutes Used

Ferreira, Siza, Iago, Simão and Tomás

Final score Juventus 2 Sporting CP 2

Juve raced into a 2 goal lead within 25 minutes and still led 2-0 going into minute 87 when Zaïd Bafdili cut the deficit in half. Substitute Paulo Simão broke Italian hearts just 2 minutes later with the equaliser which maintains their unbeaten start to this competition. 

Team News 

Starting XI 

Silva, Araújo, Inácio, Diomande, Vagiannidis, Simões, Hjulmand, Gonçalves, Trincão, Quenda and Ioannidis 

Substitutes

Virgínia, Reis, Ramos, Quaresma, Mangas, Morita, Kochorashvili, Blopa, Geny, Alisson, Ribeiro and Suárez 

An enforced change with the injury Fresneda Sustained early on Friday night as Vagiannidis starts. Blopa played right back on Saturday presumably with one eye on tonight. Quenda starts in place of Geny and Doris is preferred to Suárez as the lone striker. Bruno Ramos, Ribeiro and the aforementioned Blopa on the bench. 

Juventus Starting XI

16 Di Gregorio

15 Kalulu

4 Gatti

8 Koopmeiners

27 Cambiaso 

5 Locatelli 

19 Thurham 

22 McKennie

7 Conceição 

10 Yildiz 

9 Vlahović

The young Turk Yildiz fit again after missing the weekend win against Cremonese. Vagiannidis will need to be more alert to his threat from long range than Fresneda was against Marseille. The mister throwing Conceição into the mix for some added spice. He caused Sporting a lot of headaches in the last Clássico he featured in. Araújo needs to keep his head tonight unlike on Halloween where he had el diablo in his veins. 

First Half

Sporting in black with silver trim. The travelling Sportinguista's in fine voice before kick off. 

Juventus get us underway, Sporting attack left to right. 

5 Cambiaso sprints clear down the left and his cut back is cleared inside the area 

6 Gatti with an arm into the face of Ioannidis inside the Sporting half brings a free kick and nothing more 

7 Quenda floats a cross in from the right easily headed away. That's the first sign of attacking intent from the lions 

8 Long ball from the right found Vlahović, his shot from a tight angle wide inside the six yard box straight at Silva. Thankfully for the lions the pass was overcooked 

11 GOLAZO Juventus 0 Sporting CP 1. Araújo smashes home from 14 yards wide left into the bottom right hand corner. Ioannidis with a flick to Trincão outside the box, he found the Uruguayan in acres of space and calmly picked out his spot 

13 BAR Vagiannidis picked out Trincão whose shot deflected up off a defender from 14 yards and cannoned off the bar and out to safety. That goal has rattled the Italians 

16 Thurham kicks not much more than air inside the D. Locatelli shot blocked from 30 yards 

16 Silva with an incredible save from a Vlahović header from 8 yards. How he's got a hand on that is anyone's guess  

17 Vlahović brings another save low to Silva's left from 22 yards 

18 Another Juve shot blocked from 20 yards 

18 Vlahović with an inventive touch to force the ball goalwards from 10 yards straight at Silva despite the attentions of Diomande next to him 

20 The lions just taking the pace out of the game now as they play around the back and give themselves a breather 

22 Hjulmand very much providing a screen for the lions defenders letting Simões provide attacking support. The Dane, Diomande and Inácio are going to clock up some total number of passes tonight 

22 Vagiannidis brought down by Thurham who's shown the yellow card

24 Free kick 28 yards out. Gonçalves to take. Conçeicão a one man wall does the job and out for a throw. Jesus wept 

25 Inácio has twice tried to set Araújo free with a long ball. One out for a goal kick and now straight to Di Gregorio 

26 Foul by Hjulmand on Cambiaso. He gesticulates to show a yellow to the referee for which he himself is booked 

27 Conçeicão trips Araújo and great to see no reaction from the Uruguayan who gets calmly to his feet

27 Vagiannidis loses his feet inside the box reminding me of myself trying to ice skate

28 Vlahović goes down clutching his face claiming an arm from Diomande but the referee totally uninterested in his appeals 

30 Araújo sticks Conçeicão on his backside like he'd brushed aside a toddler and shepherds the ball out of play for a goal kick 

31 Locatelli tries from 23 yards, the effort bobbles wide of the left hand post 

32 Yellow to Gonçalves for dissent 

33 Gonçalves still going at it. Shut the fuck up man 

33 GOAL Juventus 1 Sporting CP 1. The lions chasing shadows on the left. Thurham with a slide rule pass to Vlahović who slid in to put the ball in from 7 yards. That was all too easy 

38 The lions chasing the zebras but to no effect as the Italians fully on top now. Hope they ate well before the game  

39 Yildiz squares for Conçeicão whose shot from the exact same position as the Vlahović goal deflected off Inácio for a corner 

39 Yildiz heads back a cross into the six yard box thankfully straight at Silva. Half time cannot come soon enough 

41 Poor from Quenda as he concedes possession far too easily and Juve go from their half into the Sporting box in a blink of an eye 

42 Yildiz with the turn of pace to avoid Vagiannidis and Diomande inside the box. Ball ends up in the hands of Silva

Plus one shown 

Half time 

Juventus 1 Sporting CP 1 

You may get away with missing opportunities domestically but in the Champions League you need to make them count and how the lions may rue Trincão's effort which came off the bar with the score 1-0. That's not to take anything away from Araújo's superb opener in this game but in truth the lions have been second best and if they don't switch on they could end up with their lights turned out in the second 45. They had Rui Silva to thank with one of the saves of the season and clearly hadn't learned their lesson as the Italians deservedly equalised. Only after that point did the penny drop that Vagiannidis needs additional cover down the right hand side with Quenda finally providing the Greek with some support. 

The gulf in quality was really obvious from the half hour mark onwards. Sporting's forward line passengers in the game for the majority of the half other than for the goal and the Trincão effort. Gonçalves contribution little more than being booked for dissent, finding a one man wall with a free kick and a miss placed pass inside the final third. Quenda with the same old issues of stopping dead around 30 yards from goal like he's got magnets in his boots sticking him to the ground. Too many miss placed passes.

Juventus to a man like flies around shit. 

Hjulmand has thankfully been solid throughout as has Diomande and the defence certainly have Silva to thank for keeping them in this game. Rui Borges has some real thinking to do at half time in regards to the changes he makes in the second half. The lions will only get away with this for so long on the evidence of the final 15. If they've afforded another big chance they need to make the next one count. I said before kick off I'd take the 1-1 draw if offered. I don't think it's going to stay that way.

Second half 

Sporting get us back underway. No changes from either side

46 Corner Juve nearside as Araújo wise to the danger of Conçeicão behind him puts the ball out of play 

47 Trincão heads clear 

47 Yildiz causing issues down the right. His cross deflects off Quenda for another corner 

48 Quenda loses the ball again in the final third and Juve are again down the pitch in seconds. Vlahović draws a save from 20 yards 

49 Thurham fires straight into the arms of Silva from range 

50 The lions still with just 2 attempts all game to Juve’s 11

51 Wild slide from Conçeicão on Araújo takes him down. Again no reaction and a touch of hands from both men. Perhaps he got it all out of his system on Friday night 

53 Koopmeiners with a torn boot brings a break in play as he tries to work out how to tie his laces back up. A most welcome break in play by the way .Take them where you can if you're a Sporting player 

54 Kalulu all over Ioannidis for several seconds and finally the referee blew. Poor from the official 

54 No hesitation however in awarding the foul to Juve 

55 Better from Quenda inside the box. Not sure if he was trying to pass or shoot but the ball ended up with Di Gregorio either way 

56 Lots of time wasting from the lions it has to be said and I can't say I blame them 

57 Sporting counter with Trincão but again in the blink of an eye virtually every Juventus player back in their own half 

58 Di Gregorio with a flying Superman punch clear from a Trincão cross

59 Feel like we're just waiting for the inevitable second goal from Juve 

60 Yellow to Araújo. That was bizarre as he had the ball running away from McKennie. The American made the most of whatever contact was made 

61 Vlahović pointing the finger at Ioannidis with plenty to say for himself. Hjulmand intervenes 

62 Sporting clear twice. Living a charmed life once more. Trincão back on defensive duties again headed clear a cross into the area. Follow up shot from 18 yards blocked 

63 Thurham sends one airborne from 21 yards 

64 Thurham again sends another into the stand from 21 yards. Clearly not blessed with his brother's striking talents 

65 Sporting fail to play to the whistle. Gonçalves waited for a foul to be called against him which wasn't and instead of using the space to their advantage failed to capitalise 

65 Fuck me Vagiannidis with a touch like a trampoline in the box. Piss poor from the Greek. That was a golden opportunity 

66 ➡️ ⬅️ Geny for Quenda and Quaresma for Vagiannidis.  

68 Trincão in the centre found Gonçalves who played the ball back but the shot blocked from 18 yards 

69 Close up of Yildiz and Thurham blowing. Not surprised at the rate the Italians move around the pitch 

70 Can the lions fashion one good chance before it's too late the other end?

70 Yildiz pass fired across the box and thankfully no Juve player in sight 

71 ➡️⬅️ Ioannidis for Suárez for Sporting.

Conçeicão and Thurham off for Kostić and Zhegrova 

72 The hope right now is that Juventus have run themselves into the ground 

73 Hjulmand shown a yellow for a rash challenge on Zhegrova. Free kick level with the 18 yard box on the near side 

73 Kostić sends the ball out for a goal kick 

74 Can't be long before Silva gets booked for time wasting 

75 Better from Sporting who've held the… no I take it back as Trincão loses possession 

76 Araújo gets an elbow into the face. How can he get booked in the same situation and the same not be applied with a worse challenge on him? Fucking bizarre and double standards 

77 Sporting finally seem to have ridden the storm. Can they find any joy in the final third. We saw Jamie Vardy score around this point on Sunday night 

79 Brilliant from Quaresma to steal the ball back. He continued his run to the edge of the Juve box but Sporting lose possession again 

80 Juve fans woken up with ten minutes to go. This might be the poorest stadium for atmosphere in all of Italy 

81 Quaresma plays the ball of Kostić for a goal kick 

81 ➡️⬅️ Morita for Simões and Alisson for Gonçalves.

82 ➡️ ⬅️ Vlahović and Locatelli for Adžić and Miretti

84 Wow finally the home fans really making their presence known

84 Geny cuts inside to make himself space to shoot but pulls it wide from 19 yards 

85 Kostić fires straight at Silva from 25 yards. Like the Thurham efforts can watch those all night 

86 ⬅️➡️ David for Yildiz. Both sides now made all their substitutions 

87 Bizarre again as Geny fallen on top of and pinned and neither the assistant or referee interested 

87 Juventus with a one man advantage as Geny down far corner and still only managed to put the ball out for a goal kick

88 Calm from Diomande to win the ball back inside the area and clear 

89 Sporting clear three times. Morita finally finds Alisson and Sporting lose possession on the edge of the Juve area 

Plus four shown 

90 Morita quick to challenge again in midfield

+1 Fucking hell. David header from 7 yards sent over by Silva for a corner. Hollywood save but all the same he's kept his side in the game all the same 

+2 Morita blocks Kostić’s effort from 25 yards 

+3 Araújo loses the ball. That was stupidity. Ends up with a Juve corner from a Kostić shot deflected up and over the bar. Fucking hell what the fucking fuck fucks was he doing there?

+3 Trincão clears again. Keeping a tally 

Full time 

Juventus 1 Sporting CP 1 

The Final word 

I think the technical term there is getting away with one. However the lions dealt with everything thrown at them. They may not have found their first ever win on Italian soil but they've come away with a well earned point. 

I like every other Sportinguista have seen us lose that type of game a myriad of different ways over the years. Sometimes through a touch of quality from the opponents, a lot of the time because we've shot ourselves in the foot. It's a result that won't detract Rui Borges from his critics, but then again I'm not one of his critics. I'm many things in life but I'm not naive enough to think there's not a real gulf in quality between these two squads and at times it was painfully obvious to watch. I'm sure voices will complain that we weren't adventurous enough but the reality is they couldn't afford to be. It was rope a dope stuff, let Juventus burn themselves out and then see if something opened up and if it didn't then ensure you don't get floored with the knockout blow. Game plan completed. Taking one point is as much an advantage as ensuring Juventus didn't suddenly jump up a point off you in the new league format. 

This was a good time to play the former Italian champions. It may have been an even better time to have played them seven days ago but those are the cards we're dealt and in the end a point means we played them pretty well and raked in a split point of around €700,000 which goes a long way in Portugal. Had we played them in the last round of 8 we'd have most likely lost. Swings and roundabouts. 

Yes we were fortunate. Had we been facing the other Thurham at Internazionale then we'd have been in trouble but we weren't and you can discount his efforts from Juventus’ total attempts. In all 18 attempts for the old lady to Sporting's 4. This is the first time in five games they've given up any big chances and again the goal came from naïvety on the lions part to allow too much time and space down the right flank. Vagiannidis in truth with another poor game overall and his night best summed up by his failure to control the ball inside the box which was his last touch before being replaced. Yet you can equally blame Quenda for not offering more support on that side earlier on. This is a team effort at the end of the day and my complaint at half time stands with him. Another big night to prove to everyone watching why Chelsea have paid big money for you and another night he's not shown it and he's running out of chances in a lions shirt. Sure he scored in back to back games but as always if and when he shines it's never against a high calibre of opposition. 

Inácio’s passing was erratic as ever and it doesn't take a genius to work out why no one has ever seriously come in for his services. Last season or maybe the one before I tried to work out who would still be at the club in five years time and if I could go back I'd have put his name on the list. 

Diomande certainly looked the better of the central pairing but in fairness to the Ivorian he does that most weeks for me. His calmness with two minutes left on the clock a sign of his ever growing maturity even if he still reminds you how young he is de temps en temps. Araújo really impressed me tonight with his play and his attitude. Conçeicão deliberately had a nibble at him a couple of times to see if he could spark a reaction but he'd taken a leaf out of Ioannidis' book and remained utterly calm up until the point he was penalised and headbutt the ball into the ground. I genuinely don't see how he gets booked for keeping his marker at bay and then gets an elbow into the face and that's not the same if not worse? All we ask for is consistency from match officials. His goal was wonderfully taken and came 364 days after his goal against Manchester City. He's making them count and he's one of the reasons we of course leave Turin with a point, the other being Rui Silva who has probably never been so busy as a lion in terms of his total number of saves and none bigger than when he kept the score at 1-0 from Vlahovic’s header. That was world class. Even at the end when he saved from David, whilst he made it better than it really was his teammates owe him a huge debt of gratitude.

Despite the Italian's best attempts prior to kick off to destabilise Hjulmand he was solid for the entire 90 other than his deliberate yellow to stop a counter attack but we're not complaining there. Wise move if you've kept your copy book clean and you rotate your fouls. Manchester City have always done it to great effect and the lions getting more savvy in Europe. 

With the Dane sitting deep and either screening the defence or at points dropping into the centre to make a back 3, you need a willing runner and Simões is just that. He clearly has a good engine on him and despite having much to learn his breakthrough is the real added bonus of a horrendous injury crisis last season of which he of course ended up being part of when I famously said that looked like nothing and it ended his campaign. I don't claim to be an expert in these things. 

Morita's introduction for was timely and twice he came up with timely interceptions and that's credit to Borges for making the right changes. At that point Juventus had burned their energy and you needed a wiser head in midfield to protect what they had. Alisson and Geny provide pace on the flanks as does Suárez down the centre and whilst they couldn't find a way through the Italian's defence at the end that's not to say they couldn't have done. Watch Geny against Quenda and see how the defence is pushed back a further 12 yards. We saw Quenda once with the ball inside the area. Once the defenders work out he's going to stop around the 30 yard mark their evenings are set and couldn't be easier. 

I had a big moan about Gonçalves half time, his reaction to get himself booked is sheer fucking stupidity and he kept on moaning. Where was he looking when the referee issued the early booking for making the card action towards him? Big fucking clue that the referee is not standing for any nonsense. He had one little run at the start of the second half and his most telling run was the one that saw him go off as a substitute. Trincão however played a critical part at least, first with the assist and again in defence and had at least three clearances which shows that he's maturing in comparison to Pote. Yes we've seen him being far more effective in other games in the final third but I have no issues if your contribution is positive and especially in an area you're not particularly known for. We've seen his willingness to win the ball back in midfield positions frequently over the past twelve months and like Hjulmand clearly takes his position in the captain's hierarchy incredibly seriously. 

Hard night for Ioannidis up front but he got no favours at all from the referee. The challenge second half where he was getting pulled back for four or five seconds before a few kick was awarded was again frankly ridiculous. The referee was perfectly placed as well. Perhaps he referees boxing in his spare time and can't tell the fucking difference. The quality of the Juventus defence is going to be better than anything he's faced, better than Napoli's for certain and his one telling contribution was the neat lay off to Trincão for the assist. You only need one if it's positive.

Alisson and Suárez maybe both came on feeling like they both had a little too much to prove but you'd rather than attitude than not. Everyone wants to be the hero and find a winner. I think a point is a great result all things considered.

Man of the match choice of four time. Hjulmand first up. As I've alluded to he was solid throughout and if Juventus are serious about him then he's given them a great performance and they've shot themselves if they thought that would ever put him off his game with idle speculation about his future. Possibly his best performance of the season especially if you consider the level of the opposition. Maxi Araújo comes up with the lions goal, full of industry and running, never giving an inch, never over reacting. More eyes will be on him around Europe with every week that passes for sure. Diomande gets my third vote. I'll no doubt watch the Vlahovic goal back and think bollocks he's done the Ivorian there later but in the second half he certainly dealt with him to great effect, so much so that Spalletti withdrew him. Final vote has to go to Rui Silva and I'm always loath to include a keeper in my final four choices because it suggests we were poor, which we were at points but we weathered the storm and the captain with his hand on the tiller was the 31 year old. He made a series of critical saves and none better than the one from the Vlahovic header. You don't ever really get a game like that in Portugal which makes the fact he was alert to so much constant danger all the better and finally how he didn't get fucking booked for time wasting is a master class. If I'm loath to include a keeper in my final four choice for man of the match then really I should be loath to award him the man of the match but I'm more than happy to. Ruiiiiiiii takes my vote. 

To the Azores we fly next and then catch our breaths with another international break. It's been a busy couple of weeks and it's not over just yet.