Sporting CP beat Manchester City 4-1 in an incredible Champions League night

A 4-1 win for Sporting Clube de Portugal against Manchester City shook up the UEFA Champions League and caused delight amongst Sportinguistas. Viktor Gyökeres' hat trick and Maxi Araújo's goal helped earn one of the most iconic European victories in the club's history.

A packed Estádio José Alvalade paid tribute to outgoing coach Rúben Amorim, who was taking charge of his final home fixture before joining Manchester United. The coach made two changes to the starting lineup, fielding Matheus Reis and Hidemasa Morita in place of Gonçalo Inácio and Daniel Bragança, whilst Manchester City presented a strong XI that included former Sporting CP player Matheus Nunes.

After observing a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the floods in the Valencia region of Spain, the game got underway.

The start was not a good one, and after just four minutes, a mistake by Hidemasa Morita at the back allowed Phil Foden to steal the ball and shoot past Franco Israel to put CIty ahead.

The Premier League side showed great dominance, especially in possession, but Sporting CP had a huge opportunity of their own in the eighth minute: Played through by Pedro Gonçalves, Viktor Gyökeres closed in on goalkeeper Ederson and tried to chip him -only to fail to get enough lift on his effort.

Shortly afterwards, Erling Haaland's shot needed a great save by Franco Israel, and Savinho also tried his luck. Close to the half-hour, Foden's corner was headed by Erling Haaland, at the far post, but Gyökeres hooked the ball off the line. Franco Israel then kept out another effort from Haaland and Bernardo Silva, in the 36th minute, shot just wide.

Against the script, Sporting CP got the equaliser. Through the brilliant work by Geovany Quenda, a high-level assist gave Gyökeres another chance, and he shook off City defender Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and finished clinically to make it 1-1.

Before the break, a counterattack ended up with a Francisco Trincão shot wide, and Matheus Nunes' shot was saved by Franco Israel.

The start of the second half ended up being one of the greatest in the history of Sporting CP. Just 20 seconds in, Pedro Gonçalves and Maxi Araújo combined for the latter to make it 2-1, handing the home side the lead.

In the next minute, Trincão was brought down in the area. Gyökeres stepped up and slotted away the penalty, increasing the advantage to 3-1.

Shaken by Sporting CP's two goals, Manchester City FC never managed to assert the control from the first half in the second period. They did, however, get a penalty of their own when the ball hit Ousmane Diomande's arm. Haaland's spot kick was struck firmly, but smashed against the crossbar -leading to a collective roar from the crowd.

With 15 minutes remaining, Maxi Araújo, Hidemasa Morita and Matheus Reis made way for Geny Catamo, Daniel Bragança and Jeremiah St. Juste.

Gyökeres had a shot saved by Ederson, but completed his hat trick with a second penalty, when Geny Catamo was brought down by Nunes. This time he kept his shot low, converting inside the left stick.

Eduardo Quaresma and Conrad Harder came in for Geovany Quenda and Francisco Trincão, as more players got involved in a magical night at Alvalade.

The final score of 4-1 was celebrated long into the night, and keeps Sporting CP unbeaten in Europe this season.

Sporting CP: Franco Israel [GK], Zeno Debast, Ousmane Diomande, Matheus Reis (Jeremiah St. Juste, 74'), Geovany Quenda (Eduardo Quaresma, 85'), Morten Hjulmand [C], Hidemasa Morita (Daniel Bragança, 74 '), Maxi Araújo (Geny Catamo, 74'), Francisco Trincão (Conrad Harder, 88'), Pedro Gonçalves and Viktor Gyökeres.