Surprising line-up deserved more in Signal Iduna Park

Although fielding five in defence, Sporting CP certainly didn't sit on the back foot in Signal Iduna Park, in a quest to guarantee Champions League continuity against Borussia Dortmund. It was a very much surprising starting eleven from Jorge Jesus, with Paulo Oliveira slotting in along side the usual pairing of Coates and Rúben Semedo, while Castaignos came in for Bas Dost. The final result was far from the objective, but Sporting CP did put in a battling performance that deserved better.

With Jesus and Tuchel both having mixed it up for the Champions League showdown, the game started with a chance in both 18-yard boxes and it was the first first effort on goal that dictated the final result. Ginter managed to find a yard of space down the right and float a ball in for Adrian Ramos, who got the jump on Paulo Oliveira and headed past Rui Patrício in the 12th minute. Sporting CP responded down the other end of the mark and Gelson Martins broke through on goal after a superb spell of passing play, but the Alvalade youngster was unable to get the better of Burki.

The dying stages essentially saw Sporting CP finish with 10 men, as Schelotto struggled on. Bryan Ruiz had a chance to level with a header late on, but his shot was off target. Legia Warsaw's surprise draw with Real Madrid does leave a narrow window for Jorge Jesus's side to still quality for the next round, but the maths is stacked against Sporting CP going into the last two matches of the group stage.