Ten-man Sporting cling on for another victory
Sporting 2-1 Lazio
 Sporting had to survive more than 40 minutes with ten men but held on for a valuable 2-1 win over Lazio to keep them top of Group D. Superb strikes from Wolfswinkel and Insua, sandwiching a Klose goal, gave the Lions a half-time lead, but Insua was sent off soon after the restart. A backs-to-the-wall display combined with a sprinkling of luck here and there enabled Sporting, roared on by a voiciferous crowd at the Alvalade, to clock up a fifth straight win.
The game started evenly with both teams failing to keep hold of possession in the early stages. Sporting started to grow into the match as time went on and took the lead through the red-hot Ricky van Wolfswinkel in the 21st minute. A freekick fell to Diego Capel on the left flank, who sent a cross in with his right foot. Van Wolfswinkel, high in confidence after his goalscoring run, expertly flicked the cross into the corner of the net with his trailing leg. The Dutchman has now scored in each of his last five Sporting games.
The goal forced Lazio to open up, which enabled Sporting to find more room behind the Lazio defence. Stijn Schaars and Anderson Polga both had shots well saved by Lazio's Italian international goalkeeper, Federico Marchetti. Lazio pulled a goal back five minutes before the break. Brazilian playmaker Hernandes sent in a free-kick to the far post and Miroslav Klose, left criminally unmarked by the Sporting defence, was able to slide the ball under the legs of Rui Patricio to draw the Italian side level.
Insua rocket
Sporting though were still a threat going forward and they went ahead again just before half-time through Emiliano Insua. The Argentinian left-back unleashed a powerful long-range shot low and hard into the corner of the net beyond the helpless Marchetti. Insua was foolishly booked for excessive celebration after his goal, a yellow card that would come to haunt him just five minutes into the second half.
Insua clashed with Lazio's Alvaro Gonzalez, who complained he had received an elbow in the face. The Lazio man seemed to make a meal of it, but the Belgian referee Serge Gumienny was unforgiving, the defender received his second yellow card and trooped away for an early bath. Domingos Paciencia reacted immediately by bringing on Evaldo to replace Andre Carrillo to keep Sporting's back four intact.
Lazio were now starting to dominate. Cisse's low drive fizzed just past Rui Patricio's post as the Italians began to exert constant pressure. However, Sporting defended well, with Oguchi Onyewu and Fabian Rinaudo outstanding, but the Lisbon side did have to rely on lady luck to see the game out.
Amazing let-off
One passage of play in particular left Lazio coach Edy Reja, sitting in the stands amongst some of the Sporting supporters, in disbelief that his team failed to find the net. First Rui Patricio made a fine reaction save to Giuseppe Sculli's header which fell to Abdoulay Konko. Konko had a glorious chance with Patricio out of the game but his shot could only rattle the crossbar, and with Lazio players queuing up to score, the rebound was incredibly skied over the bar from point-blank range.
This prompted another defensive change from Paciencia with Daniel Carrico, playing for the first time since the end of August, taking the place of the lively Diego Capel. The best chance of the game fell to the head of Lazio captain Tommaso Rocchi. Cisse used his pace to get by the Sporting defence before crossing to Rocchi who looked certain to score but his header went wide. There would be one final let-off for Sporting in stoppage time as Carrico's senseless tug on Sculli in the box went unpunished. The referee booked Sculli for simulation with Carrico getting away with what looked like a good penalty shout.
Sporting's victory sees them sitting comfortably at the top of Group D. Paciencia's men now have back to back games against FC Vaslui, who have shown they are no pushovers, sitting in second place after two draws. Should Sporting win at home to FC Valsui in the Green and White's next home game in the Europa League, then they will know qualification is practically secured.
Sporting:
Rui Patricio, Joao Pereira, Onyewu, Anderson Polga, Insua, Rinaudo, Matias Fernandez (Andre Santos, 69’), Schaars, Carrillo (Evaldo, 52’), Van Wolfswinkel, Diego Capel (Daniel Carriço, 74’)
Lazio:
Marchetti, Konko, Diakite, Andre Dias (Radu, 69’), Lulic, González, Cana, Brocchi (Sculli, 63’), Hernanes, Klose (Cisse, 46’), Rocchi.
Goals:
[1-0] Wolfswinkel, 21’
[1-1] Miroslav Klose, 40’
[2-1] Insua, 45’
Richard Cole
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3 Lazio players were sitting on yellows and the Ref just let them carry on and on!
Insua 1st Yellow was stupid, but come on the second yellow?
Sporting!! thoroughly deserved to win
Did anyone else notice that the pitch was a mess in front of the nets? How difficult is it to grow grass?
It was a great result though. I was expecting more from Porto and Braga. Hopefully they respond with wins.
Sporting's offense is a joy to watch with Capel, Wolfswinkel and Carillo really finding their rythmn. Wolfswinkel is really in form right now, he is playing with lots of confidence.
The defense is playing better and can hopefully will only get better. Insua has been a tremendous addition on the left flank.
When Sporting went down to 10 men, it was a nail biter, but they weathered the storm and they deservedly won.
Lazio coach, Edy Reja, was sent to the stands at the start of the second half and that at least for me, created perhaps one of the most amusing moments of the game.
Reja was seated in the midst of Sporting supporters, who were very friendly and welcoming. When Lazio came close to scoring twice, with one shot saved by the crossbar, the Sporting supporters patted Reja on the head and slapped his back while they joked with him. This happened while Sporting was on the attack as well. Throughout the second half, SportTV cameras kept panning to a smiling Reja basically hanging out with and having a party with the jovial Sporting supporters. The commentators said it was "fair play" truly being examplified. I gained a lot of respect for Edy Reja becase of his good nature and friendliness, as he could have just as easily been cold and rude. That humorous moment truly showed that at the end of the day, the game should be fun. I was happy to see Sporting's fans representing the club with class by the way they welcomed Edy Reja in their midst. Instead of beeing showered by boos and insults, he was treated with respect.
On a negative note, I found Djibril Cisse to be an annoying actor who tried everything in vain to benefit his team. Any time there was some sort of unintentional contact, Cisse would be in the ref's faces begging for justice. Lazio's Andre Dias is also an overly phsyical enforcer on the pitch, and I never tire of the patented "calcio begging display", which is the calcio player trademark of approaching the referee with their hands clasped as if in the midst of fervent prayer. I guess they are praying to either the referee or some deity for mercy on a foul call or praying for a call to be made against an opposing player. It never gets old.
Can't wait for the next game, on to Guimaraes.
RvW's cheeky backheel, shows his confidence around goal. I do agree that the 2nd yellow was a bit harsh, but to his credit, Lazio's player didn't roll around on the ground as if he was shot.
It seems as if the newbies could become forces on all fronts, bringing wins and eventually money. The defense still leaves a lot to be desired, but Sporting just might be able to out score people.
What I found most exciting is seeing that 33,725 showed up to see this one. It's imperative for Sporting to win at home, in order for the fans to come and feel good.
On a side note, I think that Portugals' coefficient will be fine. I fully expect for Sporting and Braga to advance in Europa. Benfica's and Porto's road will be tougher, but anything but advancing would be a huge disapointment.
Italian clubs will be concentrating hard in landing in the top 3 for that final CL spot. I wouldn't be surprised if Lazio fell by the wayside and Udi isn't deep enough to compete on all fronts.
In the CL I would expect Milan to advance along with Inter, although it might be thougher on them. Napoli is in a good spot, but there's a lot of work left to do in that group.
As for France, PSG will be concentrating in Ligue 1, and Renne is struggling.
In the CL Lyon and Marseille look poised to advance, but Marseille road could still get tricky. Lille looks to be in trouble.
As for Braga, and people who were thinking they can seriously challenge for the league this year, this result should put things into perspective. They've made great progress in the past few years, and the new coach has done well so far, but they are simply not in the same category of quality as Porto or Benfica...or even Sporting for that matter. Finishing 3rd and getting the final champions league spot would be a very succesful season for them, and I think is the best they can realistically hope for.
I watched the Besiktas match here in the UK, and was very impressed with two of our boys, Quaresma and Fernandes, and i strongly believe both should be given a chance for the selecao. Quaresma has been given the freedom at Besiktas to play his natural game, and his talent is unbelievable at times. Come to think of it, he has never really been given a chance with the national team, certainly not at a major tournament. And i really think he is too big a talent to keep leaving out. Fernandes too looked very strong and composed in possession, and could be the answer to our defensive midfield position, where I really think Meireles is being played out of position. I'd like to see both these players in the squad for the 2 remaining qualifiers...
The red card was harsh, so I think Sporting deserved a little bit of luck at the end with that penalty turned down.
I don't think the referee should have handed out the second yellow to Insua though, although his goal celebration was needless and could have cost the team the win had Lazio been able to finish tonight.
Still, before the second yellow, Sporting looked great and the Capel - Wolfswinkel combo in particular is continuing to look really solid.
Again, one still has to wonder why Paciencia didn't use more of the new players early on, as they could potentially be up there with Porto and Benfica in the table right now, but three points back isn't too much of a hill to climb. Well done and I hope this streak continues.
Congratulations Sporting!