For the second season running Sporting drew in Vila das Aves. Rafael Nel gave the Lisbon outfit the lead at the start of the second half, but Pedro Lima equalised from the spot for AFS and that was how it ended.
Last year’s draw put a dent in Sporting’s title charge but ultimately did not make the difference as the Lions lifted their second successive championship. Tonight’s 1-1 draw could be more costly. As well as virtually ending Sporting’s slim hopes of catching Porto at the top of the table, the two dropped points mean Rui Borges’ men no longer depend on themselves to finish in second place, with city rivals Benfica now in the box seat to capture the last Champions League slot.
AFS were officially relegated last week, but tonight’s result shows João Henriques side have not thrown in the towel on 2025/26.
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Both teams with patched up lineups
Injuries, the fixture pile-up and tiredness saw Borges make wholesale changes to Sporting’s lineup, with six different starters compared to their match in Porto on Wednesday.
AFS were also badly affected by injuries and suspensions with star players Kiki Afonso and Tomané among those missing.
Sporting started strongly, swamping the home defence in the opening 15 minutes and creating several chances to open the scoring, the best of which fell to Zeno Debast and Pedro Gonçalves whose shots were superbly saved by AFS’s Brazilian goalkeeper Adriel Ramos.
Having weathered the early storm AFS managed to stem Sporting’s attacking impetus. The referee was summoned to the pitch-side monitor on the stroke of half time for a possible foul on Rafael Nel by Devenish, but the official decided against a spot kick.
Youngster Nel hits the net
As in the first half, Sporting started the second half strongly, and took the lead in the 47th minute when Greek defender Georgios Vagiannidis burst forward and crossed for Nel to poke home from point-blank range.
The Lions almost doubled their lead soon afterwards as Pote steered a shot from the top of the box out of Adriel’s reach but it crashed back into play off the crossbar.
The Brazilian goalkeeper was in sparkling form, two more fantastic saves denying Hidemasa Morita and Giorgi Kochorashvili in quick succession.
Out of the blue, AFS were handed a golden opportunity to draw level when the referee was again summoned to check on a possible Morita handball in the box. This time the referee agreed with the VAR team and Pedro Lima made no mistake, converting the resulting penalty. 66 minutes on the clock and a 1-1 scoreline.
Chaotically open end to match
A draw was no good for Sporting who committed plenty of men forward, the game opening up with chances appearing at both ends.
On 75 minutes Diego Duarte swivelled and shot, forcing Sporting goalkeeper Rui Silva into a sharp save.
Sporting were desperately unlucky not to retake the lead in the 82nd minute as substitute Maxi Araújo forced Adriel into another impressive save, the ball eventually falling to Geny Catamo who smacked a shot against the post.
There was still time for more drama in stoppage time as first a swift breakaway from AFS resulted in Óscar Perea bursting clean through, but his shot hit the post.
Man-of-the-match Adriel has the last laugh
Play immediately switched to the other end and it needed yet another impressive save by AFS’s overworked goalkeeper Adriel to deny Luis Suárez from scoring a last-gasp winner for Sporting.
