Oliver Glasner made one enforced change from the 4-0 win over Leipzig at the weekend, with Junior Dina Ebimbe making his full debut in midfield in place of the injured Sebastian Rode.
Eagles probe
With an electric atmosphere inside the stadium, Eintracht almost took the lead after just two minutes when Randal Kolo Muani latched onto a misplaced pass, only to be denied by the feet of Sporting goalkeeper Adan. The Eagles were then given a scare when referee Orel Grinfeeld awarded a penalty when Marcus Edwards went down under a challenge from Christopher Lenz, but the decision was rightly overturned by VAR.
The visitors had more of the possession in the first half but it was Eintracht who looked the more likely to break the deadlock, with their early pressing causing Sporting problems. Glasner’s men frequently got into good positions but just lacked the final ball, with a Sporting shirt often in the way. The Portuguese side had a decent opportunity of their own in the 35th minute, when Edwards cut in from the left and aimed for the near post, but Kevin Trapp got down quickly to push it away.
Clinical Sporting
Eintracht couldn’t quite get into the same attacking rhythm after the break, with Kolo Muani’s low shot on the hour mark their only attempt on target. Then came the decisive period of the game when Sporting scored twice in as many minutes. First Edwards’ deflected shot beat the outstretched arm of Trapp, and then the Englishman turned provider for Trincao, who took advantage of the disorganisation in the Eintracht defence to make it 2-0.
Glasner threw on attacking reinforcements in the form of Rafael Borré and Lucas Alario as his side tried to find a way back into the contest, but they couldn’t break through the Sporting defence. Kolo Muani fired over from distance and then half-time substitute Luca Pellegrini curled a free-kick over the bar, just before Sporting wrapped up the win on the counter as Porros played a perfectly timed diagonal ball to substitute Nuno Santos, who drilled it into the far corner.
Summary: Harsh lesson
It wasn’t the Champions League debut that Eintracht would have hoped for, although the scoreline is slightly flattering for Sporting. Having failed to take advantage of their good passages of play in the first half, Glasner’s men were punished in the second by a side with more experience at this level.
SGE line-up
Trapp – Jakic (Knauff 84’), Tuta, Ndicka, Lenz (Pellegrino 46’) – Sow, Ebimbe (Borré 66’) – Lindström (Alario 74’), Götze, Kamada (Hasebe 84’) – Kolo Muani
Goals
0-1 Edwards (65')
0-2 Trincao (67')
0-3 (Nuno Santos (82')
