Time to wrap things up – something City did after about half an hour. They not only scored two memorable goals, and a few of their usual tap-ins: they kept a clean sheet for the first time in this season’s Champions League. They’ve gone all the way from 6-3 to 5-0.
Thanks for your company, and do have a read of Jamie Jackson’s match report from Lisbon.
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And here’s Pep. Was that pretty much a perfect performance, he is asked. Of course not, says his face. “Nooo... Some players, they underperform. We lost some easy balls, but today we were so clinical – every time we arrive in the first 20 minutes, we score. The difference is not 0-5 but they attacked with a lot of players in front of the ball, we defended well, and we were clinical.”
Asked to elaborate on the imperfections, he says: ”There is one rule in football – when you have the ball, try to don’t lose it. Especially the easy ones.”
He goes out of his way to praise Matheus Nunes. “One of the best players, I would say actually, in world football.”
He finishes by saying, “I’m very happy – don’t misunderstand me.”
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Back to City. They only had six shots on target!
Man United have scored a second! After four games in binary, and a jittery last few minutes against the ten men of Brighton, Bruno Fernandes seals a much-needed win with a solo run. United go fourth, two points above West Ham.
The man of the match is Bernardo Silva. “I honestly think in the first half we weren’t that good,” he says, sounding like his master’s voice. “We were a bit sloppy. You need some luck to score that many goals from few chances.” But he’s full of smiles. His mum, he says, supports Sporting, while his dad is Benfica.
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That game has now ended, so Poch has a win over Real Madrid. But Pep, I suspect, has the headlines.
Meanwhile, in Paris, Mbappe has scored in the 95th minute. Assist by Neymar, with a back heel.
Manchester City have now scored 98 goals this season.
Full time: Sporting 0-5 City
And that is that: the end of a very elegant rout. City win in Portugal for only the second time ever. The crowd keep singing when they’re losing, but the tie is surely over.
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90+2 min: A corner to City. The Sporting fans award a standing ovation, possibly to City, more likely to their own team, for keeping going – and only conceding one in this half.
90 min: There will be three more minutes of this.
89 min: Sterling goes on a run, more of a slalom, but eventually runs into traffic. The crowd are still singing away: take that, Robbie Williams.
87 min: In the flurry of substitutions, I missed one, sorry: Ake is on for Laporte.
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84 min: The latest yellow is for Ugarte. Bernardo Silva goes off, so he ends up with everything but a hat-trick. His spot goes to Liam Delap: City are reduced to playing an actual striker.
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81 min: Another Sporting sub. Luis Neto comes on for Pedro Porro, who goes down as the player most embarrassed by his parent club in this year’s Champions League – like Coutinho in reverse.
78 min: Sporting get into the City box, only to let themselves down with a limp cross. They then let themselves down in a. different way as Esgaio makes a nasty late tackle on Mahrez. If there were such a thing as an orange card, he would have got one.
74 min: A yellow for Gundogan. And a familiar face coming on for Sporting: Islam Slimani, once of Leicester, replaces Paulinho. Bruno Tabata is on too, for Sarabia.
73 min: Another sub for City as Rodri walks off and Fernandinho comes on for his 99th appearance in the Champions League. Rodri gets an earful from Pep about something. “I can’t believe we’re not 10-0 up!”
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71 min: City knocking the ball around again. It’s been a very measured annihilation.
68 min: Meanwhile, in Paris, Lionel Messi has missed a penalty – saved by Courtois. That game is still 0-0.
66 min: The one bright spark for Sporting has been Nunes, in midfield, who, with his crisp passes and classy turns, looks like a Wolves regular waiting to happen. he blots his copybook now with a double foul, which brings a single yellow card rather than the full Martinelli.
64 min: City are still attacking, but the chances fall to Zinchenko and Laporte, who pepper the crowd.
Meanwhile, back in Manchester, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored his first goal of 2022. United lead Brighton 1-0, rather against the run of play.
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61 min: Pep decides he can afford to make some changes. He brings off Foden and Stones, and sends on Gundogan and Zinchenko, so Cancelo will now be terrorising Sporting’s left side instead of their right.
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GOAL! Sporting 0-5 City (Sterling 58)
Another screamer! Sterling had just missed a header, but he doesn’t miss with this – he picks it up near the D, cuts inside and curls the ball into the top corner.
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57 min: Sporting set foot in the City box, for the first time in several years, but nothing comes of it.
55 min: Mahrez wins a free kick on the right. De Bruyne takes it, it’s bobbing about but there’s a foul by Laporte.
53 min: While the VAR was deliberating, Sporting sent on a sub – Ugarte for Pote.
Disallowed goal! By Silva
Silva thinks he’s got a hat-trick after putting away a simple header from De Bruyne’s classy cross. It’s given by the ref, but the VAR sees a clear offside.
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49 min: This half has been pretty even.
46 min: they’re back on. Rúben Amorim, showing faith in his team, has made no changes.
“Since Sporting Lisbon is not a real name,” says Yash Gupta, “may I suggest one? Portugal Wolverhampton Wanderers!”
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City have had only five shots on target, and just two of their chances have been adjudged clear-cut. They have completed 92 per cent of their passes. Sporting have had no shots on target.
Sporting may have felt this tie couldn’t possibly be worse than their only other Champions League knockout. But when they lost 12-1 to Bayern on aggregate in 2008-09, they were only 1-0 down at half-time in the first leg. That game ended 5-0, the second leg 7-1.
City are not the only Club de Manchester playing tonight. United are at home to Brighton in a game rearranged from just before Christmas. The scoreline there, after 35 minutes or so, is not quite as eye-catching: 0-0.
Half-time! Sporting 0-4 City
There’s time for De Bruyne to blast a shot over the bar, so at least it’s not 5-0. City have been magnificent, and poor old Sporting have found themselves playing the role of Norwich.
45 min: There will be three added minutes.
GOAL! Sporting 0-4 City (Silva 44)
Yet another! Cancelo chips it though to Sterling, who waits with his cut-back till Silva is there for the finish. It’s a jammy one, taking a big deflection, but it’s 4-0 and Silva has two.
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37 min: Sporting manage to repel an attack as Silva gets to the byline. You’ve got to feel for Sporting: they’ve shown plenty of spirit, and yet are in danger of beating their own record for the heaviest aggregate defeat ever in the Champions League knockout stages (1-12, v Bayern).
GOAL! Sporting 0-3 City (Foden 32)
And another! Mahrez works hard on the right, waiting for an opening, and when he finds it he whips the ball in low, under his marker’s foot. Foden takes his time, dumps the centre-back on the floor, and puts a simple shot in the corner with his right foot.
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29 min: Pep is up and yelling, wanting the ball moved quicker. Paulinho gets a half-chance but blasts it over, and may be offside anyway.
“I went to a game at Sporting’s lovely stadium a few years ago in Lisbon,” says Matthew Drake. “I can’t say whether they should be called Sporting or Club de Portugal, but I can tell you that I must have smoked the equivalent of a pack of cigarettes via my fellow fans that evening.”
27 min: Laporte is in trouble, fouling Paulinho in the centre circle, then showing dissent. Silva calms him down and there’s no yellow.
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25 min: A classy turn by Nunes in midfield sets Sarabia away down the left, but City get a swarm of defenders back.
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22 min: City make a mistake! Rodri plays a blind pass back into the middle. Goncalves is onto it fast, but Laporte mops up the mess.
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20 min: Sporting have a shot! In fact two, both by Goncalves – the first blocked, the second chipped nicely but wide.
GOAL! Sporting 0-City 2 (Silva 17)
Wow! As the ball bobble about after a corner, Bernardo Silva blast a half-volley into the roof of the net. Game over?
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16 min: City have won only once in their last six visits to Portugal, but you wouldn’t know it from the way they’re knocking the ball around here.
14 min: City keep finding space down the left. Cancelo has one cross, De Bruyne another, but the second is ballooned.
12 min: “That’ll quieten the crowd,” Martin Keown said when the goal was given. It hasn’t: they’re singing their hearts out. And Sporting are responding, getting into the area, albeit without managing a shot.
11 min: Another attempt from City as Stones gets a header on a cross, but it goes wide.
The player who looked offside was De Bruyne, who picked up the loose ball after the parry and played a neat cut-back to Mahrez. But De Bruyne was level with the last defender. when Foden took his shot. Too easy.
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GOAL! Sporting 0-1 City (Mahrez 7)
It is given! Riyad Mahrez can’t stop scoring in the Champions League.
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Disallowed goal! Mahrez
7 min: Foden has the first shot of the game, low and crisp. The keeper pushes it out and Mahrez taps it in, but it’s ruled offside. The VAR is taking his time – maybe it’s going to be given...
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5 min: Bernardo Silva wins a corner that somehow culminates in a back pass to Ederson.
4 min: Esgaio ghosts into the box, the wrong side of Dias, but Ederson gathers safely.
2 min: City’s turn to have a minute’s possession, but there’s no threat attached. The crowd are making a lot of noise, much of it hurled at the Old Benficans.
1 min: Sporting kick off and play the ball around nicely. It must be balmy in Lisbon: Pep has taken his coat off.
Both sides take the knee.
The players are out there. Sporting are in their green and white hoops, City in navy blue.
“Another commonly accepted name for Sporting,” says Alexandre Chesneau, “is The Lizards. Although Sporting fans and players themselves may not enjoy it too much. Thank you for the coverage and have a great game.”
“Do Manchester City really have a guy called Slicker on their bench?” asks Simon Gill. “If so, optimistic subeditors up and down the land must be rubbing their hands together in glee, or is it like one of those international squad lineups in the Fiver where Scotland always include Shortbread Tartan McFiver and so on?” Ha. He’s for real: a teenage goalie called Cieran Slicker.
A tweet comes in from Lisbon, of all places. “Sporting Lisbon doesn’t exist!” says Tim Stappard. “Please it’s Clube de Portugal.” You’re quite right, but they are quite widely known as Sporting Lisbon. In an effort to meet in the middle, I’ll amend the team sheet.
Pep Guardiola has picked all four of his Benfica old boys – Ederson, Cancelo, Dias and Silva. Benfica’s ground, as you know, is about 4km away from Sporting’s. Asked about this in his pre-match interview, Pep says they gave the team talk. I think he’s joking, but I can’t be sure.
An email has landed. “Was it absolutely necessary,” wonders Matt Burtz, “to note that Rúben Amorim is 37? (I kid, of course.) I turned 40 recently, and between this and the fact that the Super Bowl winning coach is only 36, I’m beginning to think that I will never reach my coaching potential.” Ha. You’ll be fine: Ralf Rangnick is 63, and Roy Hodgson is about 102.
Teams: Stones at right-back
At least that’s how it looks, with Kyle Walker suspended after his red card in the last group game. Pep being Pep, of course, Stones could just as well be the false nine.
Sporting CP Adan; Inacio, Coates, Reis; Porro, Palhinha, Nunes, Esgaio; Sarabia, Paulinho, Pote.
Subs: Braganca, Feddal, Tabata, Neto, Souza, Ugarte, Vinagre, Edwards, Virgínia, Santos, Pontes, Slimani.
Manchester City Ederson; Stones, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo; Rodri, Silva, de Bruyne; Mahrez, Foden, Sterling.
Subs: Carson, Slicker, Ake, Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Gündogan, Kayky, Delap, Mbete, McAtee, Lavia.
Referee S Jovanovic (Serbia).
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Preamble
Quiz question: what do Sporting Lisbon and Manchester City have in common at the moment? Apart from being in the last 16 of the Champions League, obviously.
The answer is that they have both lost only two league games this season, and drawn only three. For City, that’s enough to be hot favourites for yet another Premier League title. For Sporting, it’s not enough, as they find themselves six points behind Porto, who are unbeaten. But it does show how resilient they have become under Rúben Amorim.
When the world seems to shine like you’ve had too much wine, that’s Amorim. After inheriting a shambles two years ago, this rookie manager, still only 37, has led Sporting to a league title, two league-cup triumphs and this, the second Champions League knockout tie in their history. He may prefer to draw a veil over the first: back in 2008-09 Sporting managed to lose 12-1 on aggregate to Bayern Munich, setting a record for the heaviest knockout defeat in the tournament that stands to this day.
Another drubbing is all too possible here. According to Nate Silver’s prediction machine, City have a 70pc chance of a win tonight, making this the second most lop-sided tie of the round behind Chelsea-Lille. If that sounds like a recipe for complacency, four of City’s best players will bring an extra motivation: Ederson, Rúben Dias, Joao Cancelo and Bernardo Silva are all alumni of Benfica, Sporting’s deadly rivals.
Still, as Pep Guardiola pointed out in his press conference, Sporting were good enough at the group stage to edge out Borussia Dortmund. And, as he didn’t go on to say, they’ve seen off City over two legs before – in their only previous meeting, a Europa League quarter-final ten years ago. So you’d have to say the home side have a Sporting chance.
That win, by the way, came on away goals, the funny old tie-breaker that has now been binned. No more of those Monaco nightmares for Pep; no more of those intriguing calculations for the rest of us.
Kick-off is at 8pm GMT, and I’ll be back soon after 7pm with the teams.
