Sporting CP v Vitória SC

Sporting CP v Vitória SC 
Monday May 4th, 2026
Estadio José Alvalade 
Matchday 32

The warm up 

Every year in Gloucestershire they hold the Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and wake, a dangerous high speed competition where participants chase a 7lb wheel of Double Gloucester cheese down a near-vertical hill. With Sporting CP we have something similar with the anti-Borges brigade who all clammer to be at the front of the queue to stick the knife in charging down the hill as soon as the final whistle goes on any game they don't win. It'll probably come as no surprise to learn that I write this the day after the 1-1 draw away to newly relegated bottom of the table AVS Futebol SAD. I don't remember if I wrote before that game or the forthcoming one to Tondela about how unkind the fixtures were leading up to the next two games but I think I like everyone else naïvely expected us to come away with six points against the two worst sides in the division. Even making five changes to the starting XI yesterday we should have had more than enough to come away with all three points. Now we're looking at Famalicao and asking them to put on their superhero suits for a third straight season and would they mind beating Benfica one more time by 2-0 just for old times sake? In the end we were fortunate to come away with a point after they hit the post with a glorious opportunity late on which should have sealed the win. Gonçalves hit the bar, Geny struck the post and we missed numerous other chances but football is a simple game which involves putting the ball into the back of the net. You could try bemoan the penalty that they were awarded but it was no different to the one we were wrongly awarded against Santa Clara earlier in the season. It is what it is. You can't change it so there's no point in giving yourself a heart attack over it. If you're identity is that tied into that of the football team you support them maybe you need to re-evaluate your life choices. It's a draw that could cost the club millions in lost revenue but it has always been a game of fine margins and as cruel mistresses go she is one of the very worst. But there's always those in worse situations. It's exactly a year to the day since we beat Boavista 5-0 and they've now gone out of business totally so it would seem crass to moan about a 1-1 draw by way of comparison.

The problem with being successful is that it breeds raised expectations as a byproduct. I've written about the variations involved in football matches before so you'll forgive me for briefly repeating myself here but to win a match is of course simply not just a case turning up and going I'll have those three points please. Neither are games won on paper. You've the variables of 22 players, four match officials, substitutes, VAR teams, coaching teams, weather conditions, suspensions, injuries and that's just a quick synopsis. Entire seasons can turn on one single event for better or for worse and yes whilst players are incredibly well numerated it doesn't make them any less human or fallible than the next person. We all suffer from lapses in concentration, most of us thankfully will never have to suffer the ire of irate fans. Yet at Sporting we have gotten to join in the celebrations seen over the past two seasons. Let's not forget what we have achieved coming into this season with back to back to back league titles topped off with last season's epic comeback in Jamor in the Dérbi de Lisboa. They can't take any of those titles away from us. Whereas I've already mentioned they took an entire club away in Boavista. Failure to qualify for the Champions League would be hugely damaging financially but if you're reliant on that money then something is wrong with your blueprint and I'd hope we've learned the lessons of previous administrations and from those mistakes made by clubs such as FC Porto. I'm quite jealous in a way of clubs that play little more than their standard 34 game season which might sound odd but you can have too much of a good thing. What's the famous old expression? Something about eating steak every day would be great but sometimes you just want a fat greasy burger. Or in this case a season that doesn't involve 50 plus games. I write that every year now at this stage, it's not just because of the AVS game. Roll on the end of May and thank you Ireland for losing a penalty shootout so I get an entire summer free of football. 

A league where three clubs routinely dominate the landscape is not healthy and whilst I wasn't exactly jumping for joy when we lost the semi final to Vitória in the Taça da Liga I was still quietly chuffed that they beat out Braga to lift the title and that's nothing to do with my irrational hatred of them which becomes more rational with every season that passes. Fucking Fraggles. It's important to give smaller teams some hope especially in a country like Portugal where even some of the supposed biggest teams are nothing more than minnows if you compared them to clubs in League 2 of the English Pyramid. We've had a season where Porto are trying to referee games they've not been involved in through the courts after the final whistle. If that was allowed to happen in the English game there would be outrage and Portugal need to move fast to stop it ever occuring again. With every communication Porto put out in damages and tarnishes the reputation of the Liga and the Portuguese referees association. Somewhere Pinto da Costa is looking up at André Villas-Boas going well done my boy you're following my playbook perfectly. Do you want to follow a club that acts like that? Would you want Farioli as your coach and André Villas-Boas as Club President compared to Rui Borges and Frederico Varandas? Because if the answers yes, there's good news for you. You can fuck off any time you like. I'm sure blue and white will suit you much better. Don't let the door slam on you on the way out and please don't bother to write because you won't be missed. At the end of the day whatever Bill Shankly’s quote was about the game being more than life and death, I'm sorry but he was wrong. It is just a game with 22 people chasing a ball trying to stick it into a net over the course of 90 minutes. You're riding high in April, shot down in May, albeit in our case this season we were riding high in March and shot down in April but never mind. We are at least off to Jamor for a third straight season.

Back to the game at hand forthcoming against Vitória. Of course not only victors of the lions in the Taça da Liga but the previous club of the mister Rui Borges. A club that when he left was second in the Europa Conference League table only to the billionaire playground of Chelsea. He clearly left good enough foundations to build on to win the Taça da Liga in turn. Yet some will tell you he's the worst coach in the world. Why some find it hard to give the man some respect, even begrudgingly so is a mystery to me right up there with the majority of women I've ever met. 

We find them looking for a third straight win in the league but truthfully their season is done bar the shouting. They've nothing to play for but pride. They sit 7th, played 31, won 12, drawn 6, lost 13. GF 38, GA 43. 

Their season began under Luis Pinto but he left last month and are now coached by Gil Lameiras who was previously in charge of their second eleven. Eleventh best away record in the division it reads played 15, won 4, drawn 2, lost 9. GF 12, GA 25. Even a child will be able to point out when you're conceding twice as many as scoring away from home you're always going to have problems. 

Of their 38 goals scored, 22 have come from open play, 9 set pieces, 1 free kick, 5 penalties and 1 own goal. They sit just about right with their XG of 37.8. Top scorer is Samu with 7, Gustavo Silva and Oumar Camara have 5 apiece and Nélson Oliveira has 3. Fourteen others not including our old friend own goal have contributed either one or two goals apiece. They've scoring on average 1.2 goals per game the leagues ninth best, whilst conceding 1.4 goals on average which is also the ninth best record. They average 4 shots on target per game and are guilty of missing 33 Opta defined big chances which is 30 less than the lions have been guilty of missing, which in turn is the highest in the league. Only four clubs have missed fewer chances overall. They've benefited from being awarded 6 penalties converting 83.3%. 

They have 10 clean sheets to their name which is the 7th highest total kept of all sides. They're slightly above their Xg conceded 43 to 41.7. Along with Sporting and Benfica they've conceded just 4 penalties with the conversion rate 75%. Only Rio Ave and Porto have conceded fewer with 2 apiece. But remember folks, especially after last night's AVS penalty it's the lions who have the referees in our pockets. Don't be fooled. Don't cast your mind back twelve months where Benfica didn't incur a single sending off either across an entire league campaign. Nothing to see here, these aren't the droids you're looking for, you can go about your business, move along. 

Fifth highest for average fouls per game with 14.7. they've seen 69 bookings and 3 red cards. They brought in just one new signing in the winter window striker Ejike Opara on a free from Novi Pazar. He's been put with the B side presumably for development purposes. Rodrigo Duarte joined Paços de Ferreira on loan and Vando Felix went on loan to Vojvodina. 

The last league meeting between the two sides was on December 23rd as Sporting once more scored 4 in Guimarães. Thankfully this season not conceding 4, just the 1. Goals from Trincão, Araújo, Ioannidis and a Castillo own goal. Vitória failed to create a single big chance, Sporting in addition to scoring 4 also missed two of their four big chances. 

Because of the Taça da Liga semi finals on January 6th unlike the last Tondela post, you get a much abbreviated club catch up on their season since the two last met. We pick back up with the final.

Taca da Liga Final – Braga (N) Dorgeles opened the scoring for Braga on 16 minutes. Samu made it 1-1 from the penalty spot on 58 minutes, Ndoye with what would be the winner for the side from Guimaraes on 82 to make it 2-1. Zalazar has the chance to make the scores level but missed a penalty 10 minutes into time added on at the end of the 90 Joao Mendes received his second booking and marching orders for VSC on 90+6 and Nélson Oliveira was shown an Esgaio on 90+11, by which I mean he was also sent off without being on the pitch. However neither incident could dampen the celebrations and Portugal had a new title winner. Xg 1.55 to 2.50. VSC scored two of their three big chances, Braga missed all 3 of theirs.

Matchday 18 – Porto (H) Despite Aghehowa missing a penalty on 26 minutes, the league leaders came away with all 3 points thanks to a Varela penalty 6 minutes before the end of the 90 for a 1-0 away win. Telmo Arancjo saw red for the home side 8 minutes into additional time.

Matchday 19 – Estoril (A) Samu gave VSC the lead on 26, Bergraoui equalised two minutes later for 1-1. Mitrovic restored the visitors lead on 33 and Vitoria went into the break 2-1 up. Marques made it 2-2 ten minutes into the second half, then made it 3-1 on 64 before Bergraoui also completed his brace on 77 to give the home side a 4-2 win. XG 2.01 to 1.94. Estoril scored 2 of their 3 big chances whereas VSC missed all four of theirs.

Matchday 20 – Moreirense (H) Back to winning ways as a Samu penalty on 65 minutes enough for all 3 points in a 1-0 win.  Xg 1.79 to 0.57. The visitors missed both their big chances, Samu’s penalty was the only one created by the home side but it proved decisive.

Matchday 21 – Arouca (A) Despite taking a 2-0 lead through goals from Saviolo on 25 and Camara on 29, goals from Trezza on the stroke of half time, Barbero on 55 and Lee on 73 gave Arouca a 3-2 win. Xg 1.72 to 1.75. Arouca score 3 of their 4 big chances, Victoria scored both of theirs.

Matchday 22 – Estrela (H) Moreira gave the visitors the lead after just 9 minutes before Balieiro equalised on 63 and Sousa made sure of a 2-1 win on 67. Xg 1.42 to 1.22. Both sides missed one of their 2 big chances.

Matchday 23 – Braga (A) Zalazar made no mistake with his penalty as he had done in the Taca final to give Braga the lead on 16 minutes. Barisic put into his own net however to level just 2 minutes later. Horta restored the lead on 31 only to see Silva make it 2-2 8 minutes after the restart. It took Braga just 3 minutes to restore their lead as Zalazar completed his brace and Braga gained revenge with a 3-2 win. Xg 2.68 to 1.19. Braga miss 3 of 6 big chances, VSC miss 1 of 2.

Matchday 24 – Alverca (H) Samu scores within a minute of the half time break to put the home side 1-0 up. Figueiredo makes it 1-1 on 64 and the sides shared a point. Xg 1.50 to 1.97. Both sides guilty of missing 2 of 3 big chances.

Matchday 25 – Santa Clara (A) Lima puts the islanders 1-0 up on 5. A Charles own goal on 13 the only other goal of the game in a 2-0 win. Xg 0.78 to 0.99. 1 of 2 big chances either scored or missed for Santa depending on your outlook in life. 1 of 1 missed for VSC

Matchday 26 – Famalicão (H) De Haas puts Fama 1-0 up on 16. Samu equalises just 6 minutes later. Sorisso scores the Fama winner just a minute into the second half. 1-2 the final result. Xg 0.49 to 1.40. 0 big chances created by Gil Lameiras’ side. Fama score 2 of their 3.

Matchday 27 – Benfica (A) Prestianni makes it 1-0 on 13 minutes, Pavlidis 2-0 on 54 and a Beni own goal on 73 completes the visitors misery for a 3-0 defeat. XG 2.34 to 0.75. $ of 6 big chances missed by Benfica. 1 of 1 for the visitors.

Matchday 28 – Tondela (H) Vitória secure their first win in 6 games as they finally put to bed their worst run of results this campaign with a thumping 5-0 win against relegation threatened Tondela.

Matchday 29 – AVS (A) Despite taking the lead on 23 minutes through Silva, Tomané makes it 1-1 just 3 minutes later and the leagues bottom side secured a vital point as they look to surpass the all time lowest points record held by FC Penafiel. Xg 0.90 to 2.37. AVS miss 2 of 2 big chances. VSC miss 3 of 4.

Matchday 30 – Gil Vicente (A) A Silva goal on 65 gives the visitors all 3 points with a 1-0 win, that coming after his effort on 32 minutes was rule out. Xg 1.38 to 0.82. Gil miss both their big chances, VSC their only 1.

Matchday 31 – Rio Ave (H) Goals from Samu on 71 and Strata 4 minutes past the 90 secure a 2-0 win. Xg 1.13 to 0.59. Ave miss both their big chances, Vitória 1 of 2.

In the markets

Sporting CP TBC

Draw TBC 

Vitória TBC