Athletic Club 2 Sporting CP 3

Athletic Club v Sporting CP 

Wednesday January 28th, 2026

Champions League Matchday 8

Estadio San Mamés 

The warm up

The last matchday of the group stage for the Champions League sees two teams who spend their lives being called by the wrong names facing off against one another. So if you're looking for a match preview for Athletic Bilbao v Sporting Lisbon you've come to the wrong place. Off you fuck. 

Athletic Club, or in Basque Athletic Klube, are located in Bilbao, Spain. Specifically the Basque region of Spain. Pay attention this shit matters to them. Some simply refer to them just as Athletic in the same manner some call their visitors by just the name of Sporting. It's not exactly rocket engineering is it? Not that difficult to get your head around and avoid pissing off the locals should you find yourself ever heading off to either destination. 

They're known as Lehoiak (the lions) which is of course the same as the Leãos which is what Sporting are known as. Neither however play at The Den, or in fact the New Den which is the home of Millwall who are hardly likely to ever hunt amongst Europe's elite so we'll park them neatly to one side. Their nickname originates from the fact their stadium was built near the church of San Mamés which was named after the Saint who was thrown to the lions by the Romans because they were cunts back in those days. Much to their chagrin he pacified the lions and made them docile by preaching to them, so not just the atheists that get bored by religious people wanging on about God then, good to know. It's alleged he made friends with one of the lions but was then killed and taken up to heaven by angels. Lazy fuckers lions, should have befriended a lioness. You know what though, I'm going to call bullshit on that one and I'm not apologising for it either. So indebted to the local culture are the club that they named their stadium after the local church. You don't really need a venn diagram for this one. They're also known as Zuri-Gorriak (the red and whites) as the football club follow in the proud tradition of institutions worldwide in not overthinking their nicknames. Keep things simple. 

Founded in July of 1898 the club is one of three founded members of the Primera División, now more universally known as La Liga who have never been relegated and can lay claim to being the fourth most successful club in the Spanish top flight with 8 titles to their name. That's six more than Boavista and Belenses combined who could technically by the same measure lay claim to being Portugal's fourth most successful club. It'll come as no surprise to learn I'm sure if you hadn't already guessed that the other two clubs happen to be FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Along with a fourth club, Osasuna, they make up the only four member owned clubs in Spain. 

Its modus operandi centres around its Basque heritage. The club's official policy, known as cantera, is to sign players native to, or trained in the Greater Basque Country which includes Biscay, Gipuzkoa, Álava and Navarre all located in Spain as well as territories over the border in France - Labourd, Soule and Lower Navarre. I bet they don't suffer the same levels of clickbait nonsense during the transfer windows linking them to a raft of players. They do however allow their mister to be chosen from outside the Basque region. The current incumbent is Ernesto Valverde Tejedor who hails from the village of Viandar de la Vera which is listed as having a population of approximately 306 people. I'd put money on him being their most famous ex-resident. Whilst it may only be Spain's fourth most successful club, it can lay claim to being the most successful Basque club, albeit that's a relatively short list which also includes Real Socidedad, Osasuna and Deportivo Alavés. That's less than Lisboa as a city alone with Sporting, Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Casa Pia, Belenenses and Estrela. Still as they'll point out Sporting haven't historically been number one in their home city so they've got one up on us which is fair enough. Nowadays they only operate as a football club and have a successful women's team to rival the men's. Previous to the Spanish Civil war they were as their name suggests operating as an athletic club and the anglicised spelling of the word comes from the fact that football was introduced to Bilbao by British workers and students returning from studying on the isles. 

Their original home, the Estádio San Mamés officially opened its doors in 1913 and was demolished in 2013 having reached the grand old age of 100 but outgrown its usefulness, to be replaced by the 53,331 capacity ground of the same name. It's located in Rafael Moreno Pitxitxi Kalea, Bilbao which I mention for no other reason than it was a bastard for me to read in researching this, therefore I don't see why you should miss out. Constructed at a cost of €211 million it ranks as the seventh largest stadium in Spain. It boasts not only a safe standing section but also a singing section. Maybe the directors at Arsenal should take note.

The city of Bilbao was traditionally known as being a port and for its ship building but is probably now best known worldwide for the Guggenheim museum which opened its doors in 1997 and led to the new wave of futuristic architecture that can be found across its regenerated urban environment. 

Spare a thought if you will before kick off for the Athletic defender Yeray Alvarez who is currently serving a ten month suspension for taking a banned substance found in a medicine for hair loss treatment following his battle with testicular cancer. The 30 year old tested positive for Canrenone after the club's Europa League tie against Manchester United last May. Sure, throw the book at anyone deliberately trying to gain an unfair advantage but come on people have a fucking heart. I very much doubt you'd have found a single club in Spain or in European competition who'd have cried foul of him being allowed to continue playing. 

The two sides last met in the summer of 2024 with Sporting comfortable 3-0 winners though I'll caveat that with an asterisk that it was played in pre-season, but don't let that put you off reading my match report from the game if you'd like to know more;

https://outsideofthepride.blogspot.com/2024/07/sporting-cp-v-athletic-club.html

If nothing else it'll prove that I didn't cheat and just copy and paste the intro to this post. 

Athletic qualified for this season's competition by virtue of finishing fourth in La Liga which if that wasn't a piss take enough when only the top Portuguese club qualifies automatically, Villareal qualified finishing fifth spot with a fuck you very much to the neighbouring country. This season has been much harder as they try to juggle life in both competitions and their record at the time of writing ahead of their next game away to Sevilla on Saturday the 24th reads played 20, winning just 7 times, drawing 3 and losing 10, GF 18, GA 28. They sit in 10th level on points with their Basque rivals Real Sociedad who sit one place above them and Girona in turn a place below. Their last game was a 3-2 loss away to Mallorca, maybe guilty like a lot of teams this past weekend of having one eye on Europe as they face Atalanta away in Bergamo on Wednesday evening. Their home record in La Liga propping up their position in the table with 5 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses GF 10, GA 11. So maybe best not to expect a mass of goals in this forthcoming fixture. Of their 19 goals in La Liga, 12 have come from open play, 3 from set pieces, 3 penalties and an own goal. That's not to say they've not had the chances in front of goal, massively underperforming their XG of 27.6.

Top scorer Nico Williams with 4, Robert Navarro with 3 and the remainder shared between 9 other players excluding the aforementioned own goal. They've recorded 5 clean sheets (currently 1 in 4) and guilty of missing 30 big chances. Their XG conceded second highest in the league at 21.9. Only 5 of the leagues 20 clubs have conceded more.

Their biggest undefeated came in the final of the Supercopa 5-0 to FC Barcelona at the start of the month. Their biggest league defeat also to Barca 4-0. 

Ahead of their game against Atalanta they sit in 28th place in the Champions League table though by the time you read this that will mostly likely have changed because of results on Tuesday night. That aside they've played 6, won 1, drawn 2 and lost 3, GF 4, GA 9. Their average possession the fourth lowest in the competition with 43.8% of total passes during the game. Only Slavia Prague have scored fewer goals with 2. Villareal and Pafos joint second lowest scorers with 4 apiece also. They have managed to keep 2 clean sheets, the most impressive coming at home to Sporting's next opponents PSG. Their XG 7.2, so again like in the league they're guilty of not taking their chances rather than a failure to create them necessarily. An average of 3.3 shots on target per game with a shot conversion rate of 5.6%. Sporting's ahead of their game with PSG 4.8 at a much healthier 17.1%. Big chances created 13, 1 more than Sporting. Big chances missed - 11. 84.61%. Ouch. You think that's bad wait until you find out later where they came.

Joint highest total fouls per game on 17.2 with Slavia Prague. Just 11 bookings however the same total as ours. 

Athletics Champions League campaign to date 

Matchday 1 - Arsenal (H) 

Tough opener for the Basque side as they welcomed the North Londoners. Their defence held firm until the 71st minute when Martinelli Put the visitors 1-0 up and Trossard added a second 4 minutes from time to consign them to defeat. Athletic suffering from the loss of creativity Nico Williams brings to the side as he remained absent through injury. XG 0.35 to 1.28. No big chances for the home side, Arsenal missed 2 of their 3.

Matchday 2 - BVB (A)

Poor defensive display by Athletic away in Germany. BVB took the lead on 27 minutes from a far post tap in from Svensson. They doubled their lead on 49 minutes from a Chukwuemeka goal from an acute angle at the near post which the keeper really should have done better with. Guruzeta gave the visitors some hope pulling a goal back on the hour mark but to no avail as Guirassy made it 3-1 and Brandt with the pick of the night's goals on 90 minutes to secure the win. XG despite the scoreline, a relatively even 1.18 to 0.95. The Germans scored both their big chances, Athletic converting only one of their 2.

Matchday 3 - Qarabag FK (H) 

The visitors went ahead after just 49 seconds when two defenders misjudged a throw and could only watch in horror as the ball went over their heads and found the unmarked Andrade whose low shot from the edge of the six yard box nestled into the far corner of the net. They equalised on 39 minutes with a long ball from their own half which caught two defenders napping and Guruzeta burst clear and fired home a shot from just outside the box which their keeper got a hand to, but couldn't stop from hitting the net. They then took the lead on 69 minutes through Navarro with an almost carbon copy of the Paixão goal for Marseille against Sporting, this time from 18 yards flying again into the top right hand corner. Guruzeta grabbed his second on the night with 3 minutes remaining as his first touch lifted the pass to allow him to swivel and volley home from 19 yards into the bottom left hand corner. The 3 points, the first on the board for the Basque side. XG 3.47 to 0.52, Athletic missed, count them - SIX of SEVEN big chances. QFK 1 of 2.

Matchday 4 - Newcastle United (A) 

Dan Burn gave the Geordies the lead on ten minutes with a powerful header unmarked on the left, level with the penalty spot that seemed to defy physics and bend into the far corner. Joelinton consigned the Spaniards to their third defeat in four heading in from 6 yards on 48 minutes. Full time Newcastle 2 Athletic Club 0. XG 1.20 to 0.58. Athletic clearly used up their big chance rations last time out failing to create a single one. Newcastle missed 2 of their 3.

Matchday 5 - Slavia Prague (A) 

The Basque side travelled to the Czech Republic looking to improve on a poor start to the campaign which had seen them win just one of their opening four games. Despite creating four big chances in the game to Slavia's 1, Athletic were unable to find the net and the game finished in a stalemate at 0-0. Xg 0.57 to 1.32. 

Matchday 6 - PSG (H)

Athletic went into the game with just 4 points to their name needing a positive result if they're to qualify for the knockout rounds whereas the current European Champions knew a win would see them one step closer to automatic qualification. Nuno Mendes started knowing a booking would rule him out of the game at the José Alvalade and thankfully for him at least we should now see him out on the pitch in the next round. Sadly for us that means we've got to play against an even more improved version of the much loved player and most probably to our detriment. PSG missing a host of big name players including the Ballon D'or winner Ousmane Dembélé, Achraf Hakimi who is rated by many as the best right back in world football, first choice keeper Lucas Chevalier and Lucas Hernández who was suspended. Back to fitness for Athletic the highly rated Nico Williams, this only his third outing in this season's competition after a long lay off. 

Come full time the statistics show the Parisians recording 2 attempts to every 1 from the home side. 18 shots to 9, 5 Opta defined big chances created for PSG, 5 big chances missed, Athletic didn't create a single one. XG of 0.56 to 2.05, 186 passes to 597 completed. So who had Athletic Club 0 PSG 0 on their bingo card? Not many I'm sure but that's how it ended. PSG 3rd in the table two points off Bayern and 5 off Arsenal, level with Manchester City and Atalanta. Athletic 2 points behind FC København who occupy the last knockout place in 24th.

Matchday 7 - Atalanta (A)

Almost criminal scenes in Bergamo as Athletic quite literally stole three points from under the noses of Atalanta. The Italians went ahead on 15 minutes when Scamacca rose highest to head home from the edge of the 6 yard box. Their failure to convert a wealth of chances was punished in the 57th minute when their defence parted like Moses had commanded the red sea and Guruzeta took full advantage to charge forward and slot the ball into the net from 17 yards with a coolly taken finish. In the 69th minute Serrano met a long cross from the right running into the back post and tapped home from 5 yards to make it 2-1 to the visitors. Navarro would then make it 3-1 with another equally cool finish as the first slotting home from 18 yards. The scoring wasn't over though as Lookman’s presence on the near post brought the attention of the keeper and the forwards pass found Kratovic wide open at the back to tap home from 2 yards. Final score Atalanta 2 Athletic Club 3. XG 2.02 to 1.74. The Basques scored 3 from… 4 attempts total over the 90. 3 big chances, 3 goals. Pretty impressive stuff. Atalanta converted 2 of their 3. 

Transfers 

As alluded to earlier with their Basque players policy it leaves the club with a very small pool of players available to them, reliant instead largely on players coming through their academy. In the summer Aymeric Laporte was signed from Al Nassr for a fee of £8.3 million rejoining the club where he made his name before heading to Manchester City. He's currently injured and not expected to return until early next month. Jesus Areso joined for £10 million from Basque neighbours Osasuna. Again a player who started with Athletic's academy but had to leave to get game time before retuning four years later. Their one remaining signing that of Robert Navarro on a free from Mallorca. So far no new additions in the winter window. 

Sporting CP Feminino 

Vitória SC v Sporting CP 

Saturday January 24th, 2026

Matchday 10

Starting XI 

Wellmann, Fonseca, Cherry, Barron, Cancelinha, Bravo, Arques, Neto, Hernandez Gray, Bonseguendo and Raphino 

Substitutes

Potra, Rodrigues, Pérez, Fontemanha, Lino, Capeta, Nave, Armengol and Santiago 

Frustration as the lionesses were held to a goalless draw in Guimarães which all but finishes their slim title chances held going into the game. 

Full time Vitória SC 0 Sporting CP 0

Saturday update

Athletic warmed up for Wednesday night's meeting with a 2-1 away loss to Sevilla who as a result leapfrogged them in the table. Navarro opened the scoring on 39 minutes for Athletic only to see his effort from 8 yards cancelled out 2 minutes later as Fernandez slotted home the equaliser. A penalty was awarded for handball early in the second half which was converted by Adams for the 2nd. XG 2.07 to 2.14. Sevilla missed one of their big chances, Athletic Club 2 of their 3. They did at least manage 15 attempts to the 4 in Bergamo during the week. 

Sporting B

União de Leiria v Sporting CP 

Monday January 26th, 2026

Matchday 19

Starting XI 

Callai, Moreira, Rômulo, Muniz, J Silva, Justo, Rayan, Gonçalves, Anjos, Mendonca and G Silva

Substitutes Used 

Nel, Tanlongo, Couto, Besugo and Dias

Anjos gave the lions the lead in the 7th minute with a goal of real quality cutting in from the left flank, continuing his run into the box and deftly passed the ball into the top right hand corner of the net from just inside the 18 yard box. However their lead didn't last long as a nearside corner was flicked on to the back post where Pedro tapped in from 3 yards as six black shirts looked behind to watch the ball hit the back of the net. Just seven minutes later they found themselves 2-1 behind when a misplaced pass in midfield was perfectly weighted for Munoz to run onto in the box and slot past Callai from 10 yards. Twenty minutes from time their misery was completed when Munoz scored his second of the night from an inswinging corner on the nearside which Callai must have missed the flight off and it curled over the keeper direct. A sixth straight loss for the lions and more misery at the stadium where the first team crashed out of the Taça da Liga semi finals to Vitória SC earlier this season. Final score União de Leiria 3 Sporting CP 1 

In the markets 

Athletic Club 6/5

Draw 5/2

Sporting CP 9/4 

Team News 

Starting XI 

Silva, Araújo, Diomande, Inácio, Fresneda, Simões, Hjulmand, Bragança, Trincão, Geny and Suárez 

Substitutes 

Virgínia, Silva, Reis, Vagiannidis, Quaresma, Mangas, Morita, Kochorashvili, Gonçalves, Alisson, Gonçalves and Nel.

After holding the defensive line superbly in recent games Reis makes way for the return of Diomande to central defence and with Guilherme ineligible Bragança makes his return to the starting XI for the first time in just under a year. Double dose of Gonçalves on the bench, Kochorashvili returns having missed the squad against Arouca as does Quaresma who has been training with a protective mask following his broken jaw. A possible move to Napoli is on the cards for Alisson less than twelve months after his signing. Could this be his farewell appearance if he comes on as a substitute?

Athletic Club Starting XI 

1 Simon, 2 Gorosabel, 17 Berciche, 4 Parades, 19 Boiro, 16 de Galarreta , 30 Rego, 20 Gomez , 8 Sancet, 23 Navarro and 11 Guruzeta

Álavrez and Jauregizar suspended. Laporte and both Williams brothers injured. 

First half 

With 8 teams sat on 13 points and Sporting starting the evening in tenth place I'll skip all the permutations they'd need to finish in the top eight. Before anything else they need to do what they've failed to do all campaign and that's secure a win and then by as many goals as possible. Even then it's unlikely to be enough but a win will add the best part of €2 million to the club coffers. A place in the play offs has already been secured unlike twelve months ago when we needed the assistance of other results to secure a finish in the top 24 and could only about to a 1-1 draw at home to Bologna. The penultimate game against RB Leipzig felt like it had been put on a plate but the Germans forgot to read through script as they won their only group game and would lose the other seven. The lions have a keen eye for shooting themselves in the foot. Can that all change in the next 90 minutes? Fresneda back on home soil, Rui Silva and Luis Suárez both familiar with Spanish football but this is the biggest stage, the Champions League. Let's hope they left their nerves in Lisboa. 

Sporting have never won in Spain. They play in aquamarine with black trim. Bragança already at his hair already before a ball is kicked. Athletic get the game underway, the lions attack right to left. 

1 Slip in the centre from Simões. Please don't let this be another night where the players have the wrong choice of footwear 

2 GOAL Athletic Club 1 Sporting CP 0. Sancet slots into the bottom right hand corner from 12 yards having picked up a deflection off the captain Hjulmand. Well that's pissed on my chips. How many times have we shot ourselves in the foot in Europe at the back? 

4 Poor from Sporting again as the ball is lost in midfield and thankfully the pass to Sancet had too much power and he can only send it behind for a goal kick 

5 Diomande loses the ball, Guruzeta sees his shot blocked for a corner nearside. Seems they packed their nerves. Awful start from the lions. They've lost the ball four times in the opening five minutes and already 1-0 down 

6 Sancet fires a shot high and wide from 16 yards that goes no where near the Sporting goal 

7 Great break by Sporting breaks down as Trincão passes to a defender. Sums up their opening perfectly 

7 Araújo over hits a pass to Trincão who slides off the pitch on his backside attempting to keep it in 

8 Simões concedes a foul inside the lions half. Silva manages to get to the ball box and avert and further danger 

10 Corner far side to the lions. Comes off a defender for another corner 

11 GOAL Athletic Club 1 Sporting CP 1. Diomande. What a header from 8 yards, flies into the net to bring the lions level. Welcome home my boy. Welcome fucking home. 

12 Suddenly it's the home side who can't pass a ball. That goal has rattled them and silenced the home crowd 

13 Geny with a great run down the right has his marker on toast. His cross deflected to the far post where Suárez tried to hook it goalwards but the offside flag was up against the winger from Mozambique 

15 Inácio the latest player to lose the ball. We saw this so many times against PSG last week. Do the simple things well. 

15 The lions up to 9th on goals scored as things stand 

16 The lions knocking the ball around now happy to just calm the game down maybe work through some of that early anxiety 

17 Sancet shot from 8 yards blocked by Diomande and out for a corner nearside 

18 Foul on Catamo just allows the lions another breather. Shot of Borges up off the bench in celebration as he punches the air in delight and then tries to switch the excitement back to zero when the equaliser went in 

20 Table tennis between the two sides in Athletics final third and somehow they clear to the halfway line and the lions start again 

20 Athletic holding a high line, Trincão tries to thread a ball to Suárez by the keeper off his line to clear.

21 You have to think Alisson would make a good option with Athletics defence starting position 12 yards inside their own half 

23 Having held the ball for well over a minute Bragança tries to be too clever with a flick in the final third and the attack breaks down 

24 Inácio receives treatment for issues on the back of his thigh. I wrote the other night that Simões night was done only for him to return so maybe I'll reserve judgement 

25 ➡️⬅️ Reis on for Inácio. This time the Brazilian legitimately allowed on the pitch after his dismissal against Arouca

27 Poor pass from Hjulmand, gets away with it only because Bragança is fouled in the centre circle 

27 GOAL Athletic Club 2 Sporting CP 1. Reis sells a pass short, Athletic take advantage of the mistake as Guruzeta charges forward and smashes the far post from 18 yards and it bounces back to him and he makes no mistake with the rebound and lifts the ball back into the far corner from right of the six yard box. 

30 Reis on the replay has an arm around his waist and a slight tug on the arm and expected the free kick to be given and hadn't even bothered to chase back. Yellow was shown to the Brazilian to complete his misery presumably for dissent after the goal was given 

31 Referee makes the universal symbol for calm with arms out and palms down to Guruzeta for a foul on Simões. The home fans are bouncing 

33 This time Reis gets the free kick he wanted. He's got a face that has I'm going to get a red card tonight written all over it 

33 Yellow to Gomez for a late contact on Geny 

34 Diomande appeals for a penalty as he goes down in the box but the referee well placed behind is unmoved 

35 Corner far side to Athletic 

38 Another pass astray, this time from Hjulmand straight to a defender on the edge of the Athletic area

38 Yellow to Araújo. He's now suspended for the next match. Takes Gorosabel out with a poor sliding challenge. He's fortunate that didn't connect higher up because Sporting would have been down to ten men 

39 Berciche heads over from the free kick

43 Yellow to Guruzeta for a swipe at Simões shin as his foot came round the youngster and connection came with his heel 

Plus three shown 

+3 Parades brings Suárez down but nothing given and the Colombian punches the floor in frustration and gives the referee a guard as they exit the pitch side by side. 

Half time 

Athletic Club 2 Sporting CP 1

For large periods of the half Athletic have felt like they've had 12 men. That's not a slight on the referee, their extra man has been in a Sporting shirt. Two mistakes, two goals. At this level you get punished for your mistakes in a way you can usually get away with domestically. Sporting have been poor. They were poor against PSG in the opening 45 and went on to deliver two knockout punches but lightning rarely strikes twice. Athletic were clinical against Atalanta last week and they've been here again tonight and the worry is they're more likely to find a third on the evidence of the first half than Sporting are to find a second. With so much space potentially to operate in at the back Alisson looks the logical choice. Bragança and Trincão have offered the sum total of fuck and all between them. Another night where you feel it would have been beneficial to have Ioannidis in the team who is capable of holding the ball up and linking the play together in the final third. Ifs, buts and maybes. Literally the only thing of quality in a Sporting shirt was the headed goal from Diomande. 7 attempts to the lions 1, XG 0.53 to 0.06. 

Second Half 

I want to write that we cannot be any worse than the opening 45 minutes but I've seen it far too many times from Sporting that they're more than capable of making it even worse. The lions need to dig deep as they get us back underway.

45 As is stands Athletic will qualify for the knockout phase. Can Sporting find a knockout punch of their own?

46 Hjulmand hoofs the ball clear from a cross from the left. Shame he didn't do the same at the start of the first half 

47 Bragança sells a pass short outside the Sporting area and danger only just averted. Please hook him sooner rather than later he's been woeful tonight 

48 Yellow to Simões who by his reaction cannot believe it. Not sure why as he caught the foot of de Galaretta

48 de Galaretta flashes a shot just wide of the left post from 22 yards. Wonderful positioning from the midfielder who had to take a couple of steps back 

49 ➡️⬅️ Sancet for Berenguer

50 Hjulmand sees his shot palmed to safety from 25 yards. That came from good work from Suárez to chase down a loose ball on the goal line

50 Corner far side to the lions 

52 Hjulmand in a foot race down the left with Navarro and the Dane wins out

52 Poor from Simões as he loses the ball on the edge of the Athletic box

52 ➡️ ⬅️ Triple substitution lined up for the lions. Morita, Quaresma and Gonçalves on for Simões, Bragança and Diomande. Quaresma the man in the mask

53 Yellow to Gonçalves for a hand in the face. That didn't take him long 

54 Long ball for Suárez to chase. Whilst he didn't make it, that's been the out ball they should have been trying and have waited all game to try and do 

55 Sporting currently down in 14th. An equaliser worth €700,000 and points for the Portuguese coefficient 

57 Everyone bar Simon encamped in the Sporting half. We don't see that very often if ever 

57 Araújo floats a high ball towards Suárez in the box, comfortably dealt with by Simon who came to collect 

58 Reis plays the ball of an Athletic player for a goal kick 

58 Despite the efforts of someone with a megaphone the atmosphere inside this stadium is non existent 

59 Morita and Trincão combine to win the ball back. Sporting need to capitalise on the nervousness that is creeping around this stadium with every minute that passes 

60 Big chance as Geny fires into the ground from 7 yards and it flies over the bar. Great work from Araújo on the left flank to find him open. Looks like it came off his shin 

61 GOAL Athletic Club 2 Sporting CP 2. Beautiful from the lions. A goal of real quality finished by Trincão who fires home from 8 yards. Crisp series of passes to fashion the chance. 

63 Guruzeta drops to his knees inside the D as he puts it wide of the left post from 19 yards. Again an error at the back led to the opening, this time from Quaresma 

64 Athletic set to make a double change 

64 Gonçalves having won the ball back passes it back as he tries to find Suárez 

65 ➡️ ⬅️ Selton and Vesga on

Gomez and de Galaretta off

66 I still think Alisson is perfect for this second half. Push them on the back foot 

67 Player down in the Sporting box from an arm from Hjulmand. Referee said no penalty. I'm not sure because that was a clear shove. I'd be calling for it at the other end 

69 Trincão wins a corner nearside. Better from Sporting. Patience from Geny and Hjulmand combining looking for an opening 

70 I feel a third coming for Sporting… Geny forces a save from Simon pushed out for a corner with an effort from 20 yards 

71 Fucking hell. Ball in the net from Suárez. Offside flag was up. Correctly called 

72 Suárez now harries the last man. For the first time tonight I actually believe we can win this 

72 Geny shot a yard in from the edge of the 18 yard box blocked 

74 Yellow to Parades as he catches Suarez. Went through the back of the Colombian 

74 Parades header comes off Hjulmand and out for a goal kick from the free kick. How valuable a touch could that be for Athletic?

76 Araújo punches the ground following a late challenge from Gorosabel 

76 The man on the megaphone is back and finally some noise from the home fans. They're going to make another change by the looks of things 

77 Geny taken down in the box. Penalty awarded. Referee running to the monitor. This is going to get overturned isn't it. Corner to Sporting. In fairness Boiro gets a touch on the ball before he took Geny down with a scissor motion 

80 ➡️⬅️ Navarro and Guruzeta off. Serrano and Herreiro on 

81 Vesga shown the yellow. A footballer with grey hair don't see that often. He pulled Gonçalves back to concede the foul 

82 Sporting just seem to have lost the impetuous they had five minutes ago. 

82 Benfica set to miss out on the knockouts as it stands 

83 Whistles from the home fans as Sporting playing keep ball looking for that opening again 

83 Poor from Hjulmand who gives away the ball with a poor pass again in the final third 

85 Five to play and plenty of time to be added on. Having been cocksure we'd find a third now it seems highly unlikely 

85 Yellow to Quaresma for a late challenge 

86 ➡️ ⬅️ Trincão for Alisson. Far too late in the day 

86 Calm from Quaresma inside the six yard box and gets rid of the ball. Not as calm from this side of the screen 

88 Alisson straight into the game wins a corner far side 

88 Gonçalves fires wide from 18 yards 

88 Simon doesn't know his own strength as he slips on his backside from the goal kick 

89 Corner far side to Athletic 

89 Glass bottle taken by the referee over the to the fourth official thrown by the home fans 

Plus five shown 

+1 Corner far side to Athletic 

+2 Simon only up as far as the halfway line. Disappointing. Always stick your keeper in the box at this point in the game  

+2 Cross from the left. Reis took no chances and clears for a corner nearside 

+3 Silva claims. GOAL Athletic Club 2 Sporting CP 3. Suárez was clear. He got it all wrong, his shot was blocked. Fell to Alisson who smashed it home from 16 yards. Borges off dancing again. Alisson crouches like Prime Vegas Elvis with his goal celebration. I've said it all half - This game was made for Alisson 

+6 The ground looks like it has half emptied

+6 Araújo fouled. That was vicious from Parades who is fortunate to stay on the pitch 

+7 Full Time whistle is blown

Full time 

Athletic Club 2 Sporting CP 3 

The turn around completed. Alisson makes the sign of the cross as he drops to his knees. Sporting have finally won in Spain. The Brazilian scores again in the Champions League. They can't let him go now surely? But if he is to be off to Napoli what a way to sign off. Suárez was through one on one with the keeper. He slipped slightly before reaching the edge of the box, regained his footing to get the shot away but it looked to all intents and purposes it had gone but Alisson the coolest man in Spain with time to work the ball into space and drive it home. Magic from the Brazilian.  

What a bonkers end to a bonkers night of football and not just in Bilbao but back home too as coverage switched to the neighbours seemingly unaware they needed a fourth goal to make it through to the play offs. I'm desperately typing and looked up to see their goalkeeper head the ball in to make it 4-2 thinking wtf have I just seen there and totally oblivious to the fact results have all gone our way and we've finished 7th in the table and qualified automatically. What a week for winners in additional time. It felt like the entire second half was waiting for Alisson to make a mark and boy did he ever. What a moment for the youngster. This time last year he missed out of a January move to Sporting. I wrote at the time how would he react? Never in his wildest dreams will he have imagined the deal was back on even if he couldn't play because he was signed out of the window and here he is scoring again in the Champions League and a goal of huge significance and importance. The lions in their second season of the new format shocking European football by qualifying automatically and avoiding having to play those additional two games just at a time that we're finally getting players back fit. 

What fun the script writers had in the second 45. Suárez has the ball in the net - offside. Penalty awarded and decision overturned. You could cut the tension in the stadium with a knife. Trincão equalises and you felt Sporting could win the game. But then it was ebbing away. Then Suárez must surely finish it. He stumbles, Simon's the hero but wait, Alisson scores and 1 point magically turned into 3 and leapfrogs Sporting into 7th place. It's a script that had it genuinely been written no one would have gone to watch the movie because it beggars belief. One goal down after 2 minutes. Sporting weren't just poor first half they were truly woeful. They owed the fans a performance, owed themselves a performance and boy did they rise to the occasion and then some. We've seen winners at Santa Clara in additional time from corners that never were. We've watched Suárez slide across the pitch in Arouca over the weekend celebrating his winner. At the end of it all one man sat crouched alone as the stadium in Bilbao exited like their was a fire drill, their qualification hopes gone up in smoke. 

It's one of the oldest footballing cliches in the book to say it's a game of two halves but wasn't it just. The lions has one attempt in the first half and didn't Diomande take perfect advantage of it. What a header from the Ivorian, oh how we've missed him at the back away with the Côte d'Ivoire. What a time and way to score your first of the season and the perfect way to celebrate signing a new contract. We don't need to go over the mistakes that led to the goals. The lions were clearly nervous and they weren't the only ones in fairness. An injury to Inácio didn't help matters. Bragança was the wrong choice to start on a night his only offerings was a series of mistimed passes. I've said it once I'll say it again if he looked like Iain Dowie he'd be playing in Liga 3. Someone midweek posted online the question of whether Suárez is better than Gyökeres and I thought you're taking the piss aren't you? We already knew he couldn't round the keeper and find the net, now we've seen what he's like in a 1 on 1 situation. Proper jigsaw, went to absolute pieces. Spent most of the game on his arse with his hands in the air or punching the ground in frustration. Whatever Gyökeres is going through at Arsenal, Suárez is not the second coming of him. Last season one was banging goals in for Almería in the Segunda and one was banging in a hat-trick against the former European Champions Manchester City. Case closed your honour if it ever should have been opened at all. I'm hoping he has a great world cup and someone offers silly money for him. 

Simões had an uncharacteristically poor night in midfield and it was the right choice for Morita to come on. Had Trincão not equalised then I'm convinced we'd have seen Alisson on far sooner but it all worked out in the end. Gonçalves offered little and we saw last season it took him to virtually the penultimate game of the season before he had any type of telling contribution. I hope Borges doesn't make the same mistake again this time around and brings him back in gradually. 

Reis for his fault in the second goal was much more composed in the second half and I guess that's the measure of the man. When you win you can say it added to the entertainment value. Had we lost… well we didn't so we can chalk that own down to human error. The game is hard enough to get the pace of from the off and coming on as an early substitute probably makes a big difference. Maybe you need to remind yourself this isn't Portugal. Whatever it's done. 

Ever since I saw Geny kick a ball I've been in love with the guy and he's grown again in stature since he came back from the African Cup of Nations. I've written it before and I stand by it, he'd always have been starting over Quenda for me. A lot of clubs will be circling round the lad if he keeps these performances up. He had his marker on toast and yes he gets his shot wrong that went over the bar but we're paying him to make chances not necessarily to take them. We know he's not a natural finisher but then again neither was Alisson and I wrote before tonight that you can clearly see he's been working on that in training and boy didn't it show tonight. So Geny gets my first vote for man of the match. Can I give Alisson a vote given his contribution was so telling and near on perfect? First involvement was to win a corner and then pops up with the winner? I'll get back to you. 

I didn't think Fresneda had a bad game but then again there was no real threat carried down his side of the pitch so a good performance from the Spaniard back on home soil. Rui Silva wasn't at his finest tonight but that being said positionally correct for two shots that flashed past his right hand post which had they been on target and he'd been forced into a save he'd have been where he should have been. Inácio clearly not on the pitch long enough and even if Reis regained his composure second half you can't forgive him enough for his mistake to pick him in the final four chances. Araújo was full of industry and claimed an assist. Trincão of course scores the second. Who said that at the back? Yes well spotted I'm playing Guess Who again which is never a good sign. Hjulmand has a Gatusso performance. Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit. Look it up if that means nothing to you. 

Well it wasn't Suárez even if I did like his effort to chase down the ball on the goal line and positioned outside the area he didn't try shoot but passed first time to Geny. But that miss was as bad as Reis' mistake for the second. Fuck me. Quaresma in PSV in the pouring rain I can forgive. Again it didn't matter we move on. Fuck me this shouldn't be so hard. Hjulmand was at fault for the first goal. Could Diomande and Silva have done better on the second one? Probably not. So Diomande second choice. Great well taken goal. Didn't last the full 90 but did well enough and I'm at the point of who did the least wrong. Alisson certainly did the least wrong of any player so even if it was a cameo appearance, he scores the winner and he's my third vote. Can't do Gonçalves, Morita or Quaresma. Bollocks and buggery, I'm going to say Fresneda. Solid performance didn't do a lot wrong. Wow what a choice of four on a historic night for Sporting Clube de Portugal; Geny, Alisson who played 9 minutes, Diomande who played for 54 minutes but scores a goal and Fresneda because he was ok. Time to wrap this up then. Can only be Geny though I'd secretly love to lose any credibility I have and go with Alisson. 

Next up Nacional at the José Alvalade. Please put it to bed early gentlemen as fun as additional time winners are my heart needs a rest.