Two red cards harm the team in a 0-2 defeat

Sporting Clube de Portugal lost 0-2 to Olympique Marseille on Matchday 4 of the UEFA Champions League group stage, and now find themselves level on six points with the French side in third place.

After Antonio Adán's sending off in the first game between the two teams a week prior, coach Rúben Amorim brought in Franco Israel to make his debut as goalkeeper for the side.

The contest was evenly matched to begin with, until Sporting CP suffered a tough setback 17 minutes in: Ricardo Esgaio received a second yellow card and was sent off in a penalty incident, with Guendouzi putting Marseille ahead from the spot.

With Sporting CP reduced to ten men, Hidemasa Morita was replaced by Fatawu Issahaku, who made his first appearance in the competition, in order to reorganise the team's structure. 

Marseille extended their lead to 0-2 through Alexis Sánchez in the 31st minute.

Amorim responded with changes, bringing in José Marsà and Sotiris Alexandropoulos and taking off Coates and Edwards, which allowed Sporting CP to have more of the ball. On the rare occasions when Marseille broke through, Franco Israel performed well with a pair of interventions.

In the restart after the interval, Trincão was withdrawn for Flávio Nazinho to come on. A more attacking Sporting CP emerged, and in the opening seconds, Matheus Reis broke into the area and saw a shot blocked by an opposition defender.

The opponents, however, took the reins again, as a result of their numerical advantage -extended when Pedro Gonçalves was sent off for a second bookable offence and Sporting CP faced a final half-hour with just nine players on the field.

The pace slowed down a lot and, despite Olympique Marseille having more possession, there were few chances bar off-target shots and a ball that hit the post. 

The game ended 0-2, with Marseille drawing level with Sporting CP in the table -and above them on head-to-head.

The fifth and penultimate matchday of the UEFA Champions League group stage is scheduled for October 26th, with the team traveling to London to face Tottenham Hotspur FC. Before that, they will face Varzim SC this Sunday in the Taça de Portugal.

Sporting CP: Franco Israel [GK], Gonçalo Inácio, Sebastián Coates [C], Matheus Reis, Ricardo Esgaio, Hidemasa Morita (Fatawu Issahaku, 22'), Manuel Ugarte, Nuno Santos (Pedro Porro, 59'), Francisco Trincão ( Flávio Nazinho, 45'), Marcus Edwards and Pedro Gonçalves.