Sporting CP 2 Olympique de Marseille 1

 

Sporting CP v Olympique de Marseille

Wednesday October 22nd, 2025

José Alvalade Stadium 

Champions League Matchday 3

The warm up 

Champions League football returns against the Ligue 1 side Olympique de Marseille more commonly known as OM. 

If I asked you to name a city in France I'd suggest most people would answer with Paris. Similarly if I asked you to name a French football club, most I suspect would answer PSG. Rewind history to the nineties and for the football question at least most people would have named OM. The importance of the city on the country of France may be lost on many. Some too may be surprised to read that the football club are one of the, if not the giant of French football. Take away the oil money invested into the current French Champions and Champions League holders PSG and the landscape of Ligue 1 and in fact European football right now would look very different. 

They were founded in August 1899 making them 126 years young. Compare that to the comparative Parisian upstarts who were founded in the August of 1970. OMs history actually began 7 years earlier in 1892 with the formation of Sporting Club, that name sounds familiar. They were originally an omnisport club as we ourselves remain very much to this day in Portugal. They would rename as US Phocéenne and Football Club de Marseille before finally settling on the moniker they're known by today. It coincided with the anniversary of the cities founding by the Greeks from Phocaea some 25 centuries previous. The Olympique part of their name is in homage to the country that brought the world the Olympic Games. It was rugby football rather than association football (from where the term soccer is derived) that originally formed the backbone of the club's sporting participation. This is also the source of the club motto displayed on their badge Droit au but which means to the point which I'm sure that's what readers of these posts are often left thinking prefixed by a please get to the. Both Sporting and Olympique are located on the southern coasts of their native countries. This is where the comparisons maybe start to end, though feel free to argue against me, I'm not claiming to be an expert in what follows. I'd make the suggestion that if you were to turn one of the countries 180° so that either way Porto was with Marseille and Paris was with Lisboa you'd find that combination of cities far more compatible with one another. Marseille and Porto the heartbeat of the country, more industrious, hardworking and important for trade. Lisboa and Paris more bourgeois in their nature. What was that? Droit au but? You missed a get but Três bien all the same mon petite fleurs. I will add that PSG v OM is considered a Clássico in the same manner as a Porto v Sporting or Benfica, but that appears to have been very much manufactured in the 90s by PSGs then owners Canal+ chasing additional Francs. It seems to have worked though with away fans being banned for a number of years at both grounds though I think that was finally lifted last season but don't quote me on that. I'm very much like the Google of 2025, I might give you the answer you were looking for but chances are I'll serve you up a load of old bollocks instead. Thanks for reading this far though. 

It was OM who lifted the first Champions League in 1993 which bookends the competition nicely for the French at present. They beat a legendary AC Milano side which boasted the likes of Marco van Basten in their ranks by a solitary goal from sweeper Basile Boli in München. Long gone are the days when sweepers were all the rage in world football. OM were unbeaten through the entire competition, though bear in mind this is long before the present league format and subsequent knock out rounds. They'd come close to winning the old European Cup in 1991 losing to Red Star Belgrade. These really were different times. I'd suggest younger readers use Deepseek rather than Google to aid you at this juncture. They also won Ligue 1 the same season but were stripped of the title when found guilty of match fixing. OMs owner Bernard Tapie had invested heavily on the playing side in search of glory and it appears had some more Francs sloshing about which he decided to invest in the pockets of opposition players of relegation threatened Valenciennes to take their foot off the gas to help ensure a win that would secure them the title ahead of AS Monaco and PSG. The Parisians who finished second and by default would have been awarded the title refused to take it and also passed up on OMs European place. At the time owned by French TV company Canal+ they thought by accepting it they'd lose customers in the south of France. Some shit you really could not make up in life. However despite being found guilty of bribery to help them win the title, no evidence was ever found of match fixing in relation to the Champions League and they remained the winners much to the chagrin of many club owners you'd imagine. Tapie for his part was sentenced to a two year prison term but was released after just 8 months. In addition to that controversy there remain accusations of doping players during the 90s with performance enhancing drugs with the likes of Chris Waddle and Tony Cascarino confirming they'd been given injections, of what though, they never actually knew. Those claims have never been substantiated it must be said it could have all been a placebo. Ever since their downfall they've had to play second fiddle to the likes of Olympique Lyonnaise, PSG and even little old AS Monaco. Tiny in size, swashing about in billions mind you. 

Their home is the 67,394 capacity Stade Vélodrome. When I write they're a giant of French football I don't use the term loosely, in fact you can easily argue they're one of the giants of both European and World football with a following most clubs could only dream about. A lot of Portuguese clubs' attendance combined after 17 games is only just enough to fill half the capacity of the ground as a one off. Saturday's opponents Paços de Ferreira had a total of 30,285 spectators combined for all their league fixtures last campaign as an example. 

They're owned by Frank McCourt who holds a 95% stake and Margarita Louis-Dreyfus the widow of the late owner Robert. She maintains a 5% interest. ML-D is the mother of the Sunderland owner who the lions played in pre-season to complete the circle. McCourt reportedly paid around €50m for the club in August of 2016 although the exact fee was undisclosed. McCourt does come across as one of the good guys in interviews it has to be said and was against the proposal of the Super League. In the 2023/24 Deloitte Money League OM were listed as having the 19th highest revenue in World football. I'm guessing they won't be there in the next listings after the French football federation told all their top flight clubs to put zero on their balance sheets next to the column marked TV income for the current season. 

It's fair to say Marseille as a city has played it's part in giving it's countries rulers a massive headache over the centuries. In the 13th it declared itself an independent republic from France. The French national anthem is called La Marseillaise and was first sung by soldiers marching from Marseille to the capital of Paris and became the rallying call to the French Revolution. Had football been around in the time of King Louis XVI, he wouldn't have been a Marseille fan though they might have had a kick about with his dismembered head. Located in Provence where some would suggest you might like to spend a year, the city is the oldest in all of France and the second most populated behind Paris. The region as a whole has around 2 million inhabitants which is just shy of one fifth of the entire population of Portugal as a whole. As I've already alluded to it was founded by the Greeks and it dates back to 600 BC. Shame there's no away leg because our Greek pairing of Doris and Vagiannidis would probably have felt right at home. The city has been a trading port since ancient times though I'm not sure it has the same notoriety as the one I wrote about in my Napoli post. If you're an American reading this don't try telling someone from Marseille that your country has any notion of history. 

The two clubs have met four times before and the lions have never won which doesn't bode well especially given the last two fixtures which also came in the Champions League. Look up the words shit show in a football dictionary and it will no doubt read underneath Olympique de Marseille 4 Sporting CP 1. It had started so brightly for the lions as well with Trincão pinging one in from 18 yards just 50 seconds into the game. Adán then kicked a clearance straight at Sánchez and could only watch the ball go straight back into his net. He then misplaced another kick which came all the way back to make it 2-1. Gets his hat-trick of errors in when he gets sent off. Israel on as a replacement between the sticks flaps at a corner and misses as the lions go 3-1 down before half time. Then despite having seven defenders in the box they still couldn't clear a cross to the near post and their misery was competed with a fourth goal conceded. The game at the José Alvalade wasn't much more of an improvement either losing 2-0. Esgaio gave away a penalty and got sent off. Sánchez then had the easiest of tap ins from 5 yards as Sporting failed to play him offside in the buildup. Pedro Gonçalves then gets booked for a challenge on the hour and talks himself into a second yellow, then the red is shown and Sporting finished with 9 men. As I wrote - shit show. I refuse to believe we'll be as bad as that come this game. I mean to be fair they'd have to fucking go some. The other two games were pre-season friendlies. 1-1 in July of 2018 with Andre Pinto scoring the goal and the summer before Sporting lost 2-1 away with Seydou Dombia on the score sheet. 

Nicknamed Les Phocéens, Les Olympiens and Les Minots. The first two I get. The last apparently meaning the Boys from Marseille. I'm calling bullshit on that one. That would be something like les petite garçon de Marseille. I paid some attention in French class, not much admittedly but enough to call la merde du taureau. OK that's probably nowhere near correct. Pardon moi. They are coached by Roberto De Zerbi who has garnered a reputation for both his attacking football and somewhat confrontational manner. His journey in management has taken him from Foggia, Palmero, Benevento and Sassuolo in Italy. Then onto Shakhtar Donetsk, Brighton and Hove Albion and finally onto OM. A coach linked with an awful lot of high profile jobs around Europe it'll be interesting to see how long his management style lasts in the all top often chaotic landscape of Southern France and whether he is ever given the reigns of one of Europe's top sides. OM might be a giant but most of the time they're a sleeping one.

OM at the time of writing currently second in Ligue 1 level on points with Strasbourg and Lyon, a point off leaders PSG. Their away record reads played 4, won 2, lost 2, GF 5 and GA 3 whereas at home they're yet to drop a point and their goal difference is plus 8 so there's something to cling to in that it's at the José Alvalade. 9 goals from open play, 3 set pieces, 2 penalties and an own goal in a pear tree. Top scorer in the league summer signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Mason Greenwood has two and the less said about that little toe rag the better and then 9 players on a single goal including Angel Gomes who received his marching orders for Lille against Sporting in last season's CL campaign. They average 2.1 goals per match, second only to Monaco with 2.3. Joint least average goals conceded with 0.7 and 3 clean sheets in total in Ligue 1. 5.4 shots on target on average, they've missed 18 big chances according to Opta defined stats. I'm going to get that printed on a T-Shirt before the end of the season. They average 506.3 passes per game which reads as impressive until you see PSG have 704.9 per game. Inácio and Debast would sit in perfectly between Nuno Mendes and Hakimi. 

Summer transfers

Incoming

West Ham brought Dimitri Payet from Marseille which worked out phenomenally well until the point that it didn't and he returned back to the south of France which left a bitter taste in the mouth of many Hammers fans. It's OK they've finally gotten their own back after they sold them Nayef Aguerd in the summer for £19m. He was joined by Emerson at a reported fee of £581,000 which as a figure probably makes more sense when converted into Euros. That could very much prove to be a bargain. He's the sort of left back you'd have seen at Sporting a few seasons back turning up aged 35 for one last pay day and you'd have been thinking fuck me this bloke looks like a world beater, why couldn't we have had him ten years younger, in the same way Mathieu did when turning up from Barcelona. Emerson on song could defend Quenda in his sleep. The other signings as follows;

Matthew O’Riley - Brighton - £1.7m

Benjamin Paved - Inter - £2.1m

Arthur Vermeeren - RB Leipzig - £2.5m 

Hamed Traorè - AFC Bournemouth - Loan

Timothy Weah - Juventus - £830,000 (son of legendary OM player George)

Igor Paixão - Feyenoord - £25m

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - Al Qadasiya - Free

Angel Gomes - Lille - Free

Facundo Medina - Lens - On loan

CJ Egan-Riley - Free agent

Jonathan Rowe - Norwich - £12m

Amar Dedic - RB Salzburg - £1.2 

Ismael Bennacer - AC Milano - Loan

Outgoing

Raimane Daou - Aubagne - Loan

Amine Harit - Başakşehir - Loan

Derek Cornelius - Rangers - Loan

Adrien Rabiot - AC Milano - £7.5m

Bamo Meité - Lorient - Loan

Faris Moumbagna - Cremonese - Loan 

Azzedine Ounahi - Girona - £5m

Jonathan Rowe - Bologna - £16m

Simon Ngapandouetnbu - Montpellier - Free

I'll not lie the thought of having to try type Ngapandouetnbu and Aubameyang in the same minute by minute breakdown would fill me with dread. 

Ismael Kone - Sassuolo - Loan

Quentin Merlin - Rennes - £11m

Another player I imagine who has a wand of a foot and is simply magic on the ball. 

Valentin Rongier - Rennes - £4.6m

Not one you want to say aloud when you cannot pronounce your R's. 

Alexi Koum - Valenciennes - Loan

Hopefully no one was bribed in that deal. That'll see if you were paying attention above. 

Pau Lopez - Toluca - £4m

Luis Felipe - Rayon Vallecano - Free

Samuel Gigot - Lazio - £415,000

Luis Henrique - Inter - £17m

The season to date 

It should be noted that the sale of Rabiot and Rowe came after the two were involved in an altercation following their opening 1-0 loss to Rennes and immediately put on the transfer list. Rennes has been reduced to ten men after the half hour mark, yet scored the winner a minute into additional time. OM missed all 3 of their big chances during the game, registering 24 shots to 12 at a ratio of 2:1 for those who love a bit of maths. Their XG 1.71 to 1.47 and for those who understand how useless possession is unless you do anything with it - 72% to 28%. Next up newly promoted Paris FC who had their arses handed to them 5-2. OM still missed 4 of their 7 big chances, XG 2.83 to 1.09, just 11 shots registered for the home side. Mind you at 0-0 against ten men the longer it stayed that way you imagine the more desperate they became when getting their shots away. 

Late misery again away from home as they lost 1-0 in the battle of the Olympians. Not sure they call it that in France but maybe they do. Lyon scored with three minutes remaining. Again OM guilty of missing both their big chances and they registered just 5 attempts. XG 3.04 to 0.77 and it could have been worse as the home side missed 5 of their 6 big chances. Back on home soil they dispatched Lorient comfortably 4-0 but again guilty of missing big chances with 2 from 4. XG 2.26 to a paltry 0.14 but clearly made more of their 78% possession in this match. 

Champions League Matchday 1 saw them travel away to Real Madrid and they took an early lead before ex-PSG striker Mbappé scored a brace to turn the game around in the Spaniards favour. I think that's called rubbing salt in the wounds given how dominant PSG were during his time in France. 28 attempts for Real to OMs 15. 1 big missed chance of 2 for them with an XG of 3.64 to 0.73. Real missed 3 of their 5 big chances. 

Biggest result of the campaign maybe not in respects of the scoreline but definitely the opposition came in a 1-0 home win against PSG. The game was rearranged because of bad weather for the night that Dembele was crowned Ballon D’Or. Both sides were missing key players and the game was settled after 4 minutes through a Marquinos own goal. Both sides missed their 2 big chances, XG 1.14 to 0.67. Strasbourg away saw a 2-1 win coming from behind, 3 of 4 big chances missed as OM finish with an XG of 2.02 to 1.36. 

Champions League Matchday 2 and they dispatched a poor Ajax team 4-0 and were 3 goals to the good before half time. New signing Paixão the star man with a brace in the opening 11 minutes. Just 1 big chance of their 3 missed. Despite scoring four times their XG just 1.13 to 0.80. Their second win on the road 3-0 against Metz with all goals coming after half time. XG 2.71 to 0.16 registering 21 attempts and missing 2 of their 3 big chances. 

Next up before their game with the lions a home game against Le Harve. 

Sunday update: Marseille go top in Ligue 1 with a devastating 6-2 home win over Le Harve. The opposition went ahead through a 23rd minute Kechta goal before Gautier Loris saw red and left Le Harve in Le merde. Mason Greenwood scored four times, Vaz added a 5th before a 91st minute goal made it 5-2. However OM not done as Murillo compounded their misery in the 92nd minute. 18 attempts to 8 with an XG of 4.01 to 0.49.

I've tracked down the statistics from the Sporting game last night. Attempts 9 for Paços and 39 to the lions. On target 4 - 10. Off target which I'm assuming includes the blocked attempts 5 - 29. Corners 0 - 25. 

In the markets 

Sporting CP 23/20

Draw 27/10

Marseille 21/10

Sporting CP Feminino 

Rio Ave v Sporting CP

Sunday October 19th, 2025

Taça de Liga Feminino 

Sporting CP Starting XI 

Wozniak, Cancelinha, Easton-Collins, Perez, Haugen, Arques, Fonseca, Neto, Raphino, Bonseguendo and Barron 

Rio Ave Starting XI 

Coster, Fetty, Matos, Curran, Pereira, Assucena, Wolfbaeur, Martins, Ribeiro, Cristo and Contente 

First Half

The Lionesses all in black with white trim.

Rio Ave kick off with a line of five players on the half way line like they're all lined up for a school sports race

1 Neto sets Raphino clear but the American can't control the pass into the box and the move breaks down 

2 Throw far side and you can see from the rain hitting the puddles behind the hoardings how miserable it is out there this afternoon 

5 Good idea from Raphino as she tried to thread a pass into the box but the Rio Ave defence clear the danger 

7 Bonseguendo off to the races down the left wing. She falls under a challenge but quickly gets back to her feet but her pass into the box can only find a white shirt 

10 Ambitious shot from Cristo for Rio Ave from 24 yards that goes well wide of the left post

13 Martins with time and space on the right aims a shot at the near post with no one to aim for in the centre. Wozniak won't mind seeing those all afternoon 

14 Best play of the game so comes from the hosts as they build from midfield and out to the right wing but Martins can only find the keeper once more 

17 Good work from Haugen to lose her marker but her cross is cleared 

18 Assucena dispossessed Bonseguendo inside the box for a corner with a well timed tackle. The lionesses manage a shot from a narrow angle far side which is deflected out for another corner far side 

25 Rio Ave see a shot fizz from 26 yards wide of Wozniak's right hand post. The Polish keeper had it covered 

29 Wozniak pushes a shot from the edge of the six yard box far side out for a corner 

29 Rio Ave header from six yards from the corner goes out for a goal kick 

35 Corner near side met with a strong header from Barron on the edge of the six yard box. Best chance to date for the lionesses. 

37 GOAL Rio Ave 0 Sporting CP 1. Beatriz Fonseca plays a lovely 1-2, runs into the area and squares the ball through a defender's legs for Bonseguendo to slot home between a defender and the keeper from 6 yards. 

40 Yellow Bonseguendo for a challenge on Assucena from behind 

Plus one indicated 

Half time 

Rio Ave 0 Sporting CP 1 

The lionesses take a slender lead into the second half. On a wet and windy afternoon both sides have struggled for consistency and to find any real quality in the final third other than for Bonseguendo’s goal five minutes before half time. A moment of real quality however in the buildup for the goal and a well timed finish from close range which could easily have come off the defender or the keeper with both still to beat in front of her. 

Second Half 

➡️⬅️ Martins for Ferreira and Cristo for Gomes

Lionesses get us back underway. Double substitution for Rio Ave

50 Mistake from Perez gifts the ball to Fetty who drives a shot from 30 yards into the arms of Wozniak 

51 Stoppage in play as Raphino falls awkwardly 

52 Carolina Santiago stripped and readied to come on

54 ➡️⬅️ Raphino for Santiago 

55 Contente tries a shot from outside the D that's deflected for a corner far side. Referee spots an infringement inside the area and free kick awarded to the Sporting 

57 Another mistake at the back recovered by the Sporting defender. They've barely made it out of their own half in the opening 12 minutes

63 Ball driven into the six yard box far left but there wasn't a black shirt in sight

64 Matos concedes a corner near side 

65 Referee standing for no messing about this half and blows for another infringement 

66 ➡️⬅️ 41 Maísa and 2 Geneva Gray for Perez and Bonseguendo 

68 ➡️ ⬅️ Mafalda Nunes on for Fetty

68 GOAL Cross from the substitute Gomes met with an unmarked header from Ferreira 2 yards out. Rio Ave 1 Sporting CP 1. That came from the lionesses losing possession once more in the final third and in truth the home side deserved their goal on their second half performance 

72 Maísa finds herself double teamed inside the area as Rio Ave cleared for a corner far side 

73 Ball cleared as far as 30 yards. Not sure who the lioness was who tries from long range but they'll be glad I didn't name and shame because it would have been a good conversion for the extra point

75 Haugen leaves one on Contene who looks far from Conten-ded as she grabs the top of her boot 

76 Just a bit of needle entering the game as Assucena fouls Neto 

77 Whatever the Rio Ave player did to wind her up we need more of it as Neto smashes the crossbar from 20 yards. Superb skill and turn to lose two markers and make the space to get her shot away

77 Neto has the bit between her teeth as she finds Santiago inside the area but the youngster loses her footing in the wet

78 Suddenly it's all Sporting from an attacking sense having been on the back foot for the opening half hour of the second half 

79 Fonseca leaves one in on Gomes and free kick awarded in a dangerous position on the left. Ball to the far post goes out for a goal kick 

81 Neto in full command of the game now sends Maísa free on the right wing. She continues her run into the box and shanks her effort wide from a yard to the right of the six yard box past the far post. Big chance missed to put the game to bed 

85 ➡️ ⬅️ Arqes for 21 Samara Lino and Fonseca for 10 Ana Capeta

86 Mistake again at the back from Sporting allows a shot from 20 yards which Wozniak claims 

87 Lino fires over from 25 yards after Rio Ave failed to clear their lines properly 

89 Capeta aims one from 28 yards towards the top left hand corner but easily dealt with by Coster 

90 Player down in the Rio Ave penalty area under pressure from Wolfbaeur but referee not interested 

Plus five shown 

90 Good tackle from Maísa on Gomes near side to stop a Rio Ave attack 

+1 Corner Rio Ave near side. 8 players back in and around the six yard box zonal marking does the trick as Sporting clear 

+2 Capeta swings a cross in from the right. Coster comes to claim and flattens Santiago with what looked like a punch to the head. I think that was a penalty all day long for the lionesses. Genuinely no idea how that's not been given she punches her with both gloves on the side of the head 

+4 Neto sinks to her knees as she can only fire straight at the keeper unmarked from 16 yards 

+6 Capeta heads wide from 8 yards 

Full Time 

Rio Ave 1 Sporting CP 1 

The Final Word 

I'm conflicted at the end of that game. Part of me wants to say the draw was the fair result, whereas a larger part of me questions why the referee fails to award the penalty in additional time. I don't want to compare the game to men's football but it does seem right to point out that had that been in the Liga VAR would have told the referee to go to the monitor and overturn her decision. Player of the match goes to Neto who suddenly came alive in the second half and looked a class above pretty much everyone else on the pitch. Shame she didn't replicate it for a longer period but what she did produce was at times was great to watch. Comfortable with the ball at her feet, can turn on a six pence and great vision in turn to create the chances for her teammates and came closest to the winner when smacking the bar from 20 yards. One moan - why are the women doing what the men used to do when I first started watching Portuguese football and having their first name on the backs of their shirts. It confused me then and confuses me now. 

Sporting Admin

The lions have been drawn at home in the next round of the Taça de Portugal against AC Marinhense, currently scheduled for November 23rd at 11am. They beat Anadia 7-0 away to progress into round 4 and Sporting away must have felt like a dream come true for players and the bean counters alike. They play in the Campeonato de Portugal which is the fourth tier of Portuguese football below Liga 3.

The ladies reward for beating FC Rosengård in the Europa League is a draw against Glasgow FC to be played over November 12th and 19th.

Champions League future opponents roundup

Tuesday night fixtures 

Leverkusen 2 PSG 7

Sadly not a typo on my part. The current Champions League holders in blistering form in Germany. Ex-Lion Nuno Mendes assists the opener headed home from 6 yards by Willian Pancho to make it 0-1. In the 22 minute the Germans handed a lifeline with a penalty awarded for handball only for Alejandro Grimaldo the ex-Benfica player to see his shot bounce back off the right hand post 2 minutes later. Robert Andrich saw red for an elbow into the face of Désire Doué on 32 minutes. PSG feeling charitable made it ten men a piece when Ilya Zabarnyi was penalised for a pull back inside the area. Aleix Garcia makes the game level at 1-1 on 37 minutes. On 40 it's 1-2 as Doué strikes from 12 yards into the bottom right hand corner and 3 minutes later 1-3 as Kvaratskhelia smashes the ball in off the left post, then right post and into the net. 2 minutes after that and it's 1-4 as Doué the ball into the bottom right nonchanantly from 20 yards. 

Half time 

Leverkusen 1 PSG 4

It takes PSG 4 minutes to make it 1-5 as Nuno Mendes adds to his assistant with a 16 yard effort into the bottom left hand corner assisted enough route by the keeper. On 53 Garcia gets his brace zipping the ball past a flat footed keeper into the top right hand corner from 24 yards and it's 2-5. Comeback on? No. Ballon D'Or Dembélé on as a 63rd minute substitute scores on 65 with a goal from the narrowest of angles from 3 yards squeezing past the hapless Leverkusen keeper and it's 2-6. At least it couldn't get any worse for the Germans, oh no wait as on 89 minutes Vitinha scores from 24 yards into the bottom left hand corner. Fuck a duck. 

UEFA Youth League 

Sporting CP v Olympique de Marseille 

The under 19s started off the day's festivities with a 2-1 win at home to OM. They led with just 10 minutes on the clock through a Flávio Gonçalves goal as he knocked the ball past the onrushing keeper from 18 yards. The visitors equalised on 46 minutes through a Bakola goal through the keeper's legs from the edge of the six yard box. In the 80th minute Paulo Simão was in the right place to nod home the winner from 3 yards after Daniel Costa's original effort rebounded out into his path. Gabriel Silva received his marching orders for a second yellow card late on but it made no difference to the end result. The lion cubs now with 7 points from a possible 9. In the crowd watching on the mister Rui Borges.

Team News 

A reminder of the players used to date by Rui Borges in the two Champions League matches to date.

Matchday 2 Napoli 

Starting XI - Silva, Araújo, Inácio, Quaresma, Fresneda, Simões, Hjulmand, Geny, Trincão, Quenda and Ioannidis 

Substitutes Used - Gonçalves, Suárez, Debast, Alisson and Morita 

Matchday 1 - Kairat

Virgínia, Araújo, Inácio, Quaresma, Fresneda, Kochorashvili, Hjulmand, Gonçalves, Trincão, Quenda and Suárez 

Substitutes Used - Morita, Alisson, Ioannidis, Reis and Debast

Starting XI v Marseille 

Silva, Araújo, Inácio, Debast, Fresneda, Simões, Hjulmand, Gonçalves, Trincão, Quenda and Suárez 

Substitutes 

Virgínia, Reis, Vagiannidis, Quaresma, Diomande, Mangas, Morita, Geny, Kochorashvili, Alisson, Ribeiro and Ioannidis 

Change in goal with Virgínia making way for Rui Silva. at the back Maxi Araújo and Gonçalo Inácio are fit enough to start in place of Mangas and Diomande. Fresneda preferred over Vagiannidis and Debast comes in for Quaresma. As I speculated on Saturday Simões non-involvement against Paços was indeed because he was going to start tonight and he replaces Morita to make six changes already. Two final changes as Alisson makes way for Trincão and Doris moves way for Suárez. Youngster Ribeiro included on the bench. 

Marseille Starting XI 

1 Rulli, 33 Emerson, 5 Balerdi, 28 Pavard, 21 Aguerd, 22 Weah, 14 Paixão, 23 Hølberg, 10 Vemeeren, 10 Greenwood and 97 Aubameyang 

First Half 

The lions in white with pink trim once more to raise awareness and money for the fight against breast cancer.

Big test tonight against the only side to have beaten PSG this season. The inclusion of Simões in midfield should hopefully add some of the pace missing on Saturday. OM set to line up in a 5-4-1.

Both sets of players line up around the centre circle. What for however is unsure. Not sure Trincão was even aware as he pulls a funny face as the players break. OM get us underway, Sporting attack left to right.

1 Suárez tries from 20 yards but his shot is blocked. That came from good pressure in the final third 

2 Yellow shown to Balerdi for a pull on Suárez 2 yards outside the area. The lions arguing for red but the referee not interested

3 Trincão beats the wall but it goes wide or the right post from 20 yards. Positive start 

4 Disappointing attendance tonight but those in attendance making plenty of noise 

5 Foul called on Suárez as he sends Balerdi flying who then points the finger at him in annoyance. It should be noted Suárez an ex-OM player 

7 Lions dropping back into a 4-3-2-1 when defending 

7 Balerdi penalised for a push in the back of Suárez on the half way line. These two like a pair of ex lovers 

8 Paixão with a big grin on his face as he tries to catch Silva out with a long range shot 

10 Gonçalves with a double attempted cross from the left, OM clear their lines eventually 

10 Paixão tries again, this time from 20 yards wide of the right post. Definitely not afraid to shoot from distance 

11 Shake of the head from Suárez as he's flagged offside. More in disappointment with himself as he was a yard off than the decision given 

12 Quenda cleans up in defence. What idiot said he should be a right back in a recent post?

13 OM indeed defending in a 5-4-1

13 GOAL Sporting CP 0 Marseille 1. Paixão left in acres of space on the left. He'd given two warnings of his intention already tonight. Cuts past Fresneda and smashes it from 19 yards into the top right hand corner. That was a goal of real quality but the lions guilty of their own downfall there 

15 Greenwood fires past a sea of Sporting players wide of the right post from 16 yards. Inácio allowing him far too much space inside the area 

18 OM fans making all the noise now and they've travelled in significant numbers 

18 Greenwood fires a pass across the area but Rui Silva alert to the danger 

18 Danger again at the back as Aubameyang with a crisp pass in the box but the presence of Silva enough to send the receiving player wide

19 Quenda with a solid block on Paixão

20 Brilliant run from Araújo from defence into the Marseille half. Found Gonçalves on the left and the ball rattled around the OM area before finally coming off a defender into the arms of Rulli

22 No one is getting touch tight when OM on the attack. If they didn't learn the lesson after 13 minutes you imagine there's someone in the ranks capable of teaching them a second lesson 

24 Rulli fluffs his lines and misses the ball as it goes through his legs from a back pass but it goes harmlessly wide far side. Hjulmand taken out on the edge of the area right in front of the referee who wasn't interested. Gonçalves in the end with a chance from 18 yards pulled wide of the left post. 

26 Debast clearly paying attention to Rui Borges instructions as he plays the part of mister on the pitch directing traffic with his fingers and hands pointing here and there. Who too we cannot see out of shot 

28 Against Napoli, the lions benefited from Ioannidis’ ability to hold onto the ball and build from there, definitely missing the same tonight so far in the final third 

32 Hjulmand with a last ditch tackle on the edge of the area after a mistake from Simões loses possession. OM snapping at the heels of the lions at every opportunity 

33 The lions chasing shadows and every pass from OM met with a chorus of whistles 

33 Pressure from Sporting sees them turn over the ball but again can do nothing with it in the final third 

34 Trincão tries a shot from 27 yards which brings an easy save from Rulli

34 Mason Greenwood tries from 2 yards inside his own half. Clearly identified that Silva has a tendency to move up. Definitely wasn't a Gonçalves v Arsenal moment as it ends up in the stand behind Silva 

36 Handbags on the sidelines ends up with a yellow to the OM mister Roberto De Zerbi 

37 Suárez causing problems on the left loses his man and carries on into the area. His shot from 10 yards straight at Rulli. Quenda was showing on the right. The lions need to take advantage of one of these rare opportunities 

38 Yellow to Emerson for a handball

39 Free kick on the touchline straight out of play from Quenda. Referee had blown up for a foul by Hjulmand in the buildup but that doesn't excuse the quality, or lack of, there with the delivery 

42 Aubameyang turns inside the box and tries from 15 yards which deflects for a corner far side. Again no one getting touch tight 

43 Silva collects and found Gonçalves as Sporting tried to quickly counter, who loses the ball and OM back on the offensive 

43 Penalty to OM. Simões penalised for a foul on Emerson. Hjulmand incensed. VAR check ongoing 

Plus two shown 

+1 Never a penalty from the reverse as the referee has gone to the monitor. Emerson kicks the back of Araújos leg. Well done referee no penalty and shows the yellow to Emerson and he's off. Hand ball and simulation. Silly boy. Red to the Italian. I'm not sure the commentator has picked up on that fact when the yellow was shown. I was all over it like a rash 

+2 The noise levels lifted once more from the home fans 

+3 Whistle blows

Half time 

Sporting CP 0 Olympique de Marseille 1

The French league leaders will be kicking themselves as they leave the pitch with ten men but still 1 goal to the good. Credit to the referee for overturning his decision to award a penalty. In real time and the angle he was at you can't blame him for having given it. Opponents of VAR can quite frankly fuck off, that's what it's there for at the end of the day. Can the lions take advantage of the extra man in the second half is the question?

Sporting in truth were second best and OM deserve their lead through a superbly taken goal. They've decided not to go touch tight all night and maybe with the Emerson dive we've seen why but you cannot continue to give this Marseille side space on the ball in the final third. Suárez with the only real chance of note, guilty of being too selfish and going for goal when Quenda would have been the better option initially out on the right hand side. 

I mentioned above Ioannidis’ ability to hold up the ball and would be an option to explore. They need something to build from in attack and get players in and around him. Quenda has looked good defensively but was going nowhere on the right and Alisson could be the key to unlocking the defence on the other flank. Borges needs to gamble somewhere to take at least a point from the game. 

Second half 

➡️⬅️ Murillo and O’Riley on for Vermeeren and Greenwood

Lions get us back underway 

46 Araújo floats a ball into the six yard box but Rulli claims easily 

47 Araújo has a pop at Weah who looks unfazed 

49 Good tackle on the edge of the box to dispossess Trincão. Inácio tries a shot from outside the area that troubles the fans behind Rulli’s goal

50 Gonçalves takes a kick to the face from Pavard but deemed to be accidental 

50 Fantastic ball into Suárez from inside the Sporting half but Aguerd muscles him off the ball

51 Fresneda tries to cut the ball back from the right but finds the defender and the ball bounces back off the Spaniard for a goal kick. Sums up the lions night to date 

52 Quenda cross easily dealt with by Rulli once more 

53 Rare foray down the right by OM. Weah tries to pick out Aubameyang but Debast wise to the danger 

55 Fuck me another ball into the box easily claimed in the air by Rulli. I'd understand it if Ioannidis was on the pitch lumping long balls up

56 Højlberg takes a quick free kick trying to catch Silva out again but well wide 

57 Quenda tries to squeeze the ball in from the edge of the six yard box. Rulli pushes the ball onto the post and out for a corner 

58 First corner cleared for a second, Hjulmand tries a flick on but Aguerd alert and again comes to nothing 

59 Suárez shanks wide right from 18 yards from the same position Marseille opened the scoring from

61 Simões forces a good save from 18 yards as he twists his marker to get a low shot away 

62 Gonçalves looks for Araújo but Rulli quickly out to another the ball

63 ➡️ ⬅️ Simões and Quenda off for Geny and Ioannidis. Big hug from Borges for Simões as he lifts him off the floor 

64 Lively start from Geny 

65 Fresneda cross cleared for a corner far side 

65 Whistles as an Højlberg goes to ground inside the area 

66 ➡️ ⬅️ Weah shoved in the back by the referee to get off faster. Goalscorer Paixão also taken off. Angel Gomes on hoping to last the game this time around having been sent off on his last visit. Garcia the other man on 

68 GOAL Sporting CP 1 Marseille 1 as Geny slots home. Flag up on the far side though. It's going to be tight. 

70 Referee has his hand to his ear. He pointed to the centre circle. Sporting CP 1 Marseille 1. Cool finish by the Mozambique international past Rulli from 14 yards into the bottom left hand corner 

71 Doris causing problems wins a corner near side 

73 Araújo somehow comes away with the ball in the area on the touchline. Great work from the Uruguayan but couldn't find a white shirt at the end of it all 

75 Alisson strips off on the bench

75 Trincão just couldn't get the ball under control as he ran into the box

76 Debast down receiving treatment

77 Borges taking time to deliver instructions on the sidelines during the break in play 

79 ➡️ ⬅️ Diomande for Debast and Alisson for Fresneda 

80 ➡️ ⬅️ Vaz for Aubameyang

81 Shot of Nuno Santos and Bragança watching on from the boxes

82 Araújo taking the piss to dance out of defence. More of that please 

82 Geny off to the races loses Angel Gomes and found Doris whose shot from two yards blocked by a defender. Gomes went for a tug on the shirt and just thought better of it 

85 GOAL Sporting CP 2 Marseille 1. Huge strike of fortune as Alisson's shot from 17 yards strikes a Marseille defender up and over the diving Rulli and into the back of the Marseille net. Pavard with the last touch but as it was on target the Brazilian credited with the goal. Doesn't matter how they go in they all count 

88 Referee with red card in his hand. This doesn't look good for Araújo. Pavard shoves Araújo and is shown the yellow. Araújo with a chest into Pavard was shown the red. 

Plus five shown 

90 Referee has gone to the monitor. De Zerbi apparently sent off. 

+1 Yellow to Araújo. Well done VAR

+2 Reis on the touchline presumably to come on for Araújo 

+2 Flag up against Geny far side 

+2 ➡️⬅️ Standing ovation for Araújo as Reis comes on 

+3 Suárez fires a shot straight at Rulli from 15 yards 

+4 Fucking hell three Sporting players about to go clear on the counter. Not sure who missed the pass to the other two. Possibly Suárez. That should have been game set and match, OM with one player back around the half way line 

+6 Still playing as whistles come from the home fans showing their displeasure 

+6 Huge roar as Ioannidis wins a throw inside the Sporting half 

+6’56 Finally the final whistle comes 

Full time 

Sporting CP 2 Marseille 1 

The final word 

Sporting claim a massive 3 points against the only side to have beaten the European champions this season. Is that how I'm framing the win? No, don't be daft. Mick Jagger famously once sang you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need. Sporting needed fortune and tonight she smiled down upon us as Alisson adds to his collection of deflected Champions League goals, they all count. Despite the pressure applied with the extra man advantage it didn't look like it was ever going to come but the history books will record the win. Marseille masters of their own downfall with the sending off. 

Maybe this is the win that reignites the lions who've been short of something of late. What that is only they'll know. Confidence? Self belief? The two come hand in hand anyway. Let's not kid ourselves though because we don't win that game if it stays 11 v 11. We had two warnings for the opening goal prior to it being scored. In Portugal you may have gotten away with it if you're Fresneda. In the Champions League you don't but he'll learn from it. You can easily forget how young these players actually are. OM are buying from your Premier Leagues, from Serie A, the lions are shopping in a different supermarket looking for players who can grow. At the end of it all whatever age we are we all still make mistakes. 

Credit to the VAR time for getting the big calls right with the overturned penalty and the sending off. Credit also to the players in their persistence and for finally unlocking the defence. A lot of the criticism aimed at Rui Borges is incredibly unfair. He's far more tactically adept than Amorim ever was. He's also now missing the best player in Portugal from the last two seasons. No mister in the world can replace Gyökeres output on the pitch. The players last season were guilty of over reliance on their talisman. Suárez doesn't come close as of yet by way of comparison and I always said it would be unfair to ever draw one so I apologise, I'm thinking aloud. 

Maybe tonight isn't the night for tugging at loose strings. If you had eyes on across the 90 you'd have seen we were all too often left lacking. Naïve if you will. This is not Portuguese football though, this is the biggest stage in European football. They'll only ever learn playing against a higher grade of opposition. Playing like that against Bayern or PSG will get your lights punched out. They have to learn quick. Let's not forget Borges is learning on the job too at this level. It's a huge jump in class. You can forgive them if at certain points they end up chasing shadows. Expectations management is needed which is a polite way of saying a reality check to a lot of fans who won't be reading this but could benefit from being sat down and forced to wind their necks in. Opinions are like arseholes. Just because we all have them doesn't mean we have to be them. 

So let's try and pick a man of the match. At half time Silva might have been in my list of four so I'm grateful he's not on the end list. I'm aware Fresneda was guilty for the opening goal but he still worked tirelessly. For all the silliness at the end Araújo was box office at times and his control to lose Pavard was phenomenal. If you want to know why they had their tet-a-tet in the area you can only surmise that Araújo reminded the World Cup winner of that fact. He gets my first vote. Whilst Inácio had the greater number of total passes, Debast was the one organising things on the pitch and more than one occasion in the opening 45 especially, he was the man in the right place and had the game ended there, again he'd have been on my short list but misses the final cut. Just as Simões started to get a grip on the game he was substituted. Hjulmand gave a Coates like performance of leadership, he could play the Tom Cruise role in a Few Good Men. He has the turning circle of a London Bus though which I'm noticing more every game. I also find a lot of our players take an extra touch to move the ball away before passing rather than having the confidence of trying the first time pass which say a Debast has no issues with doing. He certainly played his part and a better performance from him than in recent weeks. Quenda again just started to look brighter in the final third at the point he was substituted. People might think I'm mad when I write he'd make a better right back but defensively again tonight he impressed. There was none of the thought from him that he could take a player on other than five minutes before the end of his night. It could be instructions, could be confidence, who knows. I'm being polite when I say could be instructions, it's clearly not given the way Geny came onto the pitch buzzing. I thought Gonçalves was too easily pushed off the ball in the final third and offered little. Trincão was brighter than in recent games but to be fair he didn't set a high bar to jump over. Suárez was too selfish with the chances that did fall his way and a virtual passenger for the remainder of the 90 minutes. It's not just goals that we lost with Gyökeres going, it was his will to win, the unselfish play that saw him rack up the assists and the want to drag his teammates over the line whatever sacrifice it took on his part. You can rest when the final whistle has been blown.

Reis definitely wasn't on long enough and his telling contribution was enabling Araújo to not be banned by getting another yellow with a couple of minutes remaining. Again Diomande wasn't on long enough to make a telling contribution. Hopefully the knock to Debast's knee not serious although if it is at least the Ivorian is close to full fitness at the right time. Please don't let me be using the one in one out line I was using every game from January onwards last season with fresh injuries and players returning. So that leaves Allison, Geny and Ioannidis. Yes Allison scores the winner and as contributions go they don't come better than that, but I'm not fickle enough to put him in the four even if he had me up and punching the air in delight. OK let's add Hjulmand in as my second choice, Ioannidis as my wild card because he impressed me again when he came on. Could have had a goal at the near post and having thought we won't see any Marseille players throwing themselves at balls like we did with Paços defenders, once more I was eating my words. He also has a knack of winding up opposition players and I forget who he did it to second half around the 18 yard box when he appealed for a penalty, possibly the Marseille captain now I think of it, but his blank stare was brilliant. A very cool and calm customer, like mould he's growing on me. Which can only leave Geny for the final spot. I'm gathering they've changed the offside law so his body being onside isn't offset by the fact his hand was most probably in an offside position. From the first seconds he came on he was at the opposition defenders dragging them left and right, using his pace to leave players standing in his wake. Angel Gomes went to pull him back at one stage unable to get anywhere near him and it must have been the memory of his sending off here for Lille last season that pulled his hand back. Regular readers will know ever since he came into the side I've been a massive admirer of his. If you install his self belief and confidence into Quenda then maybe I'd see what everyone else claims to see. Yet I see it in Geny. He scores goals in big occasions; Dérbi's, Clássico's and Champions League games. Like the Highlander there can only be one and Geny gets it for a game changing cameo appearance. Time to give Quenda a rest and probably Gonçalves and Trincão too. 

Somewhere in all the excitement at the end I missed Pedro Gonçalves getting booked. My bad. Apparently for a foul I don't remember seeing. Was probably typing furiously about Araújo still. 

Footnote - UEFA man of the match? Alisson Santos. Saying nothing.