Sporting CP 3 Casa Pia 0

Sporting CP v Casa Pia

Friday January 16th, 2026

Estádio José Alvalade

Matchday 18

The warm up 

The second half of the season gets back underway with the visit of Casa Pia. This seems as good a time as any to raise the point that the mister Rui Borges after 36 league games in charge of the lions has still only lost 1 game, a fact that seems to get lost in certain circles. Those 36 games have produced 25 wins and 10 draws aside the 2-1 loss this season in the Clássico to current league leaders Porto. After victory in his opening game in the Dérbi he ended the season leading Sporting to back to back titles having played 19, won 12 and drawn 7, GF 47, GA 9 with a total of 6 clean sheets during that period. This season's current record reads: played 17, won 13, drawn 3, lost 1, GF 47, GA 9 with 9 clean sheets. So in total 92 goals scoring at an average of 2.55 per match and conceding just 0.44. If you discounted the freak result away to Vitória 4-4 in his second match in charge that figure for goals conceded would drop to 0.34 goals conceded per game. 

There's certain sections that feel the need to bring up his record against the teams at the top of the table as if he's never ever beaten any of them in any competition. This is the mister who I've already mentioned beat Benfica on his debut, then beat Porto 3 days later in the Taça da Liga semi finals and then drew against Benfica in his fourth match in the final only to see his side lose on penalties. He of course then went on to lead the lions to victory over Benfica in the final of the Taça de Portugal in May. In nine Dérbi's in the league under Ruben Amorim the club won just 3 times, drew 2 and lost 4. It might be jarring reading but the neighbours have the upper hand in this fixture winning 139 of 326 matches played to Sporting's 116 in all competitions. In league outings totalling 183 matches, Sporting have 51 wins to Benfica’s 83 with 49 draws. Very few coaches in their time at Sporting will have been able to boast decent records against the neighbours so let's please not act like this is a brand new issue only applicable to Rui Borges at least when it comes to the Dérbi.

Historically in the Clássico, Porto have 71 wins in 183 league meetings and there have been 51 draws and 61 wins for Sporting. Amorim's record in the league read played 9, won 2, drawn 5 and lost 2.

2024/25 win

2023/24 win and draw

2022/23 Porto completed the double. 

2021/22 1-1 and 2-2

2020/21 2-2 and 0-0

Again don't tell me this is a probably solely attributed to the current mister. It's historic. He's been here a shade over one year, coaches the equivalent of one full season and two games and lost one. ONE LOSS. Can anyone else name me a coach who in the last 36 league games of any league worldwide that has lost just once in the same amount of games? 

It's not like José Mourinho has a glowing record in the big games in the league this season either. A 0-0 draw with Porto, 1-1 with the lions and a 2-2 draw with Braga. The self proclaimed Special One has vastly more experience on his side, coaching the richest club in Portugal. A coach who has won the Champions League, Premier League, La Liga’s and Serie A. I don't see anyone digging out his current inability to have won one of those three fixtures. 

Currently Porto have a ridiculous defensive record having conceded just 4 times in 17 games. Is that level sustainable across a 34 game season? Winning is all the more easier when you just have to ensure you that you put the ball in the back of the net once but at some point injuries will start to have a big factor in their campaign. On paper they might have the best starting XI but when the injuries come, and they will because this is football, how good are their replacements? We've seen them lose 3-1 to Vitória in the Taça da Liga so on that evidence you'd suggest their squad depth isn't the best. Yes they've got the winter transfer window in which to add bodies but I can't be the only person raising an eyebrow when their first signing is the 41 year old Brazilian defender Thiago Silva. If you thought Sebastián Coates looked like he was pulling an invisible caravan then I can't wait to see your reaction if he gets into a footrace with a Luis Guilherme or André Luiz in the back half of the season. 

On the morning Amorim was sacked from Manchester United someone posted a hypothetical question of whether they'd take him back as the Sporting mister? I was thinking really? Actually that's a lie I was thinking fuck me what a stupid pointless fucking question. One, what a way to undermine your current mister who's sat in second place in the table and only lost one game of his 36 in charge. I get that it's a hypothetical but you're talking about a coach in Amorim who got on a plane and flashed his ankle at West Ham and was adamant that last season was going to be his last as the Sporting coach and had everything gone to plan he was going to depart this summer. The fact that Manchester United delivered him the ultimatum that it was now or never to join them actually seems to have played out in our favour much more a season down the line. It has certainly played out more in our favour than it has theirs having sacked him this morning. (Yes some of these are written way in advance. It might not always appear like it but I do try to research my posts and try to back up what I'm saying with statistics). Despite another season already plagued by injuries, suspensions and players away on Afcon duty, we're still sat 2nd in the table even if it is now a seven point gap. Ajax had a ten point gap with a month to go under Farioli last season and look how much good that did them. Anything is possible in this league, we saw that last campaign around this time or year. Every time I wrote just when you thought it couldn't get any crazier, Porto and Benfica doubled down and went hold my beer, yes it can. I never fully rated Amorim. That's not me after timing, I've been incredibly vocal in these posts labelling him Emperor's New Clothes time and time again. I genuinely think Rui Borges is the better coach. He might not have the cult of personality enjoyed by Amorim but he's got more humility, more positivity and is certainly more flexible in his setup and tactics. I genuinely had envisaged us under João Pereira this season struggling down in 5th or 6th, suffering from the loss of Gyökeres and Amorim in the summer so forgive me if I'm not doom and gloom about being second and a point better off than we were this time at the midway point last season. Using Uncle Jeff's coefficient (search it online, it's a thing) where you lay down this season's results on top of the previous as a direct comparison, the Porto loss is the only reversal in fortunes whereas we've turned draws against Arouca and Vitória into wins and matched the other 14 results to last season's. If you take away the Dérbi win in Borges first game and the 4-4 draw away to Vitória, the back 17 resulted in 11 wins and 6 draws. This means there's huge scope for improvement in the second half of this season by comparison using that same metric. 

Paint by numbers 

Sportings league campaign to date 

Biggest wins 

Arouca (H) 6-0

AVS (H) 6-0

Nacional (A) 4-1

Vitória (A) 4-1

Highest total attempts registered 

Tondela (A) 29

Casa Pia (A) 27

Nacional (A) 27 

Alverca (H) 27

Total attempts 

José Alvalade 170

Away 157 

Opta defined big chances 

José Alvalade 

Sporting 

Created 35

Missed 17

Opposition 

Created 5

Missed 3

Away 

Sporting 

Created 36

Missed 24

Opposition 

Created 9

Missed 5

Blocked shots 

José Alvalade 

Sporting 40

Opposition 19

Away

Sporting 39

Opposition 23

Shots off target 

José Alvalade 

Sporting 60

Opposition 22

Away

Sporting 58

Opposition 32

Shots on target 

José Alvalade 

Sporting 70

Opposition 20

Away

Sporting 60

Opposition 31

Highest XG 

José Alvalade 

Moreirense 5.01

Away 

Casa Pia 2.85 

Highest XG against 

Porto (H) 1.54 

Gil Vicente (A) 1.18

Lowest XG against 

Estrela and Rio Ave (H) 0.11

Estoril (A) 0.21

Top scorers 

Suárez 15

Gonçalves 9

Trincão and Araújo 4

Most assists 

Trincão 5

Gonçalves 4

Opponents watch

Casa Pia season to date 2025/26

Matchday 1 - The opening day of the 2025/26 season seems a long time ago now. This being Portugal the fixtures are repeated 1 through 17 played in reverse so this very fixture was therefore the first for both sides finishing in a 2-0 win for the lions away from home with goals from Trincão and Hjulmand. Sporting finished with a ridiculous 27 attempts to CP 7 and guilty of missing 5 of 6 big chances to their solitary big chance created and missed. Final XG 0.43 to 2.85.

Matchday 2 – AVS (A) The home side were left to rue a missed penalty by Barbosa in the 14th minute as goals from Osundina and Tchamba were enough to secure the points with a 2-0 victory. CP missed 3 of their 4 big chances, the home side missing their solitary one with the penalty. Final XG 1.24 to 1.50.

Matchday 3 – FC Porto (A) Defeat on the road to the early league leaders by a heavy 4-0 margin. XG for CP just 0.21 to 2.28, 0 big chances created, Porto missing 2 of their 5. 

Matchday 4 – Nacional (H) A second straight defeat and their 3rd in their opening 4 fixtures to the islanders who won 2-0 with both goals coming in the first half as they converted both their big chances. CP missing their solitary big chance, final XG 0.66 to 1.27.

Matchday 5 – Arouca (A) A second away win of the season came courtesy of goals from Cassiano and Sousa in either half and a second clean sheet. They created an impressive 5 big chances on the road, however missing 3 of those. Arouca with the one big chance. Final XG 0.48 to 1.36. 

Matchday 6 – Famalicão (H) After a goalless draw at half time, Realpe scored for the visitors a minute into the second half to take the lead. A Livolant penalty 3 minutes from time saw CP secure their first home point of the campaign in a 1-1 draw which was their only big chance of the game. 4 of 5 big chances missed for the visitors whose XG was 2.08 to 1.10 noting the penalty comes with an XG of 0.79 so their other 9 attempts with an XG of just 0.31.

Matchday 7 – Moreirense (A) Despite Livolant scoring his second in two games after just 6 minutes, CP succumbed to a 2-1 loss. However they’ll have left kicking themselves after 20 attempts produced 3 big chances of which they were guilty of missing 2. The home side scored with their only big chance. Final XG .99 to 1.70.

Matchday 8 – Estoril (H) Another draw, another failure to secure a home win as the game finished 2-2. Estoril took the lead only for CP to equalise just before the half hour mark through Rocha. They went ahead on the stroke of half time with Livolant scoring for the third straight game but were undone by the equaliser 5 minutes from time. 1 big chance missed for the home side, Estoril converted 2 of their 3. Final XG 0.94 to 1.12.

Taça de Portugal – Anca FC (A) CP booked their place in the 4th round with a 3-0 win on the road, Larrazabal with a brace and Morais the 3rd.

Matchday 9 – Braga (A) Another 4-0 thumping on the road. CP with just 3 attempts over the 90 resulting in an XG of just 0.21 to 2.61 for Braga. The home side scoring 4 of their 5 big chances, the visitors missed their sole opportunity. 

Matchday 10 – Estrela (H) Chaos ruled supreme with 8 goals scored in a 3-5 loss. Cassiano gave the home side the lead only to see it cancelled out 2 minutes later. Estrela went ahead on the stroke of half time through a penalty but Iyad Mohamed scored 2 minutes into the second half with a long range effort to draw the sides level at 2-2. Estrela then scored 3 times to put the game beyond the reach of the home side however the evergreen José Fonte Baby did grab a consolation goal. Final XG 1.07 to 2.17. CP scored both their big chances and Estrela all 3 of theirs.

Matchday 11 – Benfica (A) After conceding 9 times in 2 games CP must have been fearing the worse for this game and were 2-0 down when an Araujo own goal just after the hour mark gave them a glimmer of hope. Incredible scenes when Nhaga equalised on the stroke of the 90 to leave the visitors with a highly creditable 2-2 draw and a precious point away from home. Final XG 2.22 to 1.21. Benfica scored with 2 of their 3 big chances, CP missed 2 of their 3.

Taça de Portugal – Alpendorada (A) Lower league opponents for the second straight round resulted in another 3-0 win. Goals from Conte, Perez and Livolant.

Matchday 12 – Casa Pia’s woes at home continued as they suffer a 2-0 defeat to newly promoted Alverca having been reduced to ten men on the stroke of half-time when Patrick Sequeira was shown a straight red card. The visitors second came a full 8 minutes into added time at the end of the 90 to add insult to injury. Just 5 attempts for CP producing an XG of 0.17 to 1.47. No big chances created, Alverca missing 3 of their 5.

Matchday 13 – Santa Clara (A) Casa Pia now without a league win in 7 travelled to the Azores where their fortunes didn’t improve losing narrowly 1-0 with the only goal of the game coming after 10 minutes. 0 big chances created, just 5 attempts for the second straight game even with 11 men on the pitch this time around and an XG of just 0.29. Santa missed 2 of their 3 big chances and finished with an XG of 1.39.

Matchday 14 – Gil Vicente (H) A valuable point at home to the high flying roosters who took the lead in the first half. Saka equalised and the game finished 1-1. CP with an even lower amount of attempts than the previous 2 games with just 3 in total with an XG of 0.15, however that one big chance created was importantly converted into a goal and that’s all that counted. GV XG 0.85 and they missed their 1 big chance to secure all 3 points. Saka with the CP goal.

Taça de Portugal – Torreense (H) Any hopes of an extended run in the competition were finally extinguished by the second division side who took a 2 goal lead before Livolant pulled one back from the penalty spot ten minutes from time but it wasn’t enough and their cup run ended with a 2-1 defeat.

Matchday 15 - Tondela (A) Casa Pia finally ended their long search for a league win with another 3 points on the road. Despite going a goal down just before the hour mark, Larrazabal scored his first league goal of the season and Nhaga scored the winner in the 2-1 victory. The newly promoted side missed 3 of their 4 big chances, CP scored their only one, final XG 1.75 to 1.20. 

Matchday 16 – Vitória (H) CP played out their first goalless draw of the season. Just 5 attempts from them again over the 90 minutes resulting in an XG of just 0.33 against 1.38. 0 big chances created, whereas the side from Guimarães missed all 3 of theirs. The point means that Casa Pia failed to win a single one of their home games in the first half of the season, a fate they shared only with AVS, albeit they’ve not won an away game either.

Matchday 17 – Rio Ave (A) Their final game of the first half of the season saw them trailing 2-0 with 8 minutes to play in the 90 before Mendes pulled one back. Any hope would have been short lived as André Luiz added his second on the night and CP would lose 3-1. A much healthier 15 attempts from the visitors produced an XG of 1.89 to 2.97 for RA. They missed 3 of their 4 big chances, albeit the home side missed 4 of their 6. 

So Casa Pia end the first half of the season in 15th place, level on points with Arouca who are in the relegation playoff zone. Their record played 17, won 3, drawn 5, lost 9, GF 17, GA 32. Their away record the 11th best in the division, played 9, won 3, drawn 1, lost 5, GF 10, GA 17. Their recent H2H record against the lions reads Played 8 in all competitions, lost 8 which included the 8-0 thumping in January 2024. 

Of their 17 goals scored 9 have been from open play, 6 from set pieces, 1 own goal and 1 penalty and they are outperforming their XG of 14.4. That figure however is the second worst in the league. Even the actual bottom side AVS still with only 4 points to their name are slightly ahead with 14.8. Top scorer Jérémy Livolant with 3, Cassiano and Nhaga with 2 apiece and 9 others with a single goal each. Livolant also with the teams most assists in the league with 4. Their total of 32 goals conceded gives them the 3rd worst defensive record in the league averaging 1.9 goals conceded per game keeping just 3 clean sheets to date. They do rate 3rd for most average clearances per game with 30.5, 4th for penalties conceded with 6, 2nd for most fouls per game with 15.8 and finally 1st in the table for bookings with 54 to their name. So nothing to actually crow about.

After the two sides met last time out the summer transfer window was still open. Those additional deals completed were as follows;

Incoming

David Sousa on a free transfer from RWDM Brussels

Tiago Morais on loan from Lille

Kevin Prieto for £141,000 from Defensor Sporting

Abdu Conte for free from Troyes

Dailon Rocha Livramento on loan from Hellas Verona

Xander Severina for free from Maccabi Haifa

Sousa has made 12 appearances scoring once, Livramento has made 12, Morais has made 10, Conte has made 8 with 1 assist with Prieto making 5 and Severina just 4.

Outgoing

Pablo to Fortaleza for £830,000 

Isaac Monteiro to Anadia for free

Raul Blanco to Alcorcon on loan

At the time of writing no transfer business undertaken in the winter window. 

Thursday update 

After departing ways with Portugal's youngest top flight coach João Pereira in November, Casa Pia have announced The bearded, flat capped wearing wonder that is Álvaro Pacheco as their new man at the helm. His last job in Portugal came with Vitória SC, before taking up the reins in Brazil with Vasco de Gama and latterly Al-Orobah in the Saudi League. His last three posts have been plagued by controversy. At Vitória he sued the president António Miguel Cardoso for defamation of character. At Vasco he was fired after just four matches and his stay in Saudi lasted less than six months before rendering his resignation and he's been without a first team coaching role for the past twelve months. If you don't know what he looks like thing of a slightly more stylish Portuguese version of Uncle Albert.

After the purchase of Brazilian Luís Guilherme from West Ham for €14m rising to a potential €17m with the Hammers earning 15% of any sell on fees, the club have returned to the market today with the purchase of Soulemayne Faye from Spanish second tier side Granada. Another winger, the 22 year old Senegalese will cost €6m rising to a potential €8m.

Good news for Sporting's Tomáš Souček - Eduardo Quaresma as he was operated on yesterday for his broken jaw sustained in the defeat to Vitória following an accidental clash of heads with Samu. That boy is going to retire with some proper war wounds at the end of his career like the Czech international at West Ham. Maybe he can adopt his spinning goal celebration. He's set to be out for three weeks. Diomande's Cote d'Ivoire play against Egypt on Saturday. Let's hope Mo Salah gets his finger out his arse and dumps the Ivorians out. I've had the track Bring Him Home from Les Miserables stuck in my head all week. Seems apt. Inácio will be available after serving his one match ban for his sending off against Gil Vicente in the last league game. Geny Catamo will be an option and hopefully so will Debast who almost made the matchday squad for Tuesday night. 

Friday update 

The fee for Faye is now being reported as a flat fee of between €6-6.5m with no variables and rumours circulate about the possibility of Alisson being sent out on loan. Am I the only one wondering why the Portuguese media keeps throwing out the name Yeremay? They couldn't get him for €25m in the summer. They've just signed two wingers. Yes Quenda is off but they've Alisson and Geny. Realistically they're never going to pay the €40m plus Deportivo would want to sell him and he has eyes on Barca or Real Madrid although that's not to suggest either have eyes on him. 

Saturday update 

Egypt defeated the Côte d'Ivoire 3-2 in the African Cup of Nations meaning our boy is coming home for Friday. No surprise to read that he didn't feature in a single minute of the game. I hope for his sake that karma knocks on the door of their coach Emerse Faé and it happens to be carrying his P45. Not playing Diomande is one thing but picking him against Oman and playing him at left back in a four when he's a right sided central defender and then having your mates in the press criticise him is just piss poor form from a national team coach. 

Sporting CP Feminino 

Racing Power v Sporting CP 

Sunday January 11th, 2026

Matchday 9

Starting XI 

Wellmann, Fonseca, Barron, Cancelinha, Cherry, Pérez, Neto, Hernandez Gray, Armengol, Encarnação and Raphino 

Substitutes 

Potra, Fontemanha, Santiago, Arques, Bonsegundo, Lino, Nave, Bravo and Rodrigues.

The Lionesses took the lead through a scrappy goal at the near post as Cancelinha bundled the ball over the line from 2 yards with 26 minutes on the clock. Their lead didn't last long as Racing equalised when Noguiera headed home a corner far side from 5 yards to make it 1-1 on the half hour. Sporting fell behind with an almost replica goal 5 minutes later, however it was Fonseca who turned the ball into her own net from virtually the same spot, again from a corner. Raphino equalised with another scrappy goal from 2 yards, this time coming on the far side 4 minutes into additional time at the end of the first half. Goal of the game and the winner came in the 65th minute when Telma smashed home a volley from the edge of the left of the six yard box. Her day was cut short along with Cinthia Gonzalez when both players were sent off with 11 minutes remaining. Five points the gap to the neighbours as the ladies remain second in the table. 

Sporting B

FC Porto B v Sporting CP B

Sunday January 11th, 2026

Matchday 17

Starting XI 

Silva, Moreira, Dias, Taibo, J. Silva, Justo, Felicíssimo, Mendonca, Ribeiro, Cardoso and Nel.

Substitutes Used 

Oliveira, Anjos, Couto, Besugo and G. Silva 

More misery for João Giao's youngsters as they recorded their fourth straight defeat. However they remain in second in the table level on points with Academico Viseu who lost 2-1 at home to the neighbours B team. Given the average age of the squad it seems harsh to be overly critical of the side, especially given so many players have had to be called up to the first team owing to suspensions, injuries and the African Cup of Nations. However you wonder if they've started to be found out now. This is after all a league where quintessentially they're boys playing against men. This their sixth loss in the league overall as it reached its half way point. That being said they had their chances in the first half and could have taken the lead after ten minutes when a Felicíssimo header was cleared off the line. On 22 minutes Silva couldn't quite believe he'd managed to shoot wide from just 5 yards. The lions finally broke the deadlock and in some style with an utter thunder bastard of a golazzo from 21 yards which flew into the top right hand corner to make it 1-0 on 26 minutes. Justo with the superbly taken goal, Felicíssimo credited with the assist but I use that term in the loosest sense. Teixeira headed in from a nearside corner on 50 minutes to make it 1-1 from 6 yards. Sousa allowed too much time and space to turn and shoot from 18 yards on 54 minutes and his low effort nestled low into the bottom right hand corner through the legs of José Silva en route. Clearly not to be his afternoon after his earlier miss. Full time FC Porto 2 Sporting CP 1.

After the loss to Vitória last week in the Taça da Liga semi final where Rômulo Jr was busy looking at someone in the crowd rather than the ball being crossed behind him and the fact that the B team have lost 4 on the spin, you do wonder whether someone should swallow some pride somewhere within the club's hierarchy and be playing St Juste at either level especially given he's one of the clubs highest earners. Yes things haven't gone the way everyone would have hoped since his €10m move from Mainz but he has to do what's right for his career and his family. There's no point in him moving this month because he'll get a better financial package moving on a free transfer in the summer. The youngsters can only benefit from his experience and guidance at the back so why not use him? I think he's served his time now. 

Wednesday update 

Rodrigo Ribeiro is in Germany set to sign for Augsburg on loan until the end of the season. The deal includes a mandatory purchase option of €6m if certain milestones are hit during his loan period. Ribeiro remember had the same clause in his loan to Nottingham Forest with a fee of €10m. We've already seen issues with Biel's loan to Brazil and his club looking to cancel the loan. I remain unconvinced that we won't see the youngster return in the summer. I know Alfonso Moreira is doing relatively well in Lyon since his move but I do find it a headscratcher how we can produce so much talent from the academy but never stumble upon a genuine goalscorer. Tomas was crap, Chermiti even worse, Ribeiro has never looked like kicking on. Pedro Mendes hit a wonder goal against PSV but that was his limit.

In the markets 

Sporting CP 7/50

Draw 13/2

Casa Pia 14/1

Team News 

Starting XI 

Silva, Fresneda, Reis, Inácio, Vagiannidis, Simões, Morita, Geny, Trincão, Guilherme and Suárez

Substitutes 

Virgínia, Mangas, Debast, Kochorashvili, Bragança, Gonçalves, Alisson and Nel

There's a feel to this akin to a school teacher reading the class register during peak Covid. Eduardo? No. Maxi? No…

So Diomande is injured and doesn't rejoin the matchday squad from his shortened stay on international duty. Quaresma missing with a broken jaw. Araújo and Hjulmand both suspended. Inácio returns from suspension and he partners Reis who shuffles one over and we see Fresneda and Vagiannidis both start for the first time on opposite flanks. Morita returns and we need something that resembles the old him tonight. Geny also returns with Ioannidis set to potentially be out for a month. Gonçalves drops to the bench and Guilherme awarded his full debut wide left. 

On the bench the return of Debast. Bragança again in the matchday squad. Mangas a surprise early return. How fit any of those 3 are is anyone's guess. After the loan of Ribeiro to Augsburg, Nel moves up from Sporting B. A distinct lack of defensive options from the bench with 2 barely fit options. Let's hope no one gets injured. 

Casa Pia Starting XI 

1 Sequeira, 43 Sousa, 6 Fonte, 4 Goulart, 5 Conte, 42 Pérez, 74 Nhaga,  72 Larrazabal,  29 Livolant, 90 Cassiano and 7 Wa Saka

First half 

The lions in their traditional green and white horizontal stripes. Casa Pia get us underway, the lions attack right to left. With the visit of PSG midweek and the fixture falling after Christmas maybe no surprise that the attendance is sparse. 

4 First chance falls to the visitors as Wa Saka drives in from the left wing but hooks his shot into the stand from 18 yards 

5 Corner near side to the lions cleared and Casa Pia straight on the counter attack but Sporting regained possession in the final third 

6 Casa Pia sat in a compact 5-4-1 

6 Geny goes down in the box but the game continues 

7 Twice Sporting's players have slipped. What is it with their choice of footwear? The rain is pouring down in Lisboa as the matchday editor provides a close up of one of the opposition players 

8 Tug of the arm by Morita penalised with a free kick 

9 Livolant shot from 12 yards deflected for a corner, cleared by the lions 

9 Hjulmand and Ioannidis sit watching on. Well maybe the Dane was, Doris looking at his phone 

10 Geny finds himself running towards a line of six defenders and the move breaks down 

11 Simões tries to wiggle his way inside the box to find room for a shot but to no avail

11 Yellow shown to Fonte for a foul on Trincão catching the top of his foot. Before that Wa Saka caught Geny on the wing but nothing given 

12 Free kick 27 yards out from Suárez beats the 5 man wall plus draft excluder and the bar and out for a goal kick 

13 Whistles as Sequeira starts the time wasting 

14 Driving run from Fresneda down the left. Second play results in a corner as Simões cross deflected off Goulart

15 Everyone bar Rui Silva cramped in the opposition half. This will suit the visitors 

16 Simões drives the ball into the stand from 32 yards. Poor from the youngster 

17 Morita cross into the box cleared by Goulart. Right idea by the Japanese 

17 Suárez snatches at a shot inside the D leaning back and the only thing under threat again is the fans behind the goal 

18 Geny shouting for a handball from a defender outside the box but nothing given 

19 A free kick is now given as Livolant brings down Geny and then Pérez has another nibble 

20 Free kick 19 yards out. Trincão taps the ball to Suárez and he smashes it into the stand again from 19 yards. That truly was dog shit

21 Pérez with a rugby tackle under the referees nose on Suárez. Free kick awarded in the centre 

23 Simões and Fresneda try to link up down the left but get their lines mixed up. Has Guilherme gone and sat in the warm somewhere out of the rain?

24 Simões looks like he's seeing stars and little birds as he takes a knock from Cassiano and lays on his back looking up 

26 Geny with a lovely floated cross finds Fresneda who heads wide from 6 yards. Best moment so far from Sporting

27 Reis takes no prisoners as his slide blocks the ball out for a corner near side. Fresneda heads clear 

28 Close up of Borges nose. Not sure why. Powerful focus on the zoom though. Maybe to suggest he nose what he's doing sat on the bench and not stood in the rain? Baddum tish

29 Geny bursts from inside his own half. Tries a weighted ball to Vagiannidis in the area put out for a corner 

30 Sporting get away with one as Nhaga needs too many touches inside the box and his shot blocked for a corner from 14 yards 

31 Pérez with a shake of the head as he shanks a shot from distance wide left and out for a goal kick 

32 Inácio tries a long pass into the box from 30 yards straight into the arms of the keeper 

33 Trincão tries to curl a shot from 16 yards towards the top left hand corner from far right but the ball goes wide 

33 Geny with an exquisite pass with the outside of his right foot found Suárez who fizzed a ball across the six yard box to Guilherme unmarked who somehow misses an open goal from 4 yards. Well at least I now know he's on the pitch. So much for him being two footed. Yes he was stretching but he got that all wrong 

36 Casa Pia having had one man down for treatment then see the goalkeeper drop to the floor. Fucking pathetic 

36 ➡️⬅️ Fonte off for Khaly

37 We're back after nearly a four minute break in play and… GOAL. As my mother always told my son playing cards cheats never prosper. Sporting CP 1 Casa Pia 0. Quick break on the right. Trincão found Geny. Cut inside two players and fired in a shot which deflected off a defender and into the bottom right hand corner 

39 Geny who cannot be much more than 5ft 5” tall has come back from the African Cup of Nations ten feet tall, he's been marvelous tonight 

40 There might not be many in attendance but those who are, are making a great noise. Perhaps they're all out of shot in the upper tier out of the reach of the rain 

41 Vagiannidis caught unawares of a lose ball which cannons off him for a corner far side 

42 GOAL Sporting CP 2 Casa Pia. I said Geny had come back ten feet tall, I lied. 12 feet tall. He smashes home from 11 yards into the bottom right hand corner. That came from the sweetest raking pass inside the Sporting half from Inácio which went shall we say for now - a fucking long way 

44 Corner near side cleared by Trincão 

Plus four shown 

Half time 

Sporting CP 2 Casa Pia 0

We've been treated to a stupendous performance from Geny Catamo on his return from the African Cup of Nations clearly brimming with confidence of being the main man at international level. If he could share some with Luis Guilherme at half time who is in danger of having the worst debut in a lions shirt since Jese was on loan from PSG. The weather conditions haven't helped, neither have the standard cheating tactics from the visitors with the keeper going down feigning injury but you get what you deserve in football and for them that means going in 2-0 down and without their captain forced off injured. Karma. 

Fresneda has thrived down the left hand side and in the same manner he first appeared there in the Taça da Liga he looks like it's his natural wing. He maybe should have done better with his header but other than that you can have no complaints with his performance. Luis Suárez looks like you could drop him off in a Colombian whore house with the entire clubs finances and he'd fail to score. Still there was nothing wrong with the quality of the pass to Guilherme for his miss. Alisson must be watching on thinking why the fuck am I having to sit on the bench when he has offered nothing. And he really has offered nothing other than the miss.

The visitors XG just 0.14 at the break, they've failed to create a single big chance. They look well organised until the point that they don't and concede and then fingers get pointed at one another like a Spiderman meme. How I'd love to see a Geny hat-trick.

Second Half

Casa Pia all out back on the pitch with the lions nowhere to be seen. Finally they return to the pitch and go through their warm up. No changes to the lions though you imagine unless Guilherme starts to contribute he won't be long on the pitch second half. 

Sporting get us back underway.

➡️⬅️ Morais for Wa Saka

45 Poor from Inácio as he concedes possession and it results in Livolant driving a shot over the bar from 20 yards 

46 Sequeira palms a cross straight to the feet of Trincão who missed from 7 yards. How has he missed that? Not as bad as Guilherme but not far off it. An XG of 0.30 shows it was a real chance 

49 Trincão slips as he shapes to shoot from 20 yards and ends up on his backside as the rain continues to fall in Lisboa 

50 Geny wins possession back helping out the defence, he's been everywhere tonight 

50 Sequeira beats Trincão to a cross into the box. The visitors look like they're in for a long night 

51 Geny picks the ball up on the edge of the Sporting 18 yard box like he's the right back 

51 Cross from the left floated into the Sporting box and Silva finally has a contribution as he plucks it from the sky 

53 Close up of Uncle Albert on the touchline. Not sure he's enjoying his reintroduction into Portuguese football. ‘I fought in the war you know!’

54 Morita wins a header in the final third and there's brief confusion in the Casa Pia defender but the keeper comes to claim 

54 This Casa Pia side really point fingers at one another when it all goes wrong. They could be in big trouble come May 

55 Lovely footwork from Vagiannidis in the right, finds Geny who can't return the pass to him 

56 Sporting stop waiting for the free kick to be called against Geny but not given and Morita finally thinks we'll if you're not going to call it, moves and is fouled. Bizarre. Play to the whistle gentlemen 

58 Great transition from defence to attack for the visitors with a series of intricate passes but it breaks down in the final third. See they can play. More of that please, less of the feigning injury and time wasting 

60 Casa Pia force a save from 22 yards and Silva pushes the ball out for a corner. That came from Trincão giving Morita a hospital pass, Inácio losing his footing and Morais afforded the time and space to shoot 

61 Bragança splashes water on the back of his head. Maybe it's holy water to ward off ever spirits? Of course it isn't it's because he's a vain bastard and doing his hair. Some thing's don't change. They do Gyökeres heat map for doing his hair. He's got nothing on Hollywood 

63 Applause around the stadium for Bragança including from Mangas stood behind him but there's been no break in play for two minutes or more now so they're stood like spare parts or fans who've won competitions to get close to the action. 

64 Trincão floats a ball into the six yard box put out for a corner 

64 ➡️ ⬅️ Inácio hands the captain's armband to Bragança. Reis penalised for a foul as the corner came in. I'm still none the wiser who came off. Guilherme for Bragança and Vagiannidis for Mangas. Presumably Fresneda will swap to right back and the quaver haired Mangas will slot into the left 

67 Can someone please present Geny with a shooting … ohhhh opportunity. He has the ball in the net from a diving header 7 yards out but he was a mile offside. Oh Geny

68 ➡️ ⬅️ Cassiano for Mendes

Livolant for Severino

69 I was up and half way to France for that header. That's pissed on my chips

70 Severino straight into the action as he stands on the foot of Reis

71 Debast warms up in the far corner amongst four or five players 

72 Suárez goes down inside the box from contact behind. Nothing given 

72 Break in play as VAR checks the challenge on Suárez and the referee waves his hands to indicate no penalty 

75 Trincão and Bragança with a series of flicks to each other results in the later with an attempt from 20 yards which is stopped on the left hand post. Looked good but no real substance. The move and shot not just Bragança in general 

76 Hustle and bustle from the Colombian wide left but no end product as he's dispossessed. Hopefully he doesn't break any doors at his home stadium lost final whistle 

77 GOAL Sporting CP 3 Casa Pia 0. Suárez turns provider as Bragança scores on his return as his shot deflects up off the keepers foot and into the net from 8 yards. The keeper should have done better, after his long layoff Bragança won't care as he rushes to the bench to celebrate 

80 Debast and Kochorashvili on the sides stripped off and ready to join in the action. You fancy there's a fourth in this game for the lions before the end of the 90

80 Suárez chops the Casa Pia defender a yard from the goal line. His frustrations are obvious tonight albeit no real malice in the challenge 

81 ➡️⬅️ Reis, Geny and Simões off

Debast, Kochorashvili and Alisson on 

82 Casa Pia have the ball in the net. Mendes offside. 42 centimetres which you could see with the naked eye he was off 

84 ➡️ ⬅️ Ngaha off for Brito

85 Yellow shown for a late lunge on Kochorashvili by Sousa. Free kick in a dangerous position on the right wing level with the edge of the 18 yard box 

86 Free kick headed back to Debast who smashes a shot wide from 25 yards which was certainly travelling

87 Raking pass found Alisson on the left. He drives into the box and left his angle too narrow and fires into the side netting

88 Red to Mendes for something that happened off the ball. They were showing a replay of Alisson in the corner. He struck Kochorashvili who went down with a delayed reaction. Not sure there was much in that other than stupidity 

Plus four shown 

+1 Sequeira to the rescue as he steals the ball off Fresneda seven yards out. Suárez tripped in the buildup. 

+2 Suárez is stood arms out in the rain as if asking the Footballing God's, by which I mean the VAR officials, what more do I have to do? I think Bragança is offside in the buildup anyway so the foul on Suárez becomes irrelevant 

+4 We're still waiting. The referee makes the TV shape. I'm assuming he says Bragança was offside. Which he was 

+5 No idea how long is left after that break for VAR. +44 seconds whistle is blown 

Full time 

Sporting CP 3 Casa Pia 0

The final word 

Uncle Albert embraces Rui Borges on the touchline. Bragança was almost a metre offside as they cut to the maths replay straight after. Well that was easy. Not sure about the sending off. Bit like the pass from Inácio for the second goal it'll need closer inspection. The result could benefit Sporting's next opponents Arouca who are away at bottom side AVS tomorrow and are currently level on points with Casa Pia. 

Having spent the early part of the evening right up until kick off writing next week's Arouca post it'll be interesting to see how they compare to Casa Pia because on that showing they're in real trouble. The body language when they go a goal behind is telling and they're all at one anothers throat's especially in the back line. Fonte brings a wealth of experience but as soon as he went off it all went to shit for them quite literally in a record time of seconds. You've got the keeper feigning an injury so Uncle Albert could give instructions and in that very moment all their focus and concentration went out the window and they were done. Sporting rarely had to get out of first gear and even when they did they didn't really have to go much past that to record another comfortable victory which given their injury crisis is saying something. 

Luis Guilherme who never once impressed me in a West Ham shirt quite literally added nothing other than his miss. If someone has a loan deal lined up for Alisson, on that display I suggest they cancel it. He couldn't get anywhere near the West Ham squad and was clearly not going to be ready tonight and unless Alisson had some sort of knock which he clearly didn't show any signs off when he came on, Borges has made the wrong call there for me. Regular readers will be aware I'm not one to have ever really criticised him but I'm happy to call him out where I think it's justified. No one gets a free pass. You cannot expect someone who has played no football all season to come in and be the difference maker. They brought Alisson early to integrate him into the team last season which was a good move. This is just a bad one which could quickly blow up in their face and we'll have an even more expensive Biel on our hands. Rant over. 

We scored three, in truth it should have been 5 of 6. The Guilherme miss, the Trincão miss early on in the second half. Catamo with the ball in the back of the net albeit he was so far offside it hurt. That being said there were enough points whereby anyone with half an ounce of quality could have capitalised on our mistakes. From the choice of footwear to poor passes, we cannot afford the same mistakes against PSG because we will get royally battered by the Parisians.

Still given the conditions and the lions propensity over the years to shoot themselves in the foot they came away with three points. Pressure back on Porto and don't say I'm deluding myself. They had a big game midweek against Benfica and at some point it will all start to catch up and let's hope it begins sooner than the Clássico but definitely in the Clássico to boot. 

Quiet night again for Rui Silva and another night where Sporting didn't allow the opponents a single big chance during the game. The one save he has to make he was alert and more than equal to the task. Vagiannidis still doesn't convince me defensively but I am more than happy to concede in the final third he can be a real threat and there's a few occasions this season his quick turn of footwork has got him pass his man. Reis was no nonsense, full or running up and down the pitch and again it baffles me why they've not tied him into a new contract. We saw the brilliance of Inácio for the assist and then looking like Bambi on ice as Casa Pia really should have taken advantage of a mistake in the second half and he was all at sea chasing mist. There's a reason no one has ever come in with big money for him and it's painfully obvious at times to anyone paying close enough attention. 

In midfield Simões put a shift in, Morita was better but still nowhere near his levels of previous seasons and he's seeing out his contact on fumes with a World Cup ahead of him and his contract running out. He's free to talk to clubs now and I hope he sorts his future out and can breathe a sigh of relief and get his head back in the game between now and May and finish on a high. 

Suárez turned provider to good effect on more than one occasion but spent the rest of the game either firing wildly off target or on his backside appealing for decisions that just weren't there. Well actually in fairness had Bragança not been a country mile offside he'd have had the last penalty but that's irrelevant. He'll not change my view we've overpaid for him on that display, though again credit him for the fact his linkup play is now paying dividends. Maybe I'm being too hard on him. He was much more decisive in that part of his game. 

We didn't see much from the substitutes, Alisson with a good run down the right but left his protractor in his pencil case and got his angles all wrong. At least unlike Suárez he hit part of the netting even if it was the side and not the stands behind the goals. Kochorashvili was chopped down and Casa Pia may claim he was being wiley which he is. Nothing wrong with his footballing brain. Was it a sending off? I'll do a Wenger and say I need to see it again which I do because I was watching what was happening with Alisson and missed it totally and was only aware he'd been shown a red when it flashed up on screen. Debast with a little reminder he can hit a ball as cleanly as anyone in this league. Did Mangas do anything? He applauded Bragança I remember that much. 

Four choices for man of the match. After nearly a year out I'll be kind and give Bragança vote one. He scores, has the nice little interplay with Trincão which results in an infamous Hollywood shot that was at least on target for him. I still don't see how he fits into this side. I've never rated him. This is probably as nice as I'll get about him. Enjoy it while it lasts. 

Choice two goes to Trincão. Again the conductor for all that was good. He acts in support of the midfield and equally the defence when needed and rarely does he ever not contribute something to the game in a positive manner. Another player they need to sort his contract out on. He should be looking at seeing out his best days at this level where he's found his home. 

Choice three goes to Fresneda. So many people slate the kid and I really like him. I thought he was great on the left playing out of position and not for the first time I'd argue his best performances have come out there. He looked strong in attacks, used his pace well and if Geny wasn't having such a great game out on the other flank you could have played far more through him on that side. He also looked far better defensively. He wasn't on his A game against Vitória but he's human, recently lost his Grandfather and he gets a pass for that game in my book. 

Final choice and my man of the match goes to Geny and even if someone has scored five in the second half I think it would still have been Geny. He was a joy to watch, put the game out of reach, had the ball in the net three times. What really cemented it for me though was seeing him in the second half doing his defensive duties. If you'd not seen the first half and weren't a Sportinguista you'd be convinced he was playing as the right back. Simply superb. Let's hope he takes that into the game against PSG though I'm not sure how far he gets against Nuno Mendes but we can hope the occasion gets to him and he does his old club a favour or two. What? If you don't have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true? 

So the European Champions up next for the lions. The ghosts of Gil Vicente and Vitória put to bed.