FC Porto v Sporting CP

FC Porto v Sporting CP

Taça de Portugal Semi Final Second Leg

Estádio do Dragão 

The warm up 

When you become a parent and your darling little offspring have reached a school age, come their birthday there is the unwritten rule that the entire class has to be invited. That means that there is always one snot nosed little shit who you'd quite happily decapitate given half a chance. If the Liga was a birthday party, then that kid's name would be Porto. 

In my last post for the Dérbi I tried to recall anything memorable about Benfica's season off the top of my head and quite frankly I failed miserably although I did at least remember a few bits and pieces. This game is of course the second leg of the Taça de Portugal semi finals so how much do I remember about the first leg? Other than the scoreline of 1-0 not a lot which would suggest that neither side put the Classic into Clássico. In reality it's not like I don't remember parts of the three games that the two sides have played this season, I'm just struggling to separate which parts belong to which game. I've an image of Costa feigning injury in the box, another of Costa smashing into Bednarek and injuring his own player. Was that the league game at home or this one in the first leg? There were some ludicrous claims post match that Suárez assaulted Bednarek running past him despite the fact their keeper was the one who actually did him some damage when they collided later. Never let facts get in the way of your bullshit. Porto should have that inscribed into their shirts in Latin. ‘Numquam sine ut facta ineptiis tuis obstent.’ I think Google may have changed bullshit for foolishness but the point stands. 

The hiding of the balls and the towels, that was the Clássico at the Dragão along with the changing room nonsense and the fireworks over the hotel. Fresneda's cross being handled and Suárez’s missed penalty would have been the same game. No, I've got nothing definitive other than the scoreline. Does anyone else want a go? Whilst that may come across as being facetious it's not meant to be, the first game feels like it was played so long ago now that it could have been last season. This is a another game we don't need to watch and therefore by extension that I don't need to write about so don't blame me, I'm a firm advocate for just the one leg on natural ground in the same manner as the Taça da Liga and I said that before the first leg of the game against Rio Ave last season, I said it before the first leg of this tie and had we lost both games I'd have still have said it. By the time this game kicks off we'll have played matchday 29 in the Liga, 12 Champions League games, the Supertaça, 2 rounds of Taça da Liga and 5 rounds of the Taça de Portugal. So by my maths this is the lions 50th game of the season. If I got paid by the word I'd have been retired by now but as always I'm doing it for the love of the game. I say love, maybe it's only out of habit but someone keeps reading them around the world. I mean no one in Portugal which always amuses me greatly but then again why would you when it's written in English? It could also be language learning models for AI trying to crack what the fuck I'm on about, you never know. Anyways if you're reading this I genuinely appreciate you so thank you. 

As I write it's the day after the Champions League exit to Arsenal which doesn't feel any easier to take than when I went to bed last night, or when I woke up with it this morning. As usual the Rui Borges haters have resurfaced like moles from wherever they've been buried since the Bodø/Glimt defeat in Norway. Moles? Maybe trolls from under a bridge? Insert your own suggestion. Anyways, it transpires as always that they're almost as exhausting as Porto have been this season with their vitriolic nonsense on a weekly basis. If you read my Arsenal away post you'll know that I did a breakdown of the cost of the team that started against Arsenal at the José Alvalade in the home leg and when you included the two substitutes it still cumulatively didn't add up with the cost that the Gunners paid for Declan Rice. Since the start of Arteta's reign they've had a billion pounds lavished on the squad. A BILLION POUNDS. Would you like to have a fucking word with yourselves? 180 minutes of football and the only thing that could separate the two sides was a single gap in concentration. This is a side who turned João Pereira's Sporting over 5-1 a little under a year and a half ago. At the end of the first leg the English media was asking the question of whether Raya is the best goalkeeper in the world? I think he answered that unequivocally in the return leg though to be fair. That's a no by the way for the avoidance of doubt. The lions best chances over two legs came from the wide men. Araújo with the effort tipped onto the bar in Lisboa and Geny's header which was clawed away by Raya and then in North London the Geny effort which hit the post. Large suaves of the English media again questioning why we weren't given a penalty for the shove on Araújo in the second half last night. The answer is I don't know, but we'll wait until hell freezes over for a communication from Porto decrying the unfairness of it. I thought it was a mature performance in both legs, they showed plenty of heart and can take credit from both legs. What they lacked was pace and ironically someone like Gyökeres. That's the Gyökeres that left Lisboa, not the imposter who played in the two legs here. If you wanted to criticise anyone then your ire should be aimed at Suárez, Gonçalves and Trincão who didn't muster a shot on target between them over the 180 minutes. Criticising a coach in the early stages of his career that's taken Sporting in his first full season to the brink of the Champions League Semi finals really does beggar fucking belief in my book. I watched my first game 40 years ago this month and in those 40 years I can unhappily tell you that I have sat through some absolute fucking dross during that period and watched / endured some of the most shameful and embarrassing performances I've ever seen. However none of those have come under the mister Rui Borges. Tottenham Hotspur haven't won a single fucking league game in 2026 and today is April the 16th. Four and a half fucking months. For those who persistently moan at Borges, why they don't fuck off and take up lawn bowls or knitting instead is beyond me. If your enjoyment comes from being desperate to say that you were right despite the evidence clearly showing you've been incredibly wrong then you need to take a hard look at where your life is going wrong.

We might well win the sum total of fuck and all this season. Just suck it up. Amorim got 74 points in his follow up season to his first title win. Rui Borges is currently sat on 71 points with six games to play. If he gets 11 points from the 18 available he'll equal last season's title winning total. If he won all six he'd finish 1 point beneath the tally of the 2023/24 title winning season. This season hasn't been a disaster in fact it's most likely going to come down to 3 lapses of concentration, 2 against Braga and 1 against Arsenal. That's how fine the margins are on football. All those hours of football and whether your trophy cabinet gets added to or not defined by three touches of the ball. Bonkers when you simplify it isn't it? 

Vitória winning the Taça da Liga felt like a good thing for Portuguese football in the same way that Porto have spent the season torching the reputation of the Portuguese game which makes their behaviour a bad thing. Remember that to date a billion pounds has brought Arsenal an FA Cup win. Porto might win the league this season but Farioli isn't going to be there long term and Porto cannot sustain that type of football. Just like Arsenal its fucking horrendous to watch and their two misters are cut from the same cloth. Seriously, would you rather watch Sporting under Rui Borges every week or Porto under Farioli? Or even Arsenal under Arteta? Yes we've only scored 1 in the last 3 games but in fairness 2 of those were against the Premier League leaders who'd conceded 5 times in the previous 10 Champions League games. It was always going to be a tall order. But we've seen well over 100 goals already this campaign in all competitions and that's minus Gyökeres. We've beaten the current European Champions for fucks sake. Have we ever been able to say that? Well probably if we beat Porto or Benfica the season after but you know what I mean. 

Sporting are shopping for players in lesser markets with the outlook simply to churn through them and raise a profit. That's Portugal's modus operandi, not just Sporting's, that is not going to change. Stop kidding yourself that changing the mister is going to bring about a 10% improvement when you get to the point of the season where you're now 50 games in. Our record signing is from Almería, a place most famous for being where they shot some of Laurence of Arabia. I've said it all season that he's not good enough and two legs against Arsenal did nothing to dissuade me from that opinion. It's not the misters fault his star forward falls apart like a fucking jigsaw puzzle when one on one with the opposition goalkeeper. I'm still a pragmatist. I waited years to see one title win. Three in the space of five seasons was more than I could ever wish for. Watching ‘this’ Porto side be crowned Champions is hard to take and perhaps that's the problem? It's not so much Rui Borges, it's simply the snide prick in the bench opposite and that ginger cunt sat in the Gods watching down thinking he's Nero. Whoever bullied AVB at school quite frankly has a lot to answer for. 

If watching this iteration of Porto win the league is hard to stomach with them having to try referee games after the final whistle through the courts in matches they've not even played in, then you really don't need any extra incentive to see them not have the chance to do the league and cup double. The first leg advantage remember is with Sporting. Christ I really don't remember anything about the first leg other than the scoreline. If they play like they did in North London last night then we'll book a place in Jamor. That will give you the added bonus of me scrambling to find something out about either AD Fafe or Torreense which will be nice for us all won't it? 

Right I've finally succumbed and watched the highlights of the first leg back. So this was the game where Suárez was accused of air quotes trying to break Bednarek's ribs. Alberto Costa should have seen red for two yellow cards. He may well still see an extended suspension for his alleged spitting at Sorriso. Suárez scored from the penalty spot and Fresneda really should have had a brace. No wonder I didn't really remember it. The Xg from that game was 2.02 to 0.32 and Farioli's side failed to create a single big chance whereas the lions scored one of their two. The meeting in the Dragão in the league was 1-1 with Suárez scoring in the 9th minute of additional time from the penalty spot. Xg 0.81 to 1.47 with Porto again failing to create a single big chance and the lions missing one of two. Way back in August Porto won 2-1 at the José Alvalade. Here they created two big chances, missing one, the lions missed their only one and their goal came from a Pérez own goal when they were already two nil down. No big chances in the last 180 minutes the clubs have played is a pretty damning statistic. The lions should have enough to progress through to the finals on paper. Whether they have physically after the Champions League and the Dérbi remains to be seen. Still a 0-0 will do. 

First leg post 

https://outsideofthepride.blogspot.com/2026/02/sporting-cp-v-fc-porto-taca-de-portugal.html

In the markets 

FC Porto TBC

Draw TBC

Sporting CP TBC