Sporting Clube de Portugal held on to secure an important 1-1 draw against Tottenham in the Chamipons League.
Paulinho went going close to opening the scoring before Marcus Edwards netted against his former club, going on a solo run and slotting into the bottom corner.
Spurs started the second half on the front foot but were unable to capitalise, Flávio Nazinho spurning two great chances to double Sporting’s advantage.
They proved to be costly, Rodrigo Bentancur equalising in the 80th minute before Harry Kane’s added time winner was ruled out after a lengthy delay resulted in the VAR ruling him a centimetre offside.
PortuGOAL’s Matthew Marshall reports from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Sporting show no fear in London
The matches against Tottenham were always going to be Sporting’s most high-profile games of the Champions League group stage, attracting interest and audiences from all over the world, including being part of US sports streaming trends. The Lions acquitted themselves well in Lisbon by beating the Londoners 2-0, and the Portuguese team started confidently again.
Marcus Edwards started on the right wing Francisco Trincão on the opposite flank, both players getting plenty of the ball early on. The first opportunity of the match came in the 13th minute when Sebastián Coates headed Nuno Santos’ corner wide.
Antonio Adán flapped at a cross which presented Matt Doherty with a chance, his shot blocked by Santos. Adán wasn’t exuding much confidence, conceding a corner after being unable to gather Harr Kane’s cross.
Sporting showed no signs of slowing down on the offensive end and went close in the 20th minute, Pedro Porro’s cross picking out Paulinho who volleyed over the bar.
Tottenham were failing to click against a disciplined defence led by Coates, Manuel Ugarte and Hidemasa Morita sitting deep to reduce space for Spurs to operate in the final third. The hosts were frequently funneled out wide before Rodrigo Bentancur’s shot from distance sailed over the bar.
Edwards scores against his former club
The Lions went straight back on the offensive and took the lead in the 22nd minute. Marcus Edwards skipped past Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg and drove forward with little resistance, taking advantage of some non-existent defending before unleashing a left footed drive into the bottom corner.
Sporting went close to doubling their advantage before the break. A corner was flicked towards Coates, he was unable to reach the ball with his head and was instead booked for punching the ball into the net.
Spurs start strong in the second half
Spurs started the second half with intent, Heung-min Son’s cross towards Harry Kane intercepted by Adán. They then had three quick fire chances with Eric Dier’s shot saved, Christian Romero’s effort blocked and Doherty firing over the bar.
Son forced another save from Adán before Rúben Amorim introduced Flávio Nazinho and Mateus Fernandes for Nuno Santos and Hidemasa Morita.
Still Spurs pressed for an equaliser, Adán called into action to save Doherty’s shot.
Both managers went to their benches in the 71st minute when Antonio Conte replaced Doherty with Bryan Gil, Trincão and Edwards making way for Issahaku Fatawu and Arthur Gomes.
Dier headed a corner onto the roof of the net before Amorim’s final switch, his intentions more than clear with Paulinho making way for Jeremiah St. Juste.
Nazinho misses two great chances
It seemed like Tottenham’s dominance would continue but out of nowhere, Sporting created two glorious chances to extend their lead.
Gomes went on a long run forward and released Nazinho who shot straight at Hugo Lloris with the keeper to beat. Pedro Porro then forced a save from Lloris with Nazinho’s follow up well wide.
Another error from Adán
They proved to be costly misses as Spurs equalised in the 80th minute. It was another error from Adán, the keeper falling over after clumsily clattering into Rodrigo Bentancur who simply jumped up and headed Ivan Perisic’s corner into the net.
Conte made two more changes in the 82nd minute when Ben Davies and Lucas Moura made way for Clément Lenglet and Emerson Royal.
Sporting were playing a dangerous game, sitting increasingly deeper with Dier going close on two occasions, heading Son’s free kick wide and glancing Lenglet’s cross past the post.
VAR steals the show
Deep into added time the home supporters erupted when a deep cross found Emerson at the back post, his header deflected into the path of Harry Kane who found the net.
Their ecstasy was all for nothing however, Kane’s goal ruled out for offside following a lengthy intervention by the VAR.
Important point for the Lions
Sporting deserved their first half lead in London and did well to stay in front after Spurs’ resurgence in the second half.
There was a sense of inevitability about Spurs equalising after Flávio Nazinho spurned two great chances to double the advantage.
In the end Rúben Amorim will take the point which leaves the Lions’ Champions League fate in their own hands. Avoiding defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt in Lisbon will see Sporting join Benfica and Porto in the Round of 16.
Farcical finish instigated by the VAR
The length of time required for the VAR to rule Harry Kane’s goal was just one of the aspects that makes many supporters irate with the technology that was introduced to improve the game.
There was a melee on the touchline after the decision was finally made which resulted in Antonio Conte being sent off.
The Italian tactician was confused by the reason for his dismissal: “The red card - all the people came inside after the decision to disallow the goal and then they come to give me a red card because I’m the most popular person on the pitch.”
Conte kept fuming once the dust had settled, adding “I want to see if in another stadium of a big team if they are ready to disallow this type of goal. I don’t see honesty in this type of situation, when I see this I become very upset.
I think the ball was in front of Kane. The goal is a goal. We don’t understand the VAR or the line that they put. It is very difficult to comment on this decision and I think VAR is damaging a lot.”
In the end, the decision made by the VAR was justified because the direction of Emerson’s header was irrelevant, and the touch from Nazinho was ruled to be unintentional.
The main issue with the decision is the incredibly fine margin that Kane was ruled to be offside, the magnitude of the occasion and the length of time required to arrive at the decision.
One thing is certain. If the VAR decided not to get involved and disallow Kane’s goal, there wouldn’t have been any further discussion about it.
Money can’t by fan culture or atmosphere
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was built for an enormous cost of £1.2 billion, the third-largest football stadium in England with a seating capacity of 62,850.
It’s ironic that in Liverpool, where there are no issues with atmosphere at Anfield, Paul McCartney penned the iconic song "Can’t Buy Me Love".
Because money was unable to buy any love at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The noise made by Sporting’s minor travelling support went unchallenged in the opening stages of the match.
Spurs’ resurgence in the second half saw the atmosphere inside the stadium marginally improve, but it generally resembled a funeral with most of the noise coming from the travelling supporters.
I have been fortunate to visit some of the biggest stadiums in Europe and 15 of the 17 biggest stadiums in Germany including the iconic Westfalenstadion.
There is no doubt that the Southern Stand at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is structurally striking, influenced by and largely resembling the "Yellow Wall" at Borussia Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion, but in reality it’s only the concrete structures that share any similarities.
There were no drums, no flags, no chants with any passion or duration, no cohesion, no fear factor, no intimidation.
I understand many of the issues in the modern game and the way that many supporters of English clubs are perceived. Regardless, I found the complete lack of any significant fan culture at Tottenham distressing, sad and disappointing.
FT Tottenham 1-1 Sporting CP. Spurs came home strong in the 2nd half, Betancur equalising in the 80th minute before Harry Kane found the net with the last kick of the game, VAR taking an eternity to rule him a centimetre offside. #TOTSCP #UCL pic.twitter.com/vEiO5eS0y9
— Matthew Marshall (@noobzcorp) October 26, 2022
