February 15, (THEWILL) – Sporting CP was crushed 5-nil by a ruthless Manchester City at home in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday evening, with the Portuguese champions on the receiving end of a rout perpetrated by their English counterparts.
When the video assistant referee (VAR) took an eternity checking each frame of Riyad Mahrez’s (briefly) disallowed goal, that brought the Jose Alvalade Stadium to a tentative quiet inside the first ten minutes, the home fans had no inkling what was in store for their side.
Mahrez had tucked the ball in after a slick piece of typical City build up from Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling. In the end, Kevin De Bruyne was adjudged to have been onside when teeing up the Algerian, meaning the goal stood to open City’s account for the evening.
Silva increased City’s advantage in the 17th minute via a set piece, as one of the four former Benfica players in the visiting lineup thumped a superb half-volley in off the underside of the crossbar.
Sporting regained their composure after that, causing enough problems for Pep Guardiola’s neck veins to ache as he demanded more from his players – despite the fact that they only conceded one shot during that time.
However, just after the half-hour mark, Mahrez calmed his manager’s nerves by slipping a low cross under three defenders for Phil Foden to tap in.
Every convenient pass emphasised City’s dominance, with the English side tearing apart the hosts’ 5-2-3 formation. It must have brought back memories of Sporting’s other Champions League round of 16 tie, which ended in a 12-1 aggregate disaster against Bayern Munich in 2009.
On the edge of halftime, Bernardo made inroads on the way to that tally with his second of the night, completing another lethal connection between Joao Cancelo and Sterling. In the history of the Champions League, no side had ever led an away game in the knockout stages by such a large margin.
Silva was denied a hat-trick for an armpit offside just after the halftime break, giving Ruben Amorim’s team a brief reprieve. Within an hour, though, the raucous away supporters were treated to a fifth goal, as Sterling scored his 150th club goal into the top corner.
City calmly saw out the game despite a growing number of frustrated, forceful tackles from the desperate hosts, advancing the course towards a quarter-finals ticket and keeping their first Champions League clean sheet of the season.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
