Two goals at home provide an advantage over Rio Ave FC

Back at the Estádio José Alvalade for the first time in almost three weeks Sporting Clube de Portugal beat Rio Ave FC 2-0 in the first leg of their Taça de Portugal semifinal. Goals from Geny Catamo and Viktor Gyökeres handed the team the advantage in the tie, and made it six consecutive victories.

Sporting CP made four changes in relation to the XI that beat CF Estrela da Amadora at home in the previous game. Maxi Araújo and Morten Hjulmand returned from suspension, and Jeremiah St. Juste and Catamo were also brought in, as Matheus left Reis, Gonçalo Inácio, Geovany Quenda and Eduardo Felicíssimo would begin the game on the bench. Hidemasa Morita and Pedro Gonçalves remained out through injury, as did Nuno Santos, Daniel Bragança and João Simões.

The opening to the game required patience and a lot of possession, up against the visitors' compact block, but Sporting CP did not have to wait long for their first goal. On 12 minutes, following a corner, the ball went to the edge of the area and Catamo struck with his left foot -giving Sporting CP the lead and the Mozambican his sixth goal of the season.

Rio Ave FC tried to respond with long shots from Clayton and André Luiz, but it was Sporting CP, by activating Gyökeres, who came very close to doubling their lead. Firstly, an effort was cleared at the last second, then Rio Ave FC goalkeeper Cezary Miszta got the better of the forward after he had regained the ball high up the pitch.

Two promising shots – from Trincão and from Gyökeres - were then smothered by the defenders, but just before the break Sporting CP made it 2-0. Catamo was brought down in the area, and Gyökeres converted the penalty with a panenka. It was his 43rd goal of the campaign, equalling his tally from 2023/24.

A third goal should have come as soon as the second half got underway, but Trincão could not finish off a well-worked play and shot over. About ten minutes later, Catamo also had a great opportunity, as he was served up the ball by Gyökeres from a skillful dribble, but he struck poorly and did not convert the chance.

Gyökeres made yet another sprint, and slammed a piledriver of a shot into the post, before coach Rui Borges made a triple substitution and brought on Matheus Reis, Geovany Quenda and Eduardo Felicíssimo for St. Juste, Iván Fresneda and Hjulmand.

In one of the visitors' rare forays into the attack in the second half, substitute Tiago Morais shot from distance at Rui Silva, who had little trouble containing the effort.

Os Leões continued to attack in search of an increasingly deserved third goal, but had both a hit over by Trincão shot again and a Catamo goal disallowed by VAR for offside.

Before the final whistle, Conrad Harder came on and immediately smashed an attempt wide, Maxi Araújo saw his touch blocked as the ball was heading towards goal, then Gyökeres did everything right but shot just wide.

Quenda had the final chance, but his hit from outside the area ended up in the hands of Miszta and the game ended 2-0.

The second leg of this tie is scheduled for April 22nd in Paços de Ferreira, at the Estádio Capital do Móvel, and not in Vila do Conde. Before that, Sporting CP turn their focus back to Liga Portugal, with an important game against SC Braga this Monday.

Sporting CP: Rui Silva [GK], Iván Fresneda (Geovany Quenda, 64’), Eduardo Quaresma, Ousmane Diomande, Jeremiah St. Juste (Matheus Reis, 64’), Maxi Araújo, Morten Hjulmand [C] (Eduardo Felicíssimo, 64’), Zeno Debast, Francisco Trincão (Conrad Harder, 79’), Geny Catamo (Biel Teixeira, 88’), Viktor Gyökeres.