Sporting steeled for Barcelona challenge
Sporting Clube de Portugal are aiming to build on a profitable matchday one feat in Group D, nonetheless to do so they contingency get a improved of FC Barcelona.
• Barcelona themselves are in excellent fettle carrying non-stop a 2017/18 foe with an impressive 3-0 feat opposite Juventus, who finished their seductiveness in final season’s UEFA Champions League.
Previous meetings
• Gerard Piqué and Lionel Messi were both on aim a final time Sporting entertained Barcelona – a 5-2 divided win in a 2008/09 organisation stage. Thierry Henry, a Marco Caneira possess idea and Bojan Krkić, with a chastisement after Sporting goalkeeper Rui PatrÃcio had been sent off, were also on aim for Barça, with Miguel Veloso and Liedson removing a home goals.
• The teams during a Estádio José Alvalade on 26 Nov 2008 were:
Sporting: Rui PatrÃcio, Daniel Carriço, Anderson Polga, Caneira, Grimi, Veloso, Moutinho, Pereirinha, Yannick Djaló (Tiago 73), Romagnoli (Derlei 46), Liedson (Postiga 79).
Barcelona: Valdés, Alves, Cáceres, Piqué, Márquez, Xavi (Keita 74), Busquets, Hleb, Gudjohnsen, Messi (Pedro 57), Henry (Bojan 46).
• Barcelona – who went on to finish initial in a section, with Sporting second, and finished a deteriorate by lifting a prize – had won 3-1 during a Camp Nou interjection to goals from Rafael Márquez, a Samuel Eto’o chastisement and Xavi Hernández; Tonel replied for a visitors.
• The Spanish side were also winning in a teams’ usually other contest, nonetheless by a most narrower margin. Barcelona’s Júlio Alberto scored a usually idea of their initial leg in a 1987/88 UEFA Cup second turn though strikes in Lisbon from Manuel Negrete and Raphael Meade looked to have taken Sporting through, usually for Roberto’s 83rd-minute bid to give Barça an away-goals triumph.
Match background
Sporting
• The Lisbon bar won 3-2 during Olympiacos FC on matchday one and are dominant in 3 European games this deteriorate (W2 D1).
• The Portuguese side were 5-1 total winners opposite Romania’s FCSB in a play-offs, following adult a 0-0 home draw with a 5-1 success in Bucharest.
• Sporting are in a organisation theatre for a third time in 4 years. In 2016/17, they came fourth in their organisation behind Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid CF and Legia Warszawa. They mislaid dual of their 3 home games in final season’s competition, beating Legia Warszawa 2-0 on matchday two.
• The Portuguese bar have therefore mislaid 3 of their final 5 home European games, winning one.
• Their rejecting from final season’s book of a UEFA Champions League was reliable by a 2-1 detriment during home to Madrid on matchday five, their third unbroken detriment opposite Spanish opponents, home and away.
• Sporting have won usually one of their final 10 fixtures opposite Spanish opponents (D3 L6), beating Athletic Club 2-1 during home in a 2011/12 UEFA Europa League semi-final initial leg; they bent out after losing a lapse 3-1.
• Their altogether home record opposite teams from Spain is W6 D2 L3.
• Jorge Jesus’ side competent by finishing third in a Portuguese Liga in 2016/17.
Barcelona
• Barcelona have mislaid 3 of their final 4 divided games in a UEFA Champions League, including a 4-0 better during Paris in final season’s turn of 16 initial leg and an eventually essential 3-0 quarter-final first-leg detriment during Juventus. They have won only 4 of their final 11 divided matches in a competition, sketch dual and losing five.
• This is Barcelona’s record-equalling 22nd UEFA Champions League organisation theatre campaign, and 14th in succession. They final unsuccessful to strech a final 16 in 2000/01, nonetheless they did not take partial in 2003/04.
• The Blaugrana final unsuccessful to swell over a turn of 16 in 2006/07; their final dual campaigns have been finished in a quarter-finals, by Juve final season and Club Atlético de Madrid in 2015/16.
• Barcelona’s final outing to Portugal brought a 2-0 success during SL Benfica in a 2012/13 organisation stage. Their record divided to Portuguese Liga clubs is W4 D3 L5.
• The Blaugrana are dominant in their final 14 matches opposite Portuguese clubs, home and divided (W11 D3), given a 1-0 detriment during CF Os Belenenses in a 1987/88 UEFA Cup initial round.
Coach and actor links
• André Gomes played 41 games underneath Jorge Jesus – who gave him his veteran entrance – during Benfica between 2012 and 2014, scoring 4 goals. Nelson Semedo was partial of Benfica’s B organisation during Jesus’ final dual seasons during a club, though did not make his first-team entrance until a manager had over for Sporting.
• Gomes won all 3 of his Benfica matches opposite Sporting; Semedo’s record opposite Sporting with Benfica was W1 D1 L1.
• Andrés Iniesta scored past Rui PatrÃcio as Spain kick Portugal 4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 pull in a UEFA EURO 2012 semi-finals; Piqué, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Fábio Coentrão also played.
• Lionel Messi kick Rui PatrÃcio from a chastisement mark as Argentina won 2-1 in a accessible compare opposite Portugal in Switzerland, in Feb 2011; Javier Mascherano and Coentrão also featured.
• Bruno Fernandes and Daniel Podence were in a Portugal side beaten 3-1 by Gerard Deulofeu and Denis Suárez’s Spain in this summer’s UEFA European Under-21 Championship organisation stage; Tobias Figueiredo was an new substitute.
• Between 2014 and 2017 Jérémy Mathieu done 63 joining appearances for Barcelona, scoring 3 goals. Mathieu faced a Catalan side 8 times in all competitions for Valencia CF between 2009 and 2014 (W1 D3 L4).
• As a Real Madrid actor between 2011 and 2017, Coentrão done 58 Liga appearances, scoring once. He faced Barcelona 10 times in all competitions (W4 D2 L4).
• Also played in Spain:
Tobias Figueiredo (CF Reus, 2013/14)
Cristiano Piccini (Real Betis Balompié, 2014–17)
• International team-mates:
Jérémy Mathieu Lucas Digne, Samuel Umtiti, Ousmane Dembélé (France)
Rui PatrÃcio, Fábio Coentrão, Gelson Martins, William Carvalho Nelson Semedo, André Gomes (Portugal)
Bas Dost Jasper Cillessen (Netherlands)
Marcos Acuña Javier Mascherano, Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Sebastián Coates Luis Suárez (Uruguay)
• Have played together:
Sebastián Coates Luis Suárez (Liverpool FC, 2011–14)
Bruno Cèsar André Gomes (Benfica, 2012)
Jérémy Mathieu Jordi Alba (Valencia CF, 2009–12)
Jérémy Mathieu Paco Alcácer (Valencia, 2013/14)