Sporting CP are held to a 1-1 stalemate

Sporting Clube de Portugal played out a 1-1 draw with CS Marítimo on Liga Portugal Matchday 24, away in Madeira.

With the absences of Pablo Sarabia, João Palhinha, Pedro Gonçalves, Bruno Tabata and Zouhair Feddal, coach Rúben Amorim made several changes to his initial lineup, including giving a first start to Islam Slimani. There was a return for Sebastián Coates, after serving a suspension, and Daniel Bragança and Nuno Santos were also brought in.
The duel in Barreiros went against Sporting CP almost from the off, with the home side scoring after just five minutes through Xadas. However, the response was not long in coming, as dangerous shots by Slimani, Coates and Pedro Porro provided danger.

Set up in the opposing half, they tried to attack open spaces whilst the opposition prepared counterattacks.

In the 38th minute, the equaliser finally came. Slimani appeared in the heart of the area, unmarked, and fired in a cross by Matheus Reis. It was a curious turn of events, as it had been precisely against CS Maritimo that he scored his first goal of his first stint at the club.

In the following minute, the home team put the ball into the net, but the goal was disallowed for offside after a VAR check.

In the second half, Sporting CP remained dominant. The first warning came from Paulinho, thanks to a low shot, and then Coates was just centimetres from putting in well-aimed header from a cross. After 70 minutes, it was Pedro Porro's turn to try his luck, hitting the woodwork with his attempt.

With Marcus Edwards and Rúben Vinagre on the field, Sporting CP gave everything in the final stretch in search of a second goal, putting the opposition on the ropes. However, Coates had another header go wide, and Slimani had his shot blocked by a defender, in the last two chances of the game. 

Sporting CP will return to the Estádio José Alvalade on Wednesday, March 2nd, for a duel against FC Porto in the first leg of the Taça de Portugal semi-finals.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GR], Gonçalo Inácio, Sebastián Coates [C], Matheus Reis, Pedro Porro, Matheus Nunes, Manuel Ugarte, Daniel Bragança (Rúben Vinagre, 80'), Nuno Santos (Marcus Edwards, 76'), Islam Slimani and Paulinho.