A 2-0 win against Lille OSC gets the campaign underway

On their return to the UEFA Champions League, Sporting Clube de Portugal got off to a flying start by beating Lille OSC 2-0 at home. Viktor Gyökeres and Zeno Debast scored the goals against the French side to get the first three points available in the competition.

Before kickoff, a minute's silence was held in tribute to the victims of the fires that have hit Portugal this week.

Sporting CP made three changes to their starting eleven, with Matheus Reis, Daniel Bragança and Nuno Santos making way for Ousmane Diomande, Hidemasa Morita and Geny Catamo.

The match began with Lille OSC allowing Sporting CP to have the ball, and they dominated the opening minutes without creating any major danger. The opening shot came when Hidemasa Morita struck wide from distance.

In a setback for the team, Gonçalo Inácio was injured after just 13 minutes, and Matheus Reis was brought on to replace him.

Little by little, the home side grew stronger and increasingly threatened their opponents. In the 17th minute Pedro Gonçalves shot wide, and shortly afterwards an excellent team move ended with Francisco Trincão also missing the target.

Almost half an hour into the game, Sporting CP came very close to scoring: Viktor Gyökeres set up Gonçalves to shoot, but Lille OSC goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier made a good save to deny him.

The deserved first goal of the contest came in the 38th minute, when a mistake by the Lille OSC defense allowed Gonçalves to win the ball and pass to Gyökeres. The Swede spun, gaining the space needed to get a drive into the net, and scored on his Champions League debut.

Lille OSC went down to ten men when Angel Gomes received a second yellow card, and failed to threaten before the interval. At halftime, Sporting CP led 1-0, having had six shots to the visitors' none.

Coach Rúben Amorim replaced Hidemasa Morita with Daniel Bragança for the second half and their dominance further increased. Geovany Quenda, Trincão, Bragança and Geny Catamo's all came within inches of a second goal.

It eventually arrived in the 65th minute, with a stunning effort from Zeno Debast. From the middle of the pitch, after a pass from Bragança, the Belgian centre back fired a powerful shot into the top corner that brought the Estádio José Alvalade to its feet.

After once again saving a shot from Gonçalves, Lille OSC goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier had to work hard to deny a one-on-one with Bragança, and Quenda could not convert from the rebound.

The 17-year-old was replaced by Maxi Araújo for another Champions League debut.

Lille OSC managed their first shot on 74 minutes, through Rémy Cabella, and at the other end, Sporting CP continued to be strong: Gyökeres shot into the side netting after a tremendous individual effort.

Conrad Harder came on for Trincão to get his first minutes for Sporting CP, and even came close to scoring with a header that went just over the bar.

Lille OSC had their best chance of the match with Rémy Cabella, but Franco Israel stood firm to keep a clean sheet.

Next up is Liga Portugal action against AVS on Sunday, while the UEFA Champions League returns on October 1st with an away trip to play PSV Eindhoven.

Sporting CP: Franco Israel [GK], Zeno Debast, Ousmane Diomande, Gonçalo Inácio (Matheus Reis, 13'), Geovany Quenda (Maxi Araújo, 73'), Morten Hjulmand [C], Hidemasa Morita (Daniel Braganca, 46'), Geny Catamo, Francisco Trincao (Conrad Harder, 87'), Pedro Gonçalves and Viktor Gyökeres.