Sporting CP 2 Paris Saint-Germain 1

Sporting CP v Paris Saint-Germain
Tuesday January 20th, 2026
Estádio José Alvalade
Champions League Matchday 7

The warm up

The Champions League returns with arguably the lions biggest test of group fixtures as they play host to the current European Champions and French title winners PSG. Since the last round of the competition, the Ligue 1 Champions have won just the two trophies. First against Flamengo in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup beating the Brazilians on penalties. Secondly in the French equivalent of the Supertaça as they scored deep into additional time against Marseille to make the game 2-2 before going on lift the trophy after penalties. So then - Champions League Winners, Ligue 1 Champions, FIFA Intercontinental Cup Winners and Trophée Des Champions Winners. Anything else for Sporting to worry about? How about UEFA Super Cup winners after their win on penalties over Spurs in the UEFA Super Cup in August. That followed them finishing Runners up in the FIFA Club World Cup Final to Chelsea, which had followed them lifting the Coupe de France in May to complete the domestic double beating Reims 3-0. Oh and Ousmane Dembélé was voted Men’s Ballon D’or for 2025. Who says it doesn’t pay to have a nation state in charge of your club? Incredibly (at the time of writing at least) PSG are not top of Ligue 1 as they sit behind Lens in second place, though it wouldn’t surprise me to learn by the time the two sides kick off next week that they are back on top. I’m sure few fans in France would expect Lens who currently sit in first place to go on and win the league title in May but you never know. All in all, I think it’s safe to say that PSG have had a decent run of it of late.

In June of 2011 Tamim bin Hamas Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, purchased a 70% stake in the Parisians through the state-run shareholding investment group Qatar Sports Investments, more commonly known as QSI. In the March of the next year they became the club’s sole shareholders. Latterly that figure has reduced to an 87.5% holding with Arctos Partners holding the remaining 12.5% after the investment firm bought a stake holding in December 2023. In October 2022 they purchased a 22% stake in Portuguese top flight club Sporting Braga and you imagine that long term they will seek to replicate the multi-club models employed by the current owners of Manchester City as an example. 

If I tell you that the Parisians are France's most decorated club you'd be forgiven for thinking they'd been founded in the early part of the 20th century and not as it happens in 1970. Two clubs merged to form a new entity, Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain. You get no bonus points for figuring how the club came up with the new name. However the marriage wasn't to last and ironically later this evening as I write PSG play host to Paris FC in the Coupe de France. The split couldn't have been totally acrimonious given the club's two stadia are separated by just 44 metres. If Paris FC ever regretted their decision to split they can now at least console themselves with being a top flight club following promotion from Ligue 2 in the summer with billionaire owners of their own but this isn't a Paris FC post.

In total PSG can now boast 58 trophy wins which for a club that only turns just 56 years old in August is a pretty impressive ratio especially when you consider their first major title came in 1982. Their 53 domestic trophies includes a record 13 league title wins.

If you got the impression that they had to think long and hard about the clubs name after the merger then you'll get the same impression from their nicknames; Les Parisiens (The Parisians) and Les Rouge-et-Bleu (The Red-and-Blues). Who says the French are lazy?

At the start of this campaign all top flight French clubs were told to report a domestic TV revenue of €0 on their balance sheets following the collapse of their previous rights deal. Deloitte in their annual money league had PSG listed as the third largest football club in the world in terms of revenues in January of 2025 showing an income of €806m. So whilst they'll be affected like all other French clubs they'll at least have had the added bonus of TV revenues from the Champions League and Club World Cup to soften their blow. Not to mention a commercial brand tied in with Air Jordan and Nike that has led them to become a fashion force, as well known away from the pitch as some of the players on the pitch. Boy have they had some of the biggest stars in world football turn out for them and I don't just mean Pablo Sarabia. In August 2017 they smashed the world record for a transfer fee when they paid the release clause of €222m for Neymar from Barca. If you've ever wondered why Sporting now set theirs at €80m, there's the precedent. It's one thing thinking set it high no one will ever pay that until the day it happens. They also paid the second highest ever fee for Kylian Mbappé paying a reported €180m. Just whisper that he left on a Bosman to Real Madrid. Ouch. Lionel Messi at least joined for free when Barca could no longer register him because of his wages. Zlatan Ibrahimovic another one of the iconic names to have featured.

In the Bayern post I did some comparative numbers to their financial might to those of Sporting’s but the difference again to those of PSG is truly night and day when you consider what QSI have spent on the playing side since they first took over the club in 2011. The irony of the numbers that are about to follow is that their greatest period of success has come after the departure of their superstar names. Maybe there is hope post Gyökeres still for Sporting. They've spent €2.3 billion on gross transfer expenditure. Their wage bill totals to €3.32 billion peaking at €400m in 2021/22 when their side boasted Messi, Neymar and Mbappé. Their combined net transfer spend plus wages totals out to €4.86 billion. However the club is now reported to be valued at €4.25 billion. Not bad for a club whose revenue in 2011 was €99 million.

The club are coached by Luis Enrique Martínez García more commonly known by just Luis Enrique. Yes, that’s correct Enrique isn’t his surname. See these things are researched and educational at the same time. We’ll add that one to the list alongside people who cannot say Lionel Messi correctly despite him being named after Lionel Richie.

Their current league record reads: played 17, won 12, drawn 3, lost 2, GF 37, GA 12. Away from the Parc des Princes played 9, won 5, drawn 2, lost 2, GF 18, GA 11. Of the 37 goals scored 25 have been from open play, 8 from set pieces, 1 free kick and 3 penalties. Their XG 31.4. Top scorers are Bradley Barcola and João Neves with a somewhat surprising 5 goals apiece. Gonçalo Ramos has four to his name. However they do have 17 players with at least one goal to their name and are the leagues top scorers averaging 2.2 goals per game and have the second best defensive record averaging 0.9 goals per game. Top for average possession with 69.7%, second most clean sheets with 8, first for shots on target per match with 6.8. They’ve missed 31 big chances to date in Ligue 1 and average a whopping 679.7 passes per game. In terms of discipline they appear to be relative angels with 10 fouls per match, the lowest total in Ligue 1 and have 20 yellows to their name, again the lowest total of any club.

Some familiar names in the PSG squad, the main one of course being 23 year old Nuno Mendes who will return to the José Alvalade for the first time since his move to PSG in the summer of 2021. Vitinha is proving to be a match winner in the Champions League, he began his career at FC Porto before moving to Paris the summer after Mendes. João Neves moved from the neighbours last summer following in the footsteps of Gonçalo Ramos who moved in 2023.

PSG sit 3rd in the Champions League table, played 6, won 4, drawn 1 and lost 1, GF 19, GA 8. Their away record the second best behind Arsenal, played 3, won 2, drawn 1, GF 9, GA 3. Vitinha their top scorer in the competition with 4 to date. They have been blighted by injuries in fairness to them with Ousmane Dembélé having missed a large chunk of the campaign as has Hakimi. The ex-Porto man has the highest average passes per game in the competition with 98.3. Shout out to Alisson Santos who has the most successful dribbles per 90 with 5.4. PSG’s total of 19 goals equal with Borussia Dortmund for the most scored in the competition averaging 3.2 per game. Just 2 clean sheets to their name however, although that is of course 1 more than the lions. They’re outperforming their XG of 14 goals, average 8 shots on target per match behind Bayern’s 8.2, with a shot conversion rate of 15.8%. 30 big chances created, 20 big chances missed - that’s Luís Suárez levels. Second most touches in the opposition box with 221, at least until after the final whistle has blown Sporting can boast a better XG conceded of 6.6 to PSG’s 8.1. Their sainthood from Ligue 1 almost matched in this competition with just 5 bookings, however they have had 2 players dismissed. The bookings are the lowest total of any side in the competition.  

PSG’s record to date in the Champions League

Atalanta (H) 4-0 Goals from Marquinhos, Kvaratskhelia, Mendes and Ramos. EIGHT big chances missed of TEN created. Final XG 3.48 to 0.55.

Barcelona (A) 2-1 Goals from Mayulu and Ramos. 3 of 5 big chances missed, their XG 1.67 to 1.27.

Bayer Leverkusen (A) 7-2 Goals from Pacho, Doué (2), Kvaratskhelia, Mendes, Dembélé and Vitinha. Just 1 of 4 big chances created missed, XG 2.86 to 2.50. 6 attempts in total for the Bundesliga side.

Bayern Munchen (H) 1-2 The Parisians only defeat, Neves with their solitary goal, 2 of 3 big chances missed, XG in PSG’s favour 1.95 to 1.53. Bayern finished the game with ten men following the dismissal of Luis Dias in additional time at the end of the first half when he had put them 2-1 up.

Tottenham (H) 5-3 A Vitinha hat-trick, Ruiz and Pacho with the other goals. Kolo Muani scored twice against his parent club, anyone would think he had a point to prove. 1 of 3 big chances missed, XG 1.85 to 1.79.

Athletic Club (A) 0-0 Maybe one of the surprise results of the competition as PSG failed to beat or score against Sporting’s one remaining opponent left after this game. That being said, PSG missed all five of their big chances and their XG 2.22 to 0.52.

Transfers

I guess when your squad has found a winning formula you don’t need to make drastic changes to it and the club only brought in 3 players during the summer window.

Incoming

Illia Zabarnyi from AFC Bournemouth for £49m
Lucas Chevalier from Lille for £29m
Renato Marin from AS Roma for £498,000

If the name of Chevalier is familiar, he was in goal during Sporting's win in last season's 2-0 home win over Lille.

Whilst they may have only brought 3 players in, someone pulled the bath plug out.

Outgoing

Presnel Kimpembe to Qatar SC for £3.7m
Gianluigi Donnarumma to Manchester City for £25m
Randal Kolo Muani to Tottenham on loan
Marco Asensio to Fenerbahçe for £6.2m
Carlos Soler to Real Sociedad for £5m
Arnau Tenas to Villareal for £2.1m
Renato Sanches to Panathinaikos on loan
Nordi Mukiele to Sunderland for £10m
Louis Mouquet to Padova for free
Milan Skriniar to Fenerbahçe for £7.5m
Lucas Lavallée to Chateroux for £208,000
Gabriel Moscardo to Braga on loan
Ibrahima Diaby to Cercle Brugge for free
Younes El Hannach to Montpellier on loan
Yoram Zague to FC København on loan
Oumar Camara to Victoria SC for free
Axel Tape-Kobrissa to Bayer Leverkusen for free

Monday night update 

PSG's name won't be on the Coupe de France this year as they lose the Dérbi 1-0 to Paris FC. The lions future opponents with 25 attempts to 4, missed 6 of 6 big chances and despite finishing with an XG of 1.73 to 0.49 couldn't find a way back into the game. Their starting XI included the likes of Ramos, Kvaratshelia and Vitinha. Even the introduction of Mendes, Dembélé and Doué wasn't enough to shift the balance. 

Friday night update 

PSG put the disappointment of the Dérbi loss behind them to go top of Ligue 1, at least temporarily, with a 3-0 home win over Lille. Dembélé with a brace and Barcola with the third in additional time at the end of the 90. 

Sunday night update 

Premier League referee Anthony has been confirmed as the man in the middle. Faye has finally arrived in Lisboa for his medical on Monday. 

In the markets

Sporting CP 29/10 
Draw 29/10
PSG 4/5

Team News

A reminder that the lions will be without their captain Hjulmand for the second straight game after an accumulation of yellow cards in both the league and Champions League. 

Starting XI 

Silva, Fresneda, Reis, Inácio, Mangas, Morita, Simões, Geny, Trincão, Araujo and Suárez 

Substitutes 

Virgínia, Callai, Vagiannidis, Moreira, Debast, Kochorashvili, Bragança, Felicíssimo, Alisson, Gonçalves, Couto and Nel

One change at the back as Mangas comes in for Vagiannidis. Araújo back from suspension for Guilherme who one assumes cannot yet be registered for the Champions League in the same manner as Rui Silva last season. Double keeper pivot on the bench as Callai joins the squad with Virgínia. Felicíssimo and Moreira return for the first time in an eternity and Couto also named amongst the substitutes. 

PSG Starting XI 

30 Chevalier

33 Zaire-Emery 

5 Marquinhos 

51 Pacho

25 Mendes

24 Mayulu 

17 Vitinha 

8 Ruiz

14 Doué

10 Dembélé 

29 Barcola

Neves misses out on a return to Lisboa with injury. Hakimi suspended, someone's smiling on Mangas. The Parisians short on bodies naming just 7 substitutes. 

First half 

The lions once more in their traditional green and white horizontal stripes. Plenty of noise prior to kick off from the travelling fans as the Sportinguista's respond. It's going to be a terrific atmosphere for this huge test for the lions. PSG get us underway, Sporting attack right to left. 

1 Suárez a lone man up front amongst five red shirts, maybe an early indicator as to how Sporting are set to treat this game 

2 Dembélé trips over the ball. A reminder the world's best player… allegedly 

3 Corner for PSG. The Parisians have basically held onto the ball for the opening 3 minutes. Doué slips as he tries to shoot from 16 yards and the ball goes out for a goal kick 

4 Reis tries to pick out Geny on the right as the lions finally have some possession and carry the ball over the halfway line but he sells it short 

5 Cheers as Mangas cuts out a pass on the right 

5 Ruiz fires a low shot from 18 yards saved down low to Silva's left 

7 Reis twists and turns his way out of the box but PSG pressure causes them to lose the ball the ball once more and back PSG come . 

7 Another curled effort from wide right of the area 16 yards out goes wide of Silva's far post. Mayulu with the effort 

8 Vitinha tries with the outside of his right foot from 20 yards but Silva claims once more 

9 Mangas with a touch like a trampoline and the ball goes out for a throw. PSG look like they took pity on him there and let the ball go out 

10 Acres of space for the lions to attack into but Trincão's pass again short as the lions try to counter. Gyökeres would have had a hard on playing tonight 

11 PSG already in treble figures for passes. There's going to be some tired legs tomorrow from the lions players 

12 Araújo loses possession in the middle. Lions not helping themselves tonight 

13 Mendes stings the hands of Silva as he fires from a narrow angle just outside of the six yard box. That came from Mangas slicing the ball 

13 Geny curls the ball from 16 yards and the net rippled and yes I thought it was in but it hit the side netting 

14 Mangas sends Araújo chasing into the box but Ruiz shepherds the ball allowing Chevalier to collect. Better from Sporting the last two minutes 

14 Flying header from Barcola from ten yards again saved by Silva 

16 Suárez with a clever flick found Trincão but he was quickly covered by two red shirts. The Parisians are like watching football on 1.5 speed, they're fucking everywhere. I guess that's why they're European Champions 

17 Close up of Araújo's hair in braids. Oh Mon dieu. He concedes a free kick down the left in a dangerous position. Doué tries from virtually level with the goal line on the right and Sporting can catch their breath as it hits the side netting 

19 Vitinha with a wild slice from 25 yards goes out for a goal kick 

21 Simões concedes a needless corner under no pressure far side. Marquinhos header goes wide from 8 yards 

21 Trincão loses possession and it ends in a tame Barcola shot from a narrow angle wide right level with the goal line 

24 PSG already up to 200 passes as another attempt by Barcola finds Silva. Somehow it's still 0-0

24 Barcola fires in a shot from eight yards which deflects off Inácio. The lions have gone through at least three of their nine lives already. Perhaps big cats get an extra couple? We're going to need them

27 Doué shot from 24 yards deflects for a corner near side 

28 Marquinhos tries to flick a head goalwards from 8 yards but it goes wide 

28 Reis on the floor proves an ideal makeshift draft excluder having slipped and stops Dembélé with his hip and the ball rolls up his body and he somehow gets his arm out the way 

29 GOAL Sporting CP 0 PSG 1. Silva stopped a cross from the right and Geny tried to carry the ball up field but was bundled off the ball. PSG came straight back and a cross from the left found the head of Zäire-Emery… referee Anthony Taylor is making the TV symbol and running to the edge of the pitch. Hold that sentence... 

32 VAR intervenes and calls the foul on Geny in the buildup to the goal. As we were 

34 PSG just slowing down now and yet to hit 300 passes. They're not far off it mind

34 Vitinha goes through the back of Trincão. Sporting will take any chance to catch their breath that they're given 

35 Geny with a little shirt pull on Nuno Mendes then shoves him to the floor. Thankfully outside the PSG box, not the lions. Welcome home kid 

37 Ruis shot blocked by Morita from 16 yards 

38 Flares behind Silva's goal. Hope they've got some for the second half to show Sporting where the goal is 

38 Mangas manages to play the ball off Mayulu and out for a goal kick. That wasn't deliberate 

40 Suárez shot blocked from 14 yards. He had Geny in acres of space on the right. I was pointing frantically but to no avail. Selfish prick 

40 Ruiz shot from 20 yards blocked 

41 Deflected Zäire-Emery cross off the foot of Mangas flies up into the air towards the back post. Dembélé knocks into the back peddling Silva, with the ball free Mendes taps in from a yard. Free kick for a foul on Silva. It won't count 

42 Dembélé with an unorthodox attempt from six yards goes out for a throw far side

44 Araújo picked out Suárez who switched play to the right wing. Geny got the better off Mendes but Pacho was back covering 

Plus three shown

45 Araújo tries to set Trincão free but he slips and Pacho mops up

45 Ruiz takes a lump out of Geny's left knee cap. The PSG man not impressed but looked a genuine foul to me. Writes the man with dodgy knees 

+2 Fresneda fouled in the centre by Barcola 

+2 Free kick from the right. Araújo over the ball. Ball landed at the feet of Morita who gets it horribly wrong from 11 yards 

Half time 

Sporting CP 0 PSG 0

I don't know about the Sporting players but I need a lie down after that half. No surprise that the lions have spent virtually the entire first half on the back foot. PSG have managed to get the ball in the back of the net twice but some how it's still 0-0 at the break. Sporting have had their chances and Morita really should have at least hit the target with virtually the last kick of the half. They're not going to get many. Probably the best opportunity was wasted when Suárez chose the selfish option and tried to shoot through a crowd of red shirts when Geny was wide open on the right. 380 passes for the visitors completed. Surely they cannot carry on at that pace for the entire 90 that they've displayed in the opening 45. They've been relentless. Fifteen attempts in total but anything with any real purpose has been dealt with by Rui Silva in between the sticks. 

Sporting's hope will be on the counter attack if they're to find the net but in truth as it stands whatever the players have left they're going to have to give it all in the second half. You feel if PSG get one it'll break their resilience. Sporting need to just slow their passes down in possession. Far too many times they've just simply given the ball back to PSG needlessly. As a measure of that point they've completed just 73% of their passes. I don't think we're going to see the kids on tonight. 

Second Half 

PSG await the arrival of the lions who unsurprisingly are under no hurry and taking every single second they can to conserve their energy for the second period. They're going to need it. 

Sporting get us back underway. No changes from either side. 

45 Araújo open on the left miss controls the ball and Sporting lose the ball. Frustrating 

45 Corner near side… no Ruiz flagged offside 

46 PSG appear happier to counter attack this half and let the lions have the ball. That answers whether they could keep the pace up for a full 90

47 Vitinha effort blocked from 20 yards 

47 Corner far side to PSG as a cross deflects off Reis 

48 Cheers as Fresneda forces Doué into a mistake and the Spaniard urges the fans to raise the volume and they respond in kind 

49 Sporting try play out from the back again and don't even get past the 18 yard box

49 Good defensive work from Geny who kicks the ball off Barcola for a goal kick. PSG still the more dangerous side but their pace more leisurely as Vitinha sends one into the stand from the D

51 Fuck me Trincão went to pick out Suárez in the centre and he missed it completely. It bounced just before it got to the Colombian who was wide open. That was the opportunity. Fuck

52 Trincão tries to curl the ball into the far corner from 12 yards. Geny with the perfect weighted ball back to him. He was wide open. He got it all wrong and it goes well wide 

53 Sporting with two men down in the box. Mangas and Simões. Simões looks in real trouble as he's turned his ankle. I'd be amazed if that's not his night done. Mangas took the ball into the face but he's nothing between his ears so he'll be OK

55 Simões somehow gets back on his feet. Last season I said a challenge was nothing and it ended his season. This he looks in real trouble and gets back on his feet. 

56 GOAL Sporting CP 0 PSG 1. Dembélé heads in from 4 yards. Flag was up far side. Another goal ruled out. Correctly I hasten to add. 

58 Yellow to Mangas as he brings down Dembélé. He shoved him in the back and then looks astonished at the decision 

58 Free kick 24 yards out to the right of the area. Four men in the wall. Nuno Mendes over the ball. He puts it a half a yard over the bar 

60 Two thirds of the game gone. Dembélé pings a shot towards the near post which Silva pushes away for a corner. The Ballon D'or had Reis on toast in the build-up there 

61 Geny with a touch like a trampoline just as Sporting had put a string off ten or eleven passes together and the ball went out for a throw in 

62 ➡️ ⬅️ Mangas for Vagiannidis 

63 Reis block on Barcola and the ball goes out for a corner far side 

63 Mayulu header causes issues inside the box and Reis clears for another corner 

64 Mendes trip on Suárez on the edge of the D. 

64 Geny fires straight at Chevalier from the edge of the area 

65 ➡️ ⬅️ Kvaratskhelia for Mayulu

66 Another corner far side for PSG. That came from Reis losing the ball on the edge of the area

67 Vagiannidis shepherds Doué off the ball and it's a goal kick for Sporting 

67 Doué fires into the stand from 8 yards 

68 It's a big if but you wonder if Sporting could get their noses in front whether they could actually see the game out. As I say it's a big IF. This is a game so more suited to an Ioannidis than it is Suárez 

70 ➡️⬅️ Warm applause from the locals as Ramos replaces Barcola. That's me being ironic by the way. He's greeted by loud whistles 

70 Araújo gives away a free kick far side for a nibble on Doué

71 Vitinha doesn't even beat the one man wall of Geny who heads out 

71 87.15 Kms the distance covered by the lions. I'm in that zone where I'm starting to get hopeful and it's always the hope that kills you 

72 Chevalier fumbles and Borges smashes the chair next to him as the ball flashed past the post. No I lie Chevalier palmed a cross straight onto Marquinhos who puts it out for a corner 

73 GOAL Sporting CP 1 PSG 0. I might have just thrown my right arm out. Suárez slots home from 7 yards into the bottom right hand corner. Geny shot from outside the box deflected to the Colombian. I wonder if that came off Vagiannidis en route to him. 

75 Now about that big IF I said in minute 68

75 Zäire-Emery and Morita with a coming together. The Japanese came off worse 

76 Replay of the goal. Geny's shot around 27 yards out did indeed come off Vagiannidis. The Greek knew nothing about it

78 GOLAZZO Sporting CP 1 PSG 1. Kvaratskhelia with a wonder goal. Handbags in the box after not sure what that was about. Curled in from 17 yards, Silva got his fingers to it but it was going like a rocket. As I say it's always the hope that kills you 

79 ➡️⬅️ Ruiz for Zabaryni

80 Shake of the head from Geny as he overcooked his pass and the ball goes out for a goal kick 

80 Vagiannidis the latest player to welcome Nuno Mendes back by flattening him 

81 I'm now just waiting for the sucker punch 

82 Kvaratskhelia tries from 28 yards and it's blocked. Don't mind those 

82 Araújo picks the pocket of Dembélé 

83 Kvaratskhelia again from corner of the far left of the box a yard in, effort blocked 

84 Corner far side as the ball comes off Araújo who was watching Ramos and knew nothing about it. Shame Rômulo didn't have the same fortune in the Taça semi finals

84 Another corner far side PSG. Geny fouled in the centre but Taylor allows PSG to take it again?!?!

85 Marquinhos header goes straight up from 8 yards 

86 Deep breaths from me. In 2,3,4 and out 2,3,4

86 ➡️ ⬅️ Bragança for Simões and Alisson for Geny. The Brazilian loves a deflected Champions League goal 

87 Alisson straight into the action with a run down the left. His cross cut out by Pacho. He left the man for dead out on the far side 

88 I can barely watch. Araújo feels a touch from Doué and makes the most of it as he tumbles in the box and wins a free kick and runs down more time 

89 Rui Silva goes long and the ball in the PSG half 

90 GOAL Sporting CP 2 PSG 1. Luis Suárez heads home. Alisson found Trincão open. His shot from 19 yards straight at Chevalier who can only parry it to the Colombian who directed the ball into the far corner of the net. Don't ask me from what range I was off celebrating 

Plus five shown 

+2 Offside given against PSG and the cheer for that was nearly as loud as for the goal 

+2 Kochorashvili on the sides ready to come on

+3 Vagiannidis wins a corner near side

+3 Suárez rugby tackles Kvaratskhelia and takes the yellow card. I say rugby tackled he had the back of his shirt and was not letting go

+4 Yellow to Kvaratskhelia for a foul on Vagiannidis 

+5 ➡️⬅️ Trincão for Kochorashvili 

+5 Rui Silva pumps a free kick forward and it's out for a throw. 

+6 The whistle finally blows. The lions have done it

Full time 

Sporting CP 2 PSG 1

The final word 

Incredible. The lions have beaten the current Champions League holders. The Parisians will be wondering why they've purchased Chevalier and let Donnarumma go to Manchester City. He was poor for Lille last season against the lions in the José Alvalade and gift wrapped the win for Sporting. PSG trudge off the field and the lions go to take the plaudits of the fans at the far end. 

Suárez header was from 7 yards. The player who failed to react - Nuno Mendes. Thank you Nuno once a lion always a lion. Christ I'm not going to sleep tonight after all that excitement. Replay of the goal and Rui Borges was suddenly twenty years younger as he raced down the touchline in celebration. 

Sometimes in life you're left asking the question - did that just really happen? I double and triple checked and yes it did. Critics say Rui Borges doesn't win in the big games. Well they don't come bigger than beating the current European Champions. He's too humble to stick two fingers up at his critics but there will be a lot of them asking for the ketchup to be passed as they eat them tonight. 

Not since Mohammed Ali rope-a-doped his way to the heavy weight championship of the world have we witnessed scenes quite like those in Lisboa tonight. That's giant killing on an epic scale. Beating Manchester City was something special but beating this PSG surpasses that for me. In fairness they beat themselves. Too confident and in the outfield ten they had more than enough quality but in goal Chevalier had a shocker. They had a goalkeeper who couldn't kick but could stop the ball from going into the net, now they have the opposite. Football in it's very essence is a simple game by that one measure. Stop the ball going in at one end, stick it away in the other. Look PSG could probably still go on to win the competition. They were missing Neves, Hakimi and Hernandez. They had the ball in the net four times, just tonight only one of them counted and what a goal it was. The game could have been out of sight by the time Suárez opened the scoring but it wasn't. The equaliser looked effortless. It reminded me of Marseilles goal. Silva got his fingers to it but maybe only a Donnarumma could have stopped it going in. The Parisians will have left thinking how the fuck have we just lost that game? Again the answer is simple, their keeper wasn't good enough. That being said the Italian did let three in against Bodø/Glimt earlier tonight but he was their keeper that won PSG the title last time out. 

I'm not going to try kid you into believing it was pretty on the eye from the lions but what it ended up being was pretty effective. Reis made more dives with his body at the ball than Chevalier did over the 90 and probably came close to matching the total from Rui Silva in the Sporting goal. Rui Borges will keep their feet on the ground. He'll show them what they did wrong, where they can improve. Look if I had their players flying at me minute after minute I don't suppose I'd regain my composure either as the ball cannoned off my shin. Yet there should be humility in winning as their is in defeat. We're not FC Porto. 

I'm sure Borges' staff would have watched Athletic Clubs setup against them in matchday six and used it as a blueprint. Only one set of numbers counts and that's the scoreline of 2-1. PSG better in almost all departments bar the one that counted. 626 passes to 175 completed. 93% of those attempted to 75%. Attempts 28 to 10. XG 1.25 to 0.82. Yet the statistic which backs up the scoreline, PSG without a single Opta defined big chance. Now isn't that something? Sporting had 3, scored 2, missed 1. Their 10 attempts were 3 blocked efforts, 3 off target and 4 on. 

Credit to every man on the pitch, they all played their parts no matter how big or small. Alisson was the game changer coming on, a real point to prove. Seconds after coming on he dances past his marker and is bearing down on goal. We see his change in tempo that allows Trincão the space for the shot which deflected up to Suárez and the Colombian did the rest. They'd be daft to let him go out on loan in the same way they'd be daft not to get Reis' contract renewed. Vagiannidis looked great coming on at a time they were starting to tire and run out of ideas. Simões left it all out on the pitch. I thought he was done when he went down but up he got. Kids got the heart of a lion. Morita looked like Morita again. Finally. 

Final four votes for man of the match. Number one Rui Silva. I'm always loathe to choose a goalkeeper because it suggests the outfield players didn't have enough quality which clearly they did. Confidence to build a solid foundation starts with your goalkeeper and he was spot on tonight and there wasn't much he could do to stop the rocket that equalised. 

Luis Suárez choice number two. He'll get the man of the match from everyone else and I'm sure have been awarded it at the game by UEFA. That's the way football works, the match winners get the plaudits. Scoring two against PSG doesn't convince me he's suddenly a great forward but he's written himself into the history books and no one can take that away from him. He still needs to do more though. I'm really hoping this is the night where he goes to a new level. He's been less selfish in recent weeks to the benefit of the team but my worry is you score two against the champions of Europe and you're thinking you're Bertie Big Bollocks and can do it all. You can't. 

Vote three and I've just realised I'm going to have to go with five because I don't want to not pick one tonight of all nights. Geny Catamo for the second game running gets a vote. He was the stand out player on Saturday night and was real man of the match even though I think they gave it to Bragança with the sympathy vote. I wrote after the Casa Pia game he's come back from Africa a bigger man. His shoulders are wider, his hunger deeper. He's the player doing the reverse wing back role time and time again in support of his defenders. I've always been a huge fan of his and he keeps growing in my estimations. Should never have played second fiddle to Quenda at any stage. His loss is no loss for me. We lose Geny and I'd be seriously gutted. 

Choice four goes to Fresneda who is like Rui Borges on the pitch in that he doesn't get the credit he deserves but certainly gets the criticism unfairly levelled at him. I've never seen statistics for the distances he covers during a game but I'd be genuinely shocked if anyone runs further than he does in the green and white. He used his strength and positioning to great effect tonight and was a pivotal cog in the system. 

Final choice and my man of the match goes to Benfica's favourite player Matheus Reis. Four clearances, 1 interception, 7 recoveries. I've no idea how many shots and crosses he blocked. He was the main man in defence. He was like the Brazilian Sebastián Coates. He led by example, set the standards and kept the coolest of heads. Give the man a new fucking deal for crying out loud. We need that level of leadership. He was outstanding tonight. A collusus.