Sporting CP 5 FK Bodø/Glimt 0
Tuesday March 17th, 2026
Estádio José Alvalade
Champions League Round of 16 Second Leg
The warm up
I'm sure most of you will be familiar with the concept of déjà vu, but just in case you're not, here's the dictionary definition;
déjà vu
noun
1 a: the illusion of remembering scenes and events when experienced for the first time
b: a feeling that one has seen or heard something before
2: something overly or unpleasantly familiar
It's March 12th as I write, the day after Sporting have been comprehensively beaten by Bodø/Glimt away in the Champions League 3-0 with little hope of turning the tie around in the second leg. A team as you will have seen who play in yellow and black trim. To steal a quote from a Mark Robson song - stop me if you think that you've heard this one before. Rewind the clock back 13 months to the day and we'd just been comprehensively beaten 3-0 in the Champions League by Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League the night before. A team who as you probably well know are famed for playing in yellow with black trim. Sporting it appears are in every inch as cyclical as fashion itself. Because of that I'm left trying to find the words for a second straight season ahead of a second leg that we could really do without having to play, me having to write a preview for or you from having to read it. I'll at least apologise for my part in advance. I'm sorry. Let us all slope off with our tail between our legs having at least avoided in all probability, an encounter with Arsenal who of course now boast a certain Victor Gyökeres amongst their ranks, a man who lets face it, knows a thing or two about finding the back of the nets at the José Alvalade. Sometimes we should be thankful for small mercies. Just in case you've managed to wipe it clean from your memory banks, the score from the Arsenal game last season was 1-5 and that's when Gyökeres was still one of ours.
I'm extra thankful today for not being able to read Portuguese and after reading just the one post with the help of a translation, decided it best to stay off of social media. It was from a young woman claiming that the Sporting players should refund the travel costs for those who attended last night. For a brief moment I was tempted to tell her to pull her own head out of her arse and politely fuck off and stop being a moany self righteous little cunty bollock flaps but thought better of it. Not so much better of it that it's stopped me from having written it here but as I've not named her, she'll never know and what you don't know can't hurt you, or so they say. I'm not sure translate could do anything with cunty bollock flaps as a term either but there you go, first world problems and all that.
Now the younger me last night would no doubt have been in the wallows of self pity that can follow defeat, thrown some things about, sworn a lot and got blitzed. The older me, the recovering alcoholic me, went round the block for a leisurely stroll, wrote up the full time report and shrugged it off knowing I've seen far worse performances by Sporting in Europe and have never read anyone suggesting that refunds should be made for travel after those defeats. Therefore I imagine she stole the notion from Manchester City players doing the same thing after they lost to Bodø and as such is yet to have an original thought of her own but she looked young enough to maybe come up with one, one day, just not today. She seems clearly unaware that some of our players earn annually what Haaland does in a week. It was a nice gesture on their part, sure, but they're regular Premier League Champions and have won the Champions League in a none too distant memory ago. Their defeat in Norway sent shockwaves around Europe. Sporting on the other hand once got as far as the Quarter Finals of the European Cup. Losing to Bodø shouldn't have come as a shock to you. Certain fractions of our fan base it appears need to wind their necks in. As Haaland himself would say - stay humble. Being Portuguese Champions wins you as much credit outside of Portugal as a petrol token would do if you slid it across the bar of your local pub. Now, getting pumped 4-1 at the José Alvalade by Lask a few seasons back, that felt truly humiliating. Whereas I went into last night's game fully expecting us to lose. Not in the manner we did it by, or by that scoreline, but I wasn't surprised. At 2-1 or 2-0 I'd have been confident of overturning it in the second leg. 3-0 just feels like a bridge too far. Last season in the return leg of the playoffs in Germany against BVB, the mister Rui Borges left Gyökeres and Trincão in Lisboa. We'll have to wait and see what side he puts out next week as to whether he's accepted his lot. We could come back. Atalanta did just that in the playoffs. Then they promptly got fucked 6-1 by Bayern at home Tuesday night and will have more than likely wished they didn't have their own remontada against BVB. Always be careful what you wish for.
I don't really get what all the fuss is about. We were going to get knocked out at some point, we were never going to win the tournament so what difference is most likely bowing out in the round of 16 versus bowing out in the quarter finals? Yes Bayer Leverkusen were 1-0 up at home to Arsenal, but no one seriously thinks that they'll come away with North London having knocked the Premier League leaders out of Europe and which would you rather have and do be honest? A loss on aggregate to Bodø which no one other than us will remember because let's face it they've beaten Atlético, Manchester City and Inter Milan. Or would you rather get thumped over two legs by Arsenal?
Years ago and I do mean a lot of years ago, when I still worked in newspapers, we used to play 5-a-side on AstroTurf on one of those little pitches boxed off by wooden sides. We would regularly face off against the same team who possessed one forward who would single handedly dismantle us. He didn't really need the other four players, he just did the damage himself, time and time again. We only ever beat them once, funnily enough on a night he wasn't playing. So thrilled were we, that our sports reporter, in a total abuse of power, published it as a match report which I must have a copy of somewhere. In said report sandwiched in between my Christian and surnames was my nickname at the time - Pele. Nothing to do with my on the field prowess but my ability at the time to score off of it on a frequent basis and I only mention it here because we lost to Bodø and I'm an old fucker now and need cheering up on both accounts. The point in me telling you all that was that he fully understood the nature of playing in his surroundings, whereas as hard as we tried and as good as we were against other teams, we just couldn't do it against them on that surface with him in the side and that was basically Sporting in a nutshell last night * 11. The only artificial turf I can claim to have ever played on came with sand, a lot of which is probably still living happily under scars on both my knees so I can't claim to have expert knowledge of how hard it is to play on whatever it is Bodø have. But I'd surmise that Bodø aren't the only club in Norway to have it installed and even if I'm wrong, their players have the benefit of playing on it at the very minimum of every other week. There's a reason you water actual turf before kick off and even then you can't pass a ball across it at the same rate some of our players managed to do at points last night. There's an art to it and we clearly didn't have it. I'd watched the day before highlights of a 3-0 win away to Arouca played on a pitch that looked like it had hosted a tractor ploughing competition on it sometime in the not too distant past. You'd have needed to hit the ball at the same pace as some of the passes that went astray last night just to have moved it ten yards. With the best will in the world footballers cannot adapt to a surface like that in the matter of minutes. It takes a lot of practice to get used to. Let's face facts, footballers are not renowned for their intelligence are they? There's a reason they don't let Goncalo Inácio do the post game interviews as a general rule of thumb, he's not the sharpest tool in the box.
You could trot out a multitude of excuses but the reality was we got beaten by the better team on the night. We weren't helped by the absence of Araújo or Alisson who've been two of the stand out stars that took us to the top eight finish in the first place. Neither, thinking about it nearly 24 hours after the event, were we helped by the loss of Reis who could have come in as left back and allowed Fresneda to play on the right. Football games aren't won after the event by ifs, buts and maybes. Had we a fit Ioannidis we may have played a 4-5-1, sat in a low block and pinged the ball at him to hold up and try build something off of him offensively. But we didn't and what's done is done. Everyone's an expert after the event.
Everyone's also got a plan until they get punched in the mouth. My question after last night still remained what happens if Sporting had of landed a punch because I didn't come away convinced by Bodø. Next week is a test of character for both sides but especially for the lions. Kudos on your win in Norway gentlemen but let's see what you can do against a Sporting side quite literally on home turf with the snarling Maxi Araújo hunting you down. Let's see how you react to going a goal behind because I'm convinced had we got one back last night they'd have folded like a house of cards or faster than Superman on washing day. There's a big difference to be had between outrunning your opponents because you're closing them down non stop and outrunning your opponents because you've left them demoralised and chasing shadows. In the first half Guilherme was clear down the left, second half Trincão was away with a sea of yellow shirts desperately trying to get back and had he gotten his pass to Suárez away who knows what would have happened. Actually we can guess because we've seen what he does when he gets one on one but the point stands. Sporting had the better of the second half in the opening exchanges and yes that was because like Sporting so often do, they sat back and looked to counter, but you have to take your chances. This isn't AVS away on a Wednesday night. It might be little Bodø from Norway but it's still little Bodø in the Champions league.
If the legs were reversed and we won 2-0 at the José Alvalade, I don't think for a single second anyone would give Bodø a card chance in hell of winning 3-0 at home and overturning it. Yet they've done their hard work now and if they qualify then best of British to them. If they face Arsenal then we'll well hope Victor Gyökeres punches them in the mouth for old times sake and then we'll finally have a good excuse to use. See, if we only still had Gyökeres up front we'd have been in the quarter finals.
Sporting B
Luistania Lourosa (A)
March 8th, 2026
Matchday 25
Starting XI
Callai, Moreira, Muniz, Ramos, Dias, Cardoso, Felicíssimo, Justo, Couto, Nel and Mendonca
Substitutes Used
Anjos, Tanlongo, Lucas, Bafdili and Taibo
An Arsénio after 6 minutes was enough to condemn the lions to a third straight defeat. Bruno Ramos slipped on the edge of the area and a cross field pass intercepted him and straight to the Lourosa forward who unmarked ran into the area to calmly slot past Callai into the bottom right hand corner of the net.
Chaves (H)
March 13th, 2026
Matchday 26
Starting XI
Callai, Couto, Ramos, Munoz, Moreira, Gonçalves, Lucas, Felicíssimo, Cardoso, Mendonca and Nel
Substitutes Used
Tanlongo, G.Silva, Justo, Anjos and Bafdili.
A Simões goal 15 minutes before time condemns the lions to a 1-0 defeat, their fourth straight. The loss leaves them for now at least fourth level on points with União de Leiria and Vizela but both have games in hand.
UEFA Youth League
Real Madrid v Sporting CP
Wednesday March 18th, 2026
Sporting CP Feminino
Marítimo (H)
Sunday March 15th, 2026
Matchday 13
Starting XI
Wellmann, Fonseca, Barron, Cherry, Cancelinha, Arques, Neto, Hernandez Gray, Pérez, Bonseguendo and Santiago
Substitutes Used
Tomaz, Lino, Nave, Bravo and Eaton-Collins
Drawing 0-0 at half time the second half was thrown into confusion after two minutes played. Bonseguendo guided a header into the net from 7 yards and the referee pointed to the centre circle only to then do a 180° turn and disallow it for offside much to the bemused looks on the faces of the lionesses. However she wasn't to be denied as she opened the scoring on 62 minutes with an effort from 10 yards that saw her slip and take out a huge divot of turf and lay upon it celebrating. They all count. Barron saw a header from 4 yards palmed off the line. 1-0 almost became 1-1 60 seconds later when a 30 yard effort came off the crossbar and away to safety with Wellmann caught flat footed. However the lionesses saw the game out to win 1-0. The win keeps them second, five points behind Benfica, 6 above Torreense who they played next on March 22nd.
In the markets
Sporting CP 4/7
Draw 15/4
FK Bodø/Glimt 15/4
To qualify
Sporting CP 9/2
Bodø 1/7
Implied probability of Bodø qualifying - 87.5%
Team News
Starting XI
Silva, Fresneda, Quaresma, Inácio, Araújo, Hjulmand, Morita, Geny, Trincão, Gonçalves and Suárez.
Substitutes
Virgínia, Callai, Debast, Vagiannidis, Diomande, Simões, Nuno Santos, Bragança, Faye, Gonçalves, Couto and Nel
Four changes to the starting XI from last Wednesday's defeat in Norway. Araújo returns in place of Vagiannidis at the back and Fresneda shuffles from left to right back. Diomande is replaced by Quaresma, Morita for Simões and Gonçalves for Guilherme who's not fit to be named in the matchday squad. Couto takes his place on the bench.
Bodø/Glimt starting XI
12 Haikin
20 Sjøvold
4 Bjørtuft
6 Gundersen
15 Bjørkan
26 Evjen
7 Berg
19 Fet
11 Blomberg
9 Høgh
10 Hauge
First half
A Minha Vida és Tu! reads a banner on the far side of the pitch. I'd say I'd agree if I knew what it meant. As the Champions League anthem rings out around the José Alvalade both sets of players take the field. One imagines it's the last time we'll hear that piece of music this season. Lisboa expectant. Of what I'm not exactly sure. Sporting in their traditional green and white horizontal stripes. Back on turf, back on home turf. Bodø able to name the same starting XI for a sixth successive Champions League game get the game underway after a prayer on his knees from Araújo. The lions attack right to left.
1 Geny cross from the right only finds the hands of Haikin
1 Everyone bar Rui Silva sat in the away half in the early stages
2 Araújo like a man possessed down the left dinks in a cross to Trincão who heads over from 6 yards. That was a huge opportunity
3 In 3 minutes Sporting have probably offered more in all quarters than they did in Norway.
3 Trincão pokes it wide from ten yards with the outstretched boot having beat the offside trap and two yellow shirts
4 Yellow to Blomberg who left one in on Araújo and smashes his hip into his lowered head inside the lions area
6 Sporting are hunting down every ball. If only they'd played this way in Norway
7 Gonçalves draws a save as he curls an effort from 15 yards wide left of the area
8 Trincão effort blocked from 8 yards. Geny started the move in the centre with an audacious piece of balance to stay on his feet and to lose his marker
8 Gonçalves shot blocked from 12 yards
9 Fresneda slips inside the D as he strikes and the ball goes out for a goal kick
10 Suárez brings a save from 10 yards having beaten the offside trap and been left one on one
11 Bodø with their first attack, ball rolls harmlessly to Silva and Lisboa breathes a sigh of relief
12 Seven attempts to the lions in the opening ten minutes but the important statistic, the scoreline, remains 0-0
13 Hjulmand with a raking pass found Araújo whose cushioned header misses the outstretched leg of Trincão five yards out and the ball still won't find the back of the net
13 Evjen carries the ball in midfield and with two yellow shirts to aim at brings a huge cheer as he finds neither and the ball goes out for a throw
14 Three times in 30 seconds Bodø clear their lines
15 Høgh skews wide from 16 yards after Sporting left one man back. Big let off there for the lions
16 Trincão curls an effort from 24 yards. Incredibly he didn't have a single shot in the game in Norway
17 Gonçalves stings the hands of Haikin from 20 yards
18 Geny has his dancing shoes on tonight drags his marker left and right
19 Blomberg dumped on his backside by Araújo who shepherds the ball back easily to Silva. I might have mentioned once or twice what a miss he was in the game in Norway
20 Corner far side as Trincão's effort strikes the heel of a defender from 15 yards
21 Header from Hjulmand from six yards deflected for another corner
21 Haikin claims between Suárez and Fresneda
23 From memory Inter clocked up 30 attempts in Milan in the last round but were 2-0 down before they found the net. The lions need to find an opener and soon
24 Corner far side to the lions, third in the last four minutes
25 Fresneda gets a talking to stood in front of the referee. Mind boggling when Arsenal have about eight men in a circle around the keeper
26 Suárez goes down in the box but is rightly penalised for a foul on Gundersen
27 Quaresma with a great tackle on Bjørkan. Apparently a distant relative of Zico and Ricardo Quaresma. Every day is a school day as they say
28 Whistles abound as Bodø taking their time over every goal kick and free kick
30 Gonçalves shot from 16 yards blocked
30 Fresneda found Morita but the Japanese couldn't control it in and around the penalty spot
31 Suárez turns and puts a poor effort past the left hand post from 18 yards
31 Gonçalves open in the box twists and turns only to find four yellow shirts with his pass
32 Geny puts the ball into the stand from outside the area
32 Amazing how the lions are snapping into every tackle yet couldn't do it once in Norway. If only the two legs were the other way around
33 Corner far side to the lions
33 GOAL Sporting CP 1 Bodø/Glimt 0. Inácio heads home from six yards with Haikin flat footed. I asked the question of what Bodø would do when punched in the mouth? Finally we'll now find out. Second goal of the month for Gonçalo. Last time out the lions couldn't hold on against Braga
36 Possible corner nearside not given as Araújo handled in the first play
36 Araújo quick into the tackle took Blomberg out in the follow through and free kick awarded. Again I asked how they'd handle him snarly and snapping at them. So far they haven't
38 Wry smile on the face of Trincão close up as the Whistles ring out again for Haikin slow to take a goal kick. Referee could save us a lot of time and book him now instead of minute 70 which he'll inevitably do
39 Fresneda wins a corner far side
40 Gonçalves can only find Haikin again from 20 yards
41 Trincão concedes a corner from an attempted Evjen pull back
42 Bodø hit the bar twice. Header from Bjørtuft from 7 yards goes straight up and then lands down on it a second time. Third attempt from Hauge flies into the stand from 15 yards
43 Fresneda claims for a penalty as he's spun around in the box but nothing given
Plus one shown
45 Great work from Fresneda on the right who found Geny only for him to find a yellow shirt
Half time
Sporting CP 1 Bodø/Glimt 0
Frustrating doesn't quite cover the opening half from the lions. Because everything you wanted from them in Norway they've shown here tonight and more. Fifteen attempts for the lions. At times it seemed like the opener wouldn't come, finally it did from route 1 with the header from Inácio. The lions have to go again with the same intensity for the second 45, Bodø have sat back and soaked the pressure up, plenty more in their tanks I'm sure. Even by some minor miracle if they pulled goals 2 and 3 back surely they'd be out on their feet by the time extra time came. Four chances to the visitors, the header just before half time which struck the bar twice the best of them.
The game has been a complete carbon copy of the first leg in many respects only those doing the actions have been in complete reversal. Sporting have harried, snapped, won the bulk of battles in every area of the pitch. They've dominated possession but unlike a lot of times where we see them do it in Portugal it's been with real purpose. Bodø have allowed acres of space down the left and Araújo has flourished out there both offensively and when called upon defensively. The whistle had barely gone when his hung ball to Trincão should have made it 1-0. Had that gone in you imagine it would have been 2-0 at the break and Bodø spirits would have been broken. For now they've still a two goal lead, they'll look to make it 4 on the counter. So far their fine finishing we saw in Norway and in Milan is eluding them. There's always a potential sting in the tail though.
Second half
Bodø’s players stand in a huddle. They've been well off the pace so far. The lions get us back underway. Two goals still required for the lions.
45 Bodø who attack first. Trincão back on defensive duties wins the ball back for a second time on the night helping back
46 Yellow to Hjulmand for pulling down Blomberg. Free kick 27 yards out. The Dane suspended should a miracle occur and Sporting make it through
46 Berg sends the free kick straight into the arms of Rui Silva
47 Suárez tries to head goalwards from 6 yards but can only send it to the back post where Geny finds the side netting
49 Fet aims a low shot to Silva's bottom right hand corner but he's quickly down to save
50 This half again a carbon copy of the first leg where the balance of play has been reversed and the side losing have looked far better in the opening exchanges
51 Geny smashes on a ball into the six yard box and Gunderson can only turn it out for a corner
51 Geny off like lightning again ends up on his backside in the area but doesn't appeal for a penalty as he tries to get a shot away
52 Brilliant from Quaresma with a finely timed tackle in the box
53 Gonçalves shoots low from 25 yards straight at Haikin
53 The Sportinguista's pick up the volume inside the Estádio once more trying to drive the players on
54 As the rain starts to pour Geny's shot from 7 yards blocked and Hjulmand's effort from the follow up blocked for a corner near side
55 Hjulmand header loops onto the top of the net from 8 yards
56 Geny twists and turns his way forward on the wing again
56 Hung ball up from Araújo and Fresneda heads over from 8 yards as the defender behind lands on Geny
57 Trincão down but referee allowed play to go on. Gundersen stood on his foot. Not sure how that wasn't a foul and irony as play finally stopped for a foul on Gundersen
59 For the first time tonight you can hear the away fans but not for long
59 Geny cross whipped in curls out for a goal kick in the end
60 Bodø have survived two thirds of this game. Sometimes you just need to do enough …
Hold that thought...
60 GOAL Sporting CP 2 Bodø/Glimt 0. Suárez executed the perfect pass for Gonçalves who was wide open on the left to fire home from six yards.
62 Corner far side to the lions. Debast is ready to come on. I said I wasn't convinced that had Sporting landed a blow on Bodø first leg they wouldn't have crumpled
62 Geny shanks his shot so badly that it found Gonçalves still wide left who in the end sees a chance blocked from 15 yards
63 ➡️ ⬅️ Debast for Quaresma
64 Offside flag is up and Sporting raining down balls into the area as much as the sky is pouring down with the actual stuff
65 Bodø clinging on just trying to get yellow shirts in front of the ball
66 Beautifully weighted ball from Debast into the area claimed by Haikin
67 Yellow to Høgh for a foul on Araújo. The Uruguayan did him like a Christmas present there for the referee to open and present a card in return
67 ➡️ ⬅️ Bragança and Nuno Santos for Morita and Gonçalves
68 Offside flag up again but only after Suárez had hustled and bustled his way inside the area before firing over from 16 yards
70 Twenty minutes to find a third… could they…
70 Debast smashes a vicious shot from range and draws a save from Haikin. That was hit with real violence
71 Haikin grabs the ball off the feet of Suárez inside the area
72 Corner far side to the lions. Bragança found Araújo whose header forward found Nuno Santos who played it off a defender for the corner
72 Haikin collects. Yellow to Fresneda for a foul inside the Bodø half
73 Double change upcoming for Bodø. The weather so bad that the white of Sporting's shirts is now see through
74 Fresneda appeals for handball inside the area. Hjulmand adamant that's a penalty
75 Geny shot blocked as we've seen a replay of the hand ball. Definitely stuck the arm
76 Referee is running to the monitor. He clearly sticks his arm out. Penalty given
77 Borges can't look. Suárez with the ball…
77 GOAL Sporting CP 3 Bodø Glimt 0. Haikin goes right, the ball goes left.
78 ➡️ ⬅️ Høgh and Hauge depart for Saltnes and Helmersen
79 Suárez smashes a shot from 8 yards somehow pushed out for a corner by Haikin
80 Trincão shot pushed over from 20 yards for a corner
80 Debast back heel from ten yards out for another corner
80 Geny shot blocked from 14 yards
81 Debast has been sat like a quarter back outside the area since he came on. Can he find the magic pass to find the fourth?
82 Nuno Santos cross turned behind for a corner nearside
83 Nuno Santos crashed the ball against the post from inside the D. Rebound fell to Geny who can't keep his shot down from 15 yards
83 Bodø clinging on by their fingernails
84 ➡️ ⬅️ Evjen and Blomberg off for Määtä and Bassi
85 Five minutes before extra time. Can they find that magic fourth?
86 Araújo cross chested out for a corner nearside
87 Hjulmand heads into the arms of Haikin from 8 yards
88 Sjøvold wins a goal kick off Araújo. That's the best thing they've done for about forty minutes
89 This time Araújo wins a corner off Sjøvold far side. Bodø clear
Plus five shown
90 ➡️⬅️ Auklend for Fet
+1 Debast concedes a free kick wide left inside the lions half
+2 Rui Silva comes and claims
+2 Haikin plucks out a Nuno Santos cross. Eeks out a few more seconds on the ground
+3 One minute thirty seconds. Can the lions fashion one more chance?
+3 Geny's cross plucked out the air by Haikin again who makes no attempt to get back on his feet
+4 Hjulmand foul the last action of normal time. We're off to extra time
Full time
Sporting CP 3 Bodø/Glimt 0
Sporting CP 3 Bodø/Glimt 3 on aggregate
Extra time First Half
Bodø get us back underway. The lions attack right to left
90 If Sporting hadn't conceded that third in Norway, if Trincão had made it 1-0 after 3 minutes… I talk when I'm nervous
91 GØLAZZØ Maxi fucking Araújo. Sporting CP 4 Bodø/Glimt 0. Exquisite finish from 12 yards into the bottom left hand corner. That was world class
94 Corner to Bodø far side as Saltnes shot blocked
94 Bodø appealed for a penalty. VAR quick to say no and the referee waves his hands in front of him to confirm
96 Fresneda wins a corner far side
96 Replay shows the ball bounces up onto the elbow of Inácio, who, after Braga, had his arm as tucked into his body as it could ever possibly hope to be
96 Suárez kicks nothing but air from 12 yards
97 I'm hoping Bayer Leverkusen can beat Arsenal because I'm potentially getting excited to get our lights punched out by Gyökeres and Arsenal
99 Hjulmand blocks a low Bassi pass for a corner far side
99 Inácio down injured inside the box. He got pushed before the corner was taken and then got clouted for his troubles. We've a break in play as he receives treatment
102 Inácio penalised for a free kick inside the Sporting half. A game that had been played at 110mph has now been more like 20 mph for the last couple of minutes
103 Yellow to Nuno Santos. Bodø free kick into the area cleared by Bragança
104 The lions set for a fine after the PA does a Porto and sets the fans singing over the Tannoy
Plus two shown
105 Shirt held up behind Silva with Mom 88 written on it. I saw it, let's hope somewhere in the world his mother did to
105 Nuno Santos slides in to dispossess Haikin but the ball ends up out for a throw
106 Thunder claps from the Sportinguista's no double trying to get rid of some nervous energy
106 Yellow to Bassi for dissent
Half time in extra time
Sporting CP 4 Bodø/Glimt 0
Sporting CP 4 Bodø/Glimt 3 on aggregate
Second half
105 ➡️⬅️ Gundersen for Aleesami
105 Sporting get us back underway
106 Araújo down with cramp. Vagiannidis and Faye set to come on
108 The Sporting fans bow their arms in unison as Araújo departs like they're in Wayne's World saying we're not worthy … However he's now gone back to the halfway line
109 ➡️⬅️ Araújo goes back onto the pitch and promptly comes back off again. There's a danger I'm actually asleep and none of this is real. Trincão off for Faye, Diomande on for Araújo. Vagiannidis stripped off for nothing then
111 Hjulmand uses his body to shield the ball out for a goal kick
111 Cross in hit Hjulmand but his arm down by his side. Never a penalty in a million years. Commentators talking fucking twaddle as the one Sporting given saw the bloke clearly moved his hand towards the ball
113 The lions defending in a line of five for the first time tonight. Diomande clears a cross from the left for a corner near side
113 Header from 7 yards to the back post by Helmersen plucked out the air by Silva
114 Inácio down with cramp
114 Audacious flick over the head from Geny
115 ➡️⬅️ Nel for Suárez. Hoddle is getting on my tits now questioning that choice if this game went to penalties
115 Sporting win a throw down by the corner as Hjulmand held it up
116 Fresneda and Nel hunt the ball down in the corner again. Clearly learned their lesson from games this season
116 Throw near side to the lions. Fresneda celebrates like he'd just scored
117 Scarves twirling. If the home fans are nervous they're not showing it
117 Yellow to Saltnes for a foul on Nel
118 Free kick to the lions two yards outside of the right of the area. Played short to Geny who wins a throw and more seconds lost
118 Fresneda sends it into the stand and Haikin funnily enough is not time wasting now
119 Hjulmand fouled and he celebrates like he's scored. Excuse the expression - he's double fisting
Plus four shown
+1 GOAL Sporting CP 5 Bodø/Glimt 0. Nel fires the ball home from close range. Paulinho and Borges embrace on the pitch. Figo looks on with disbelief from one of the boxes. Bragança picked the youngster out and he fires it high into the top right hand corner. Shove that up your arse Hoddle
+2 Smile from Roberto Martinez watching on
+3 Bodø free kick far side conceded by Nuno Santos
+3 Sportinguista's are bouncing
+3 Bragança dispossessed by Haikin with the goal wide open half way inside his own half
+3 Smiles from Debast as he misses from down town
Full time
Sporting CP 5 Bodø/Glimt 0
Sporting CP 5 Bodø/Glimt 3 on aggregate
The final word
At this juncture I'd implore you to read the post from Norway -
https://outsideofthepride.blogspot.com/2026/03/fk-bodglimt-v-sporting-cp.html
I end by highlighting the miss of Maxi Araújo from the first leg. Pose the question of whether Bodø could handle him in the second leg. From the start to the end raising the question of how Bodø react if you land a punch on them. Now we know with one of the most complete performances the Estádio José Alvalade has seen in many a year. Rui Borges men were imperious, fearless, ruthless and worth every inch of a famous victory to turn around a 3-0 deficit from Norway.
Sporting's players owed the fans a performance and boy did they deliver. First with three goals over the course of the 90 to send it into extra time, then to find not only the winner but put the gloss on the victory with a fifth. I'm still wondering if I'll wake up from my pre game nap and find that actually I've dreamt the lot.
If you've done as requested and come back to this then you'll have seen from the data in the first post that Bodø were due a hammering at some stage in the competition and tonight the lions delivered it and how. They deserved the win in Norway. They were all the superlatives I've thrown out at Sporting tonight. I was hugely impressed, but at no point was I ever convinced by them. Flattering to deceive.
Ruben Amorim had a reputation as the mister as the horse whisperer. No one will ever forget the comeback in Braga from 2-0 down at half time in his last game in charge of the lions to win 4-2. This trumps that comeback however. Whatever Borges told them before the kick off certainly did the trick. Every man played his part from front to back. Sporting have averaged a goal on average once every 8 shots over the entire campaign and they needed that metric again tonight. Some things you couldn't make up. In the end they registered 38 attempts which it should be noted isn't the record for one game this season. The extra time win over Paços de Ferreira had 39. Bodø managed 9 in total over the course of 120 minutes, Final Xg 3.35 to 0.54. The key statistic was big chances. The lions created nine, Bodø didn't create a single one. Sporting scored with four of them. It could have been a lot worse on the night for the Norwegians. Let's see what their fighter pilot does with them after such a brutal and complete and utter shoeing.
All too often we see Sporting clock up silly numbers with passes, those which only go sideways and backwards. However tonight the vast majority were done with purpose. Finally they also worked out how to run down the clock before the board went up showing plus four and they went oh sod it let's make it 5.
Some will rightly take the headlines come the morning papers but it feels important to mention everyone on a night like this as I try narrow it down to four candidates for man of the match. I could try go with seventeen but we'll be here all night and it's already seven minutes past nine having finally gotten the chance to make myself some dinner.
Rui Silva whilst not having an abundance to do, did what he needed to do to almost perfection even when he watched the first half header first strike the bar and then back down onto the top of it. Three saves made, he never really looked like being beaten.
Fresneda who was my man of the match first game started back on the right hand side and other than Araújo out wide left you don't imagine there was a player who ran further over the course of the 120 minutes. Not sure about the celebrations winning a throw in but you can't knock the youngsters passion. Hard to believe he's still only 21.
I did call Eduardo Quaresma starting last game only to get it wrong. Perhaps I was right and Borges was wrong. He was wonderful at stages before being withdrawn. Two big timed tackles once on the far side and one inside the area. At some point you have to think his time will finally come at the back as a first team starter and if Diomande leaves he'll be a step closer albeit still competing with Debast.
Inácio who I frequently criticise was the man who started the come back with his second goal of the month. Completed the most passes of any player with 113. Solid throughout.
Morita with another performance that could have gone under the radar because he just does the simple things well. He's like the kitchen cloth that just mops up without any fuss and gets the job done.
Geny was a joy to watch at points down the right hand side. He gives the lions so much more down that side than Quenda has ever done by way of comparison. It baffles me that they're prepared to sell him in the summer. Having shot themselves in the foot with Allison you hope they change their mind. The less said about his finishing tonight the better mind you with six attempts gone begging.
If Geny's finishing was bad then Trincão gave him a run for his money. Between the two of them they could have had a match ball apiece. Seven attempts missed by the Portuguese but he's my first vote for man of the match despite his lack of finishing prowess. Two assists, four chances created, one big chance created. I threw him under the bus first game for his attitude which fell short. Tonight it was spot on, tracking back once more, lesson learned. Best performance in a while from the Portuguese.
Gonçalves another player who could have had a match ball. Six chances in all, scored the second at just the right point with an hour gone to ensure the lions stayed in gear.
Wonderful cameo appearances from the likes of Debast who reminded us he's a proper baller with a wand of a foot and the shot he unleashed that was saved low was struck with a violence that would have seen him locked up on the high street.
Faye and Diomande not on long enough to really make a difference but fresh legs when needed the most. Danny Bragança with the assist for Nel’s first ever goal as a lion and what a time to get your first and a superb finish into probably the only area he could have scored from. A night he'll never forget I'm sure.
Luis Suárez running in on goal with space and time is something that strikes fear into my heart after so many misses this campaign but he provides the perfect pass for Gonçalves to score the second and as calm as a Hindu cow to score the third from the spot. Still goes to ground too easily. However he more than made up for a disappointing first game.
Vote two goes to Hjulmand who having been booked will miss the first game against the next round which with Arsenal leading 2-0 looks like it will be against the North Londoners. Given he's got an Arsenal tattoo he might have inadvertently robbed himself of a boyhood dream. A captain's performance, led by example, didn't give the Bodø midfield an inch all night. Someone's going to get themselves a bargain when he departs in the summer.
Third vote goes to Nuno Santos who slotted wide left into the role vacated by Araújo who then dropped back seamlessly. I've never been a Nuno Santos fan but he's really impressed me with his contribution both legs and was close to scoring the winning goal when he struck the post. Come back a far more measured player. No longer simply dining out on a pushkas nomination. Seems to have grown up finally.
Which leaves just one man. Maxi fucking Araújo. Take a bow son. The Uruguayan with the all important fourth goal created and what a finish it was. Created nine chances over the course of the game before being substituted to a heroes reception. He was the Ying and Yang to both legs. The biggest miss from the first, the biggest presence on the night. He is the glue for these big European nights. He for me is the biggest miss this current squad has when he's not there and as it stands I think he's my player of the season. Until then he'll have to satisfy himself with my man of the match.
So the lions did the impossible. Eight minutes in the Arsenal game still to play and they're 3-1 up on aggregate. Gyökeres is coming home. I'm sure some idiot said please, anything but let that happen when he left in the summer. Whoever that was he's off for a rest.
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