please log in to view this image Venue: José Alvalade Stadium Date: Tuesday 26th November 2024 KO time: 20:00 GMT Overall Record Wins: 2 Losses: 1 Draws: 3 Last six meetings Arsenal 1-1 Sporting CP (Sporting CP win 5-3 on penalties) Sporting CP 2-2 Arsenal Arsenal 0-0 Sporting CP Sporting CP 0-1 Arsenal Arsenal 3-0 Sporting CP please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
1-0! Martinelli! Deserved lead in the opening 8 minutes. We've been all over them. Really good play between Timber, Rice and Odegaard. The Dutch fullback puts in a dangerous low cross and Martinelli taps home. Lovely stuff.
That goal seems to have woken Sporting up because they've played through our press and whipped in some dangerous crosses that we haven't cleared properly. They're counter pressing man-to-man and push their CBs up when they attack.
We're struggling to pick up the extra man when their wingers come inside. Their midfielders are dropping in between the lines quite a lot. They're actually playing through us more than I thought. And they're stretching us too. Need to be careful.
Geovani whips in a lovely cross into Araujo and Timbers heads it out for a corner. We need to get out to them quicker. Fullbacks also need a bit more support from our wingers defensively because they're creating overloads too easily.
Decent spell of possession - starting to grow back into the game. Sporting can be got at, but we need to be a bit more rigid OOP because they've got in our third too easily at times.
2-0! Havertz! What a start from Arsenal. Great ball over the top from Partey into Saka, who gets ahead of the goalkeeper and knocks the ball into Havertz, where he taps home into an empty net.
Arsenal break fast from a Sporting free-kick, Raya claims the ball and quickly rolls it out to Odegaard. Odegaard plays a precise pass into Saka who almost makes it 3-0 but Israel makes the save. Although I've been slightly concerned with how they've played through us a few times, we've largely been excellent. This has been a superb away performance on the whole (so far).
We're absolutely killing them since we've got the 2nd. Total domination. Gyokeres not had a sniff at all. Unlucky to not have scored the 3rd. Hopefully we can get it to kill the game off.
Another chance that falls to Rice. After a really aggressive interception near the halfway line from Saliba on Gyokeres, they turnover the ball and Saka's shot riccochets off Havertz but lands at Rice's feet and he blazes it well over. Their confidence looks shot. We need to kill this off.
Saka, again, toying with Araujo, sits him on his arse with a checkback, he crosses it into Havertz, who heads it back across goal and Diomande clears before Martinelli can tap home.
3-0! Gabriel! Lovely inswinger from Rice, goes over everyone, Israel doesn't come for the ball and Gabriel heads home. Half-time whistle goes. What an unbelievable half of football that was. Our best performance in the CL by a country mile. Sporting haven't lost a game all season, they're 11/11 wins in their domestic league and we've made them look like a Championship side in that half. Unreal display. Everyone has been absolutely immense.
3-1. Ignacio from a corner. Annoying. Not the best time to concede - 90 seconds into the second half. Let's hope we can stem the tide and keep our momentum going.
Now Sporting have a free-kick on the edge of our box . We've been caught sleeping in the opening 7 minutes. Need to wake up.
Sporting really have got their tails up since scoring. The atmosphere in the stadium has got a very different feel to it. Just ride this storm and regain control of the game.
Edwards with a decent chance. Just fires over. Need to think about making some changes. We're not keeping the ball well enough and they're looking sharper. To be fair, they can't have been worse than what they showed in that first half. But I don't want us to give them a whiff back into the match.
