Vitória SC 1 Sporting CP 4

Vitória SC v Sporting CP
Tuesday December 23rd, 2025
Matchday 15
Estádio Dom Afonso Henriques 

The warm up

The mister returns to his old club just three days short of his first anniversary in charge of the lions. Vitória one of three clubs Sporting are yet to play before the halfway mark of the 2025/26 season with Rio Ave and Gil Vicente still to follow before we repeat the fixtures rounds 1 through 17. We'll have to see whether Os Conquistadors are as motivated as they were in this corresponding fixture last season to get one over on their old boss. Sporting led 3-1 with 22 minutes remaining through a Viktor Gyökeres hat-trick only to sensationally fall behind with 6 minutes of full time remaining and were rescued by a goal of sublime quality from Trincão 4 minutes into additional time to see both sides come away with a point in a 4-4 draw. When the two sides met again in May, Vitória would be there to witness Borges crowned Champion as the lions celebrated back to back titles as his new side won 2-0 with Gonçalves opening the scoring and Gyökeres scoring his last ever league goal in a Sporting shirt. 

The opponents current campaign to date as follows;

Matchday 1 – An away trip to the Dragão to kick off their season resulted in a 3-0 loss for Luis Pinto’s men. Zero big chances created by the visitors, Porto converted 3 of their 6. Despite sharing 50% possession they would finish with an XG of just 0.54 to 2.68 from their 10 attempts.

Matchday 2 – Having fallen behind to an 18th minute Guitane goal, Vitória still recorded their first win of the campaign 3-2 at home to Estoril. Goals from Nobrega, Oliveira and a Silva penalty. Impressively they took 3 of their 4 big chances, the visitors scoring 1 of their 2. 

Matchday 3 – Moreirense away resulted in their second straight away loss with two second half goals from Schettine in the space of 3 minutes sealing their fate. Their XG just 0.29 from 11 attempts without a single big chance created.

Matchday 4 – Back at home and Gustavo Silva gave VSC the lead after half hour, only to concede 3 minutes later to an Arouca equaliser from Djouahra which was their sole big chance of the game. Vitória failed to create a single big chance from their 12 attempts, the two sides failed to even reach a combined XG of 1 with 0.35 to 0.46. The two sharing a point with a 1-1 draw. 

Matchday 5 – Away to Estrela, VSC recorded their first 3 points on the road. Oliveira opened the scoring on 32 minutes, Ndoye with a second on the stroke of full time to secure a 2-0 win. The visitors missed 2 big chances to have extended their lead during the course of the 90, Estrela failing to register a single one as the XG finished 0.48 to 1.47.

Matchday 6 – Braga at home and both sides score in quick succession. Navarro scored for the visitors on 27 minutes only for Mitrovic to equalise 4 minutes later. Neither side was able to add to their single goal apiece and the points shared. Braga missed 2 of 3 big chances created, VSC missed their single one. The home side happy to concede the lionshare of possession in this game yet the XG an even 1.33 to 1.32. Proof once more it's not how much or the ball you see it's what you do with it that counts.

Matchday 7 – Disaster on the road as Vitória lost 2-0 to the newly promoted Alverca. Trailing 1-0 at half time and unable to find an equaliser they conceded again 6 minutes into additional time. Despite creating 19 attempts, only 1 of those classified as a big chance, whereas the home side scored 2 of their 3 created. Final XG 1.71 to 1.24. 

Matchday 8 – VSC put their previous loss behind them with 3 points at home to Santa Clara despite going a goal behind with just 5 minutes on the clock. Two second half goals in the space of 5 minutes from Ndoye and Samu turned the game on its head. The home side scored 2 of their 3 big chances and Santa scored their only one. XG 1.94 to 1.12.

Taça de Portugal – União Lamas the destination for round 3 and an Oscar Rivas goal enough to secure a 1-0 away win against lower league opponents. 

Matchday 9 – Still on the road and back in the league a 2-0 away loss to Famalicão ensued after Amorim opened the scoring 5 minutes from half time and Sorriso compounded their misery with a goal 7 minutes in additional time at the end of the game. The home side scored their 1 solitary big chance, Vitória missed theirs. The two sides not for the first time this campaign sharing equal possession but it was the home side who made the most of theirs and their XG 1.68 to just 0.50

Matchday 10 – A second straight defeat, this time 3-0 at the hands of Benfica. 0-0 at half time they would however fail to create a single big chance as the visitors created 6 missing 4 of those in the process. The XG 0.43 to 2.13. 

Matchday 11 – Having lost to one newly promoted side on the road they came away with all 3 points against Tondela however only after a Camara penalty scored one minute after the end of the regulation 90. Tondela missed both their big chances, the penalty the away sides only one created. Again 50% possession apiece, the home sides XG higher at 1.46 to 1.33, remembering to factor in the penalty which accounts for 0.79 of the 11 attempts they registered. 

Taça de Portugal action once more as they hosted Mortagua FC at home in Guimaraes. 4-0 the score with goals from Blanco, Oliveira, Arcanjo and Lebedenko.

Matchday 12 – The fixture list falling kindly again as they welcomed bottom of the table AVS following on from lower league opposition in the Taça and newly promoted Tondela. Home fans awarded with a 4-0 thumping going in 3-0 at half time through goals from Oliveira, Rivas and Beni. Camara added the fourth. Vitória scored 2 of their 3 big chances and despite the opponents lowly position they still created 2 big chances of their own and the XG was only 1.56 to 1.17 when compared to the one sided scoreline.

Could Vitória make it 4 straight wins in all competitions as they travelled away to the Dragão once more this campaign, this time in the Taça da Liga? Yes they could as they knocked out the league leaders 3-1 despite falling behind after just 7 minutes. An Oliveira and Camara penalty apiece sandwiched Samu’s goal from open play as they qualified for the next round as highly impressive 3-1 winners.

Matchday 13 – After the excitement and result of the previous Thursday, home fans could probably forgive their team as they could only manage a 0-0 draw at home to Gil Vicente. They missed both their big chances though positively they didn’t allow a single one by reply. The final XG indicative of the games result finishing 0.51 to just 0.23.

Matchday 14 – A Camara goal 10 minutes before half time was enough for all 3 points away to Rio Ave and at the time of writing ahead of their Taça de Portugal home tie to AVS on Wednesday night, VSC now 6 games unbeaten winning 5 in the process. Missing 1 of their 2 big chances, the home side again didn’t create a single one and their XG just 0.46 to Vitória’s 1.40. 

Vitória currently sit 7th with a record of having played 14, won 6, drawn 3, lost 5, GF 15 and GA 19. Just 4 goals scored on the road to date which makes their 3-1 at the Dragão all the more impressive. Of their 15 goals scored 6 from open play, 7 from set pieces with 2 penalties. Their XG just 0.1 higher than their actual goals scored.

Top scorers in the league Nélson Oliveira and Oumar Canara with 3 apiece. Ndoye with 2 while 7 others share a solitary goal. Five clean sheets in total, their last one against the lions dating back seven years to December 2018. Their last win head to head in this fixture was also in December, that in 2023 when they won 3-2 in horrendous weather conditions with a certain Ricardo Mangas in their starting XI that night. They average 3.6 shots on target per game to the lions 7.6 which remains the highest in the division. Eleven big chances missed in total compared to a whopping 34 for Sporting which is again the highest total of any side. Importantly they've conceded just 1 penalty all season and are averaging 3.4 saves per game. 

Last season's campaign after the loss of Rui Borges saw them lose out on European football to Santa Clara by virtue of just 3 points. Had Trincão not equalised in additional time they'd have leapfrogged the side from the Azores into 5th. When the mister left them they were 2nd in the Conference table behind eventual winners Chelsea. Their European adventure ended in the Round of 16 to Real Betis 6-2 on aggregate. Given the loss of arguably their best player in Jota Silva to Nottingham Forest the previous summer and Carlos Alberto to Juventus in the winter window, despite missing out on Europe you'd imagine it was still considered a decent campaign by the side from Guimarães again accounting for the fact that they did lose their coach half way through. Vitória, like all Portuguese clubs constantly having to sell players to balance the books. The sales of Relvas, Handel and Borevkovic bringing in the highest revenue this summer.

Their is a strong argument to be made that Vitória are the fifth biggest club in Portugal although they're now having to fend off rivals for that claim who are benefiting from an influx of foreign investment. They remain a S.A.D. Socidedade Anónima Desportivo and their socios model is certainly a credit to them if not a hindrance at the same time. Sporting Braga now firmly established as Portugal's fourth biggest club have taken Qatari money in the form of investment from PSG’s owners as they look to break through the glass ceiling of Os Três Grandes which still doesn't look like happening any time soon. Can Vitória keep producing a high calibre of players to sell every year to compete? is the question and only time will tell. It's certainly a well supported club and they're averaging a crowd of 17,660 to date after 7 matches. Last season a highly impressive 313,605 bums on seats recorded across their 17 home games at an average of 18,447. Their highest average gate coming nearly a decade ago now in 2016/17 with 18,756. For those not familiar with Portuguese football thinking that's not that impressive compared to other leagues you'd be right but it's 9 or 10 times higher than some other clubs in the top flight. 

Goalless draws in this fixture are as rare as rocking horse shit so it seems fitting the last should have come in a leapyear when on February 29th, 2016 the 0-0 was played out in Guimarães. This will be the second game Sporting will be missing Geny and Diomande whilst they're away on international duty in the African Cup of Nations. Hopefully by the time the fixture comes about we won't have lost anyone else to injury or suspension in the Azores. After a glut of red cards in that fixture of late it does however remain a possibility. We'll see on Thursday night. 

Summer transfer window

In

Tony Strata from AC Ajaccio for free

Alioune Ndoye from Valmiera FC for £788,000

Matija Mitrovic from Zeleznicar Pancevo for £747,000

Thiago Balieiro from Leixoes for free

Rodrigo Abascal from Boavista for free

Miguel Nobrega from Rio Ave for free

Paulo Vitor from FC Akron Tolyatti on loan

Juan Diego Castillo from Fortaleza FC for free

Orest Lebedenko from Vizela for free

Oumar Camara from PSG for free

Fabio Blanco from Maritímo for £208,000

Outgoing

Nuno Santos to Mamelodi Sundowns for £830,000

Tiago Silva to Al-Rayyan for free

Tomas Handel to FK Crvena Zvezda for £2.6m

Dieu-Merci Michel to União Leiria on loan

José Bica to Leixoes for £290,000

Adrián Butzke to Maritímo for free

Bruno Varela to Al Hazem for £415,000

Toni Borevkovic to Samsunspor for £4.4m

João Mendes to Kayserispor for free

João Oliveira to S.U. 1 ° de Dezembro

Marco Cruz to Maritímo on loan

Bruno Gaspar to Apollon Limassol for free

Jesus Ramirez to Nacional for free

Mikel Villanueva released 

João Mendes released

Filipe Relvas to AEK Athens for £2.5m

Wednesday update 

Cup shock alert as bottom of the table AVS beat Vitória away to progress in the Taça de Portugal. One solitary attempt on target for the away side was enough to secure a 1-0 victory. 

Sporting CP Feminino

Sporting CP v Benfica 

Sunday December 21st, 2025

Estádio José Alvalade 

Matchday 8

Starting XI 

Wellmann, Fonseca, Barron, Eaton-Collins, Cancelinha, Bonseguendo, Perez, Hernandez-Grey, Armengol, Encarnação and Arques

Substitutes 

Potra, Fontemanha, Capeta, Santiago, Neto, Raphino, Lino, Nave and Rodrigues.

A top of the table clash as the Lionesses went into the Dérbi de Lisboa five points behind their city rivals and a big opportunity to close their gap as well as the chance to play at the José Alvalade. 

Nycole Raysla put the visitors ahead in the 20th minute heading home unmarked from the edge of the 6 yard box and somehow the ball squeezed through the legs of Wellmann. On 34 minutes Wellmann made amends for her earlier error which led to the opener as she pulled off a superb one handed save from a shot 8 yards out. With the weight of her body falling right she was somehow able to stop the ball with her left hand. Sporting's best chance of the half came on 40 minutes when a rasping 27 yard drive from Telma heading for the top left hand corner was saved by the visiting keeper. On 77 minutes a triple substitution for the lionesses including Carolina Santiago who was fouled inside the area in the 82nd minute. After a lengthy VAR check the penalty was finally awarded and Telma equalised from with three minutes remaining firing low into the bottom right hand corner as the keeper dived left. Final score - Sporting CP 1 Sport Lisboa e Benfica 1

Sporting B

Benfica B v Sporting CP B

Monday December 22nd, 2025

Matchday 15

The fourth Dérbi de Lisboa between the two clubs various teams this weekend. So far Sporting have won 2 and drawn 1. In Andebol the men's team triumphant 37-29. In the juniors men's game they won 4-3 with goals from Vitor Conçeicão, Sandro Ferreira, David Almeida and the 92nd minute winner from Martim Ribeiro. 

The young lions will look to close the gap at the top of the table to Maritímo back to 1 point following their 4-1 away win against Leixoes on Sunday. They'll still have an additional game in hand with Maritímo having already played 16 times this campaign. With injuries and international calls ups in the first team João Gião will have to do without the services of Flávio Gonçalves for the foreseeable future following his promotion to the first team. 

Starting XI 

Callai, Moreira, Ramos, Muniz, Anjos, Oliveira, Justo, Cardoso, Mendonca, Couto and Nel.

A night to forget for Sporting as they lost 1-0 with the only goal of the game coming in the 34th minute through a Prioste penalty. The lions finished the game with nine men as João Muniz and Samuel Justo both saw red. 

Substitutes Used; J.Silva, Romulo, Dias, Besugo and G.Silva. 

Interestingly the forgotten man Mateo Tanlongo named amongst the substitutes.

In the markets 

Vitória 6/1

Draw 16/5

Sporting CP 21/50

Team News 

Starting XI 

Silva, Mangas, Inácio, Quaresma, Fresneda, Hjulmand, Simões, Araújo, Ioannidis, Trincão and Suárez 

Substitutes 

Virgínia, Reis, Vagiannidis, Morita, Kochorashvili, Blopa, Alisson, Ribeiro and Gonçalves 

Given the last game away to Santa Clara was in the Taça de Portugal the mister once more makes changes to the starting XI. Out go Virgínia, Reis and Alisson. In, the return of Silva in goal, Mangas in the left of the back four and the big news the inclusion of Ioannidis with both him and Suárez starting. Rômulo Jr drops out but the academy prospects once more represented by Blopa, Ribeiro and Flávio Gonçalves. 

Vitória Starting XI 

25 Castillo, 2 Maga, 6 Mitrovic, 13 Mendes, 19 Camara, 20 Samu, 26 Abascal, 28 Baliero, 30 Noguiera, 48 Saviolo and 24 Ndoye

First Half 

Vitória set to line up in a 4-3-3. The lions in black with silver trim attack right to left. The home side get us underway. The travelling fans drown out the Vitória anthem.

1 An early stop in play as Inácio taken out on the sidelines by Ndoye with a late challenge 

1 Ioannidis has started wide right as his first foray ends in the ball being shepherded out for a goal kick by one of the defenders 

4 Hjulmand blocks an attempted cross from the left and out for a corner far side 

4 Plenty of handbags in the box as Abascal wrestles with Mangas finally spotted by the referee who comes over and has a word. Poor corner cleared by the first defender 

5 Whistles for Mangas every time he touches the ball upon his return to Guimarães. Bizarre given it's not like he left them to sign for us 

7 Mitrovic catches Quaresma late on the top of the foot. Jeers of derision from the home fans for what was a clear foul under the referees nose 

8 Araújo cross from the left goes all the way across the area. Cheers as Trincão slips trying to collect the ball far side 

9 Head in hand from Mangas as he inexplicably shanks a shot wide from 10 yards. Ioaniddis with the through ball which Araújo cleverly dummied in the centre and left Mangas in acres of space 

10 Suárez holds off the attention of several white shirts on the edge of the area but over cooks his attempted pass to Trincão and puts the ball behind for a goal kick 

12 Trincão’s cross from the right towards the edge of the six yard box causes confusion and finally leads to a corner far side as Suárez looked to try and get a shot away. Hjulmand's attempt from the resulting corner cleared 

13 Corner near side to Sporting ends up with the ball on the half way line with the lions still in possession but I'm not sure that was from the training ground 

17 Saviolo goes down like a sack of spuds under minimal contact from Fresneda and the referee totally disinterested. At the other end Castillo in the Vitória goal sat down on the floor. Don't start that shit again I had enough of that in the last game 

18 Trincão smashes a shot low from just inside the right corner of the 18 yard box and brings a save low to Castillo’s right. Best chance of the game so far. Eventually the ball goes out for a goal kick 

20 Araújo goes on a jinking run into the box and ends up on the floor as he knocks knees with Baliero. Accidental coming together. I don't think for a second the Uruguayan is faking that but never a penalty. Actually it might have been his shin and both players felt the brunt of it 

22 Bobbly back pass from Quaresma to Silva shanked clear for a throw in near side 

22 Save from Silva low to the left as Mendes drives in a shot from 20 yards 

23 Abascal pulls down Suárez a half yard outside the left or the area. He was fortunate that wasn't a few inches to the right 

23 Trincão free kick finds the head of Quaresma but his attempt blocked 

25 Baliero goes through the back of Suárez in the centre of midfield. Fair to say Guimarães are a physical side 

20 Samu turns and tries a shot from 16 yards but doesn't get any sort of connection and merely pushes the ball towards Silva in the Sporting goal

28 Sporting setup backwards in a 5-2-2 from left to right as we watch look like they're defending rather than attacking in that formation 

28 Noguiera goes through the back of Araújo. Free kick 24 yards out 

29 Araújo plays the ball short for Suárez whose attempt from 22 yards is wide of the right hand upright. Ioannidis taken out inside the box with the defender with enough of his shirt he could have taken it home 

31 GOAL Vitória 0 Sporting CP 1. It wasn't pretty, it took two attempts but Trincão breaks the deadlock. Ioannidis pulls the ball back for Trincão, it's actually the defender Mendes who got to the ball first and he sends it against the right hand post and Trincão continues his run and taps it home from 2 yards. 

33 Castillo’s turn to slice a back pass into the crowd. Perhaps there's a lot of moles in Guimarães?

34 Mangas down on the sides and Maga claims his innocence. Whilst the defender jumped he clips his side knocking him off balance and he comes down with a real thump

35 Things toasty behind Silva in goal as flares thrown down behind him from the top tier of Vitória fans 

36 Shot from Saviolo from 17 yards on the left hand side of the area flies out past the right hand post out for a goal kick 

37 Another foul from the home side as Mendes goes through the back of Ioannidis. Perhaps the referee might like to think about showing a yellow before someone gets injured to discourage it?

39 Corner Sporting far side. There we can see that line of 5 attackers again stretching the pitch in the final third

39 Referee blows for a foul inside the area against Suárez and the chance goes with it

41 A little back heel inside the box sets Samu free and he contrives to put his shot from 16 yards into the stand behind the goal 

42 GOAL Vitória 0 Sporting CP 2. How Samu will regret that miss. Mangas on the left floats the perfect cross from the left onto the head of Ioannidis who just uses the pace of the ball to send it past a flat footed Castillo from 8 yards 

44 Wild slice from Mendes from 25 yards centrally goes out for a goal kick 

Plus three shown

+1 Simões drives a shot low from 20 yards but straight at Castillo 

+2 Blocked shot from Ndoye. I think that might be his first contribution since taking out Inácio after about 40 seconds 

+3 Quaresma concedes a free kick 26 yards out with additional time already past the 3 minutes 

+3 Mitrovic beats the wall and Silva nearly overshot his movement making his way to the right but applied the brakes and makes the save. He made it look harder than it was 

Half time 

Vitória SC 0 Sporting CP 2 

A robust half from Vitória would be a polite summarisation of their contribution to the game. Other than a series of late challenges and a shot from Samu which would still be travelling on Christmas day if not for the two tier stand behind the goal they've offered nothing of note or quality. I won't count my chickens before they've hatched given Sporting led by two goals last time in this fixture and Vitória turned it around. On that performance you'd not back them to do it again but you never know. 

The opening goal owed much to fortune and Trincão being the man in the right place at the right time. It certainly was nowhere near the quality of his finish in additional time in the 4-4 draw. In Ioannidis the lions have surely found their new Paulinho from crosses and there was a beautiful simplicity to his headed goal. He's bided his time for his chance and he's certainly taken it tonight and it was his pass back that led to the opener. The forward line of 5 is as brave as they come but it's clearly paying dividends. Against Bayern you saw them attack the six yard box low, against Santa Clara it was high balls into the box and how they could have done with starting the Greek up front in that game, hindsight is a wonderful thing. Borges has his doubters and critics but each game you can see a deliberate game plan which you didn't always see under Amorim. A third goal for Sporting would put this game to bed and lay to rest the ghosts of the 4-4 draw.

Second Half 

➡️⬅️ Vitória ring the changes as Sousa enters for Mitrovic and Arcanjo for Camara

Sporting get us back underway 

45 Ndoye with a foul again less than 40 seconds into the half this time on Simões 

46 What was that? Araújo with a wonderful cut back for Suárez who sends it vertical from 10 yards. The Colombian won't want to see that one again 

46 Saviolo goes down like a feather under the slightest of touches from Trincão who's acting as a defender and the referee says play on 

47 Hjulmand penalised and a free kick in the final third to Vitória is cleared easily 

48 Suárez fouled from behind by Noguiera. At which point it this referee going to show a yellow card?

49 Araújo scuffs a shot from 18 yards and it doesn't even go goalwards but out to the right of the area  

49 GOAL Vitória 1 Sporting CP 2. Absolute howler from Silva as he lets a shot from Arcanjo slip through his hands from 24 yards out . Fuck me that was dreadful 

52 This game is getting silly with the fouls now,  it's like watching the NFL. Another lunge this time by Sousa on Mangas. Three fouls on Sporting players in under a minute 

53 Suárez with a first touch like a trampoline loses possession on the edge of the area after a driving run from Simões 

54 Shake of the head from the mister watching on 

55 Araújo pushed away by the referee as he tangles with Arcanjo. If he'd actually shown a backbone he might have some semblance of control over this game instead it's just boiling over waiting for someone to get injured or sent off

57 Yellow to Araújo who touches the chin of Arcanjo with his fingertips. That's fucking embarrassing from the Vitória player and the referee. How is that the first booking of the night?

58 Arcanjo shanks one from 25 yards well wide of the left hand post clearly believing it was his skill which scored the Vitória goal and not Silva fucking it up 

59 Hjulmand playing defender clears a cross from the right. The ball comes back in and Ndoye gets his head on it and sends it towards the back post where Silva collects comfortably 

60 Sporting sensibly taking the tempo of the game down but lose possession with a sloppy pass and back come Vitória 

61 Wonderful from Trincão out wide and he's taking the piss out of Mendes as he rounds him in a circle twice. Yellow shown to the Vitória man for pulling his shirt 

62 GOAL Vitória 1 Sporting CP 3. The free kick played to the far edge of the six yard box, Suárez plays it back towards Mangas who can't get a touch but the keeper Castillo does it for him and sends it ricocheting off his arm and it trickles over the line. That'll make Rui Silva feel better

65 Well we were here at 3-1 last season before they scored their second after 68 minutes. My heart cannot take another 4-4

66 ➡️ ⬅️ Samu for Oliveira 

67 The lions weathered the storm of the first 20 minutes and showed great character it has to be said and all great Sporting keepers have at least one howler to their name and it won't matter if we get all 3 points 

68 Mangas with a wonderful pull back to Fresneda who puts it wide from 8 yards and sinks to his knees and well he might 

69 Not sure who the venom in the crowd is being aimed at but I can definitely hear puta being shouted a lot. I'll go Mangas or Borges getting a special Guimarães welcome back 

70 Oliveira shoots low from 20 yards and Silva sensibly puts his body behind it. This pitch needs rolling. Mind you not that Silva can use that as an excuse for the goal - it bobbled in the air. No honestly ...

71 Oliveira for the second time in 60 seconds with a shot between the legs of a defender. This time from 20 yards wide left and harmlessly past the far post 

72 Trincão penalised for a foul on Saviolo having looked like he won the ball 

73 Justice done as the free kick cleared. Morita set to come on 

73 The injustice of the free kick has clearly wound Trincão up as he sets off mugging man after man on the right before finally being dispossessed 

75 Morita continues his warm up on the touchline waiting for a break in play 

75 Yellow to Quaresma for a foul on Oliveira 

76 ➡️ ⬅️ Simões for Morita

76 Ndoye uses his height advantage again in the area sees a header cannon off a sporting player for a corner far side 

77 Vitória set to make their fourth substitution 

78 GOAL Vitória 1 Sporting CP 4. Ioannidis with wonderful hold up play on the right, his pass goes to Suárez who played a quick one two. He continues his run into the area and shoots to the near post from 8 yards which was palmed into the air and all the way across the width of the goal to Araújo at the back post who unmarked tapped into an empty net from a yard 

80 ➡️⬅️ Blanco for Saviolo 

81 Blopa set to come on as corner far side to Sporting easily cleared 

82 Free kick far side to Vitória after Mangas clipped Arcanjo

83 Yellow to Blanco for simulation as he goes to ground in the area a good yard away from the leg of Hjulmand. Cheating cunt 

84 ➡️ ⬅️ Ioannidis and Araújo for Alisson and Blopa 

84 ➡️ ⬅️ Rocha for Noguiera 

85 Shot sent forward from 20 yards but no pace on the ball and Silva collects. Missed who that was 

86 Blopa booked for simulation, at least he looked like he was touched. I think that's his second yellow for simulation this season 

87 Red to Oliveira. I called it earlier that this game would boil over. He stands on the ankle of Inácio and the referee has no hesitation in showing him the red

88 While we have a break in play they're replaying Silva's howler from behind and it looks even worse from that angle

89 Oliveira has said something in the centre which has left Fresneda absolutely incensed. He's booked. Oliveira calling someone a dickhead as he finally leaves the pitch* 

Plus six shown 

90 Finally we get back underway with Vitória down to ten and the lions having scored 4 in Guimarães for the second successive season. This time having not conceded 4!

+2 ➡️⬅️ Fresneda for Reis and Gonçalves for Trincão 

+2 Reis straight into the action concedes a foul far side in the final third 

+3 Arcanjo with a high ball into the area and five or six players head it back and forward before Inácio does a John Smith advert hoofing it clear 

+4 Ole’s from the Sporting fans

+4 Mangas goes down in the box and gives a thumbs up to the referee 

+5 Gonçalves has touched the ball no more than ten times wide right but it's evident he's got a deft touch with both feet 

+5 Yellow as Alisson is down holding his face. Shown to Abascal. I was going to say something and nothing but he hits him once with an arm movement up and then rakes him with the movement back down 

Full time 

Vitória SC 1 Sporting CP 4

The final word 

Not sure what's more painful for the home fans at the end of full time the scoreline and losing to the old mister or Mariah Carey blasting out over the Tannoy system? I know which I find more painful. Fresneda in tears on the pitch. We'll have to see what exactly occurred after the sending off and what made him so angry. If he'd have gotten to the Vitória man you imagine he'd have taken his head clean off his shoulders. 

I think it's safe to write that what that game lacked in quality it certainly didn't lack in drama and felt more like the annual EastEnders Christmas special. We had the tears, the slanging matches, swearing and people nearly coming to blows. Maybe it was more panto with the booing and whistles for Mangas as the villain of the piece and the Sportinguista's shouting he's behind you as a succession of fouls came in from challenges from the rear in all quarters of the pitch. 

This is the first game in a very long time that I had genuine anxiety over all day before a ball was even kicked and you'll forgive my giddiness and glee at a 4-1 away win at this juncture. It will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. For the needle that enveloped throughout the game as every minute passed but that was entirely the fault of the referee who kept letting everything go until the point it all got out of hand. Had he shown a yellow early on in the game for any number of fouls it wouldn't have escalated in the manner that it did in the second half. Then there's the howlers from the goalkeepers collectively. Rui Silva's the worst although the mistake for the third not far behind and he didn't cover himself in any glory for the fourth parrying the shot straight to Araújo but he can at least blame his defence equally for that one with no one picking the Uruguayan up at the back post. 

I don't know what time the travelling fans will get home but I'm sure they won't care as they're given an early Christmas present of a Sporting win. They had to battle hard at the start of the second half as Vitória threw everything they had at them and to be fair had it not been for the hole between Silva's hands they'd have done it to perfection. Still it matters little when they do the business at the other end of the field. 

Despite the home side having 17 attempts to the lions 16 they failed to create a single big chance whereas Sporting scored 2 of their 4 and you cannot say it wasn't deserved at the end of it all but you wouldn't want to sit through it all again tomorrow.

A truly bold move as I mentioned at half time to have that front line of 5 players. At one point with them holding their shape the ball went back to the two defenders and all the black shirts were facing towards the ball and you'd genuinely been forgiven for being confused as to why one of the two hadn't turned and run into space and got a shot away with a clear run on goal. I've seen us throw men forward chasing a goal so many times under Amorim but this was something different. Yes we were gifted some of the goals but the overload did see us come away scoring 4 times. 

It was a battle though and that it would be that way for all the 90 was obvious from the moment Ndoye clattered Inácio in the opening minute. Games like that are not easy and especially not on a pitch that looked like you couldn't have rolled a ball on it in any area and not seen it bounced up off the ground. I'd have to rewatch last season's game but I imagine in part the capitulation owed much to that type of pressure whereas this time around and with the mister almost a year into the job they felt much better prepared for the occasion even with their current crop of injuries and two players out at the African cup of nations. They go back to five points behind Porto, 3 ahead of Benfica and they're not giving up a third straight title without a fight. It's a cliché but it's one game at a time. We've the break for now from Champions League and able to concentrate on the bread and butter stuff. 

The central pairing of Inácio and Quaresma handled everything thrown at them. Hjulmand screening the defence to good effect. Suárez maybe suffered a little with the changes in the final third but his presence alone at times in the first half and the number of bodies close to him allowed for space to get crosses in and these are the types of performances whereby you have to pay more attention to what he does off the ball rather than what he did with it. 

Four to choose from for man of the match. Araújo first. Great entertainment value as always, created 3 chances, capped his performance with a goal. I don't know what his release clause is but you'd have to pay it in full to take him off our hands now. Rumoured to be set to sign a new contract. I'd add in two guard dogs to follow him around in case anyone comes sniffing for his services. Trincão second. We saw him back doing the dirty work in defence. When he had the ball on the right flank and in full flow he was a joy to watch at points tonight and he was clearly taking great delight in tormenting the Vitória defenders who couldn't get near him other than to foul him. Oh I'd also forgotten he'd opened the scoring the second half was so busy trying to do the minute by minute breakdown. Third has to be Ioannidis who put in a near complete performance. He really looks like he has it all in his locker. I finally see what all the fuss was about. He looks like he's played the game for twenty seasons he's so intelligent with his play. We saw him in a multitude of roles over the 90. The lone striker who could hold the ball up, wide right on the wing providing crosses and crisp passes in and around the box and then the main striker to pop up with the headed goal. Final vote goes to Mangas as he returned to the club he left in the summer of 2024 to head for Moscow. He was whistled and booed all night and it fuelled his performance and he left it all out on the pitch. Claimed the assist for the Ioannidis header, caused the confusion which led to Castillo putting the ball into his own net. I think it's down to a choice from the last two and in fairness I'd be happy to give it to either man. I think and it may because it's Christmas and I'm going soft, but owing to the reaction of the home fans and the way he handled it across the 90, that Mangas gets it by the width of a gnats bollock. 

Next up Rio Ave.

Post game update - confirmed that Fresneda played despite the loss of his Grandpa on the Sunday before the game. Clearly affected the youngster at the end of the game as it all became too much for him with the tears. However it was he continues to do them proud.

* With all the drama surrounding the sending off and Fresneda's reaction I missed that Hjulmand was also booked. 

Feliz Natal Sportinguista's 🎄🎁