Sporting CP strike in the 99th minute to beat FC Vizela 3-2

Sporting Clube de Portugal beat FC Vizela by 3-2 in thrilling fashion in their first match of the 2023/24 Liga Portugal season. Debutant Viktor Gyökeres scored twice and Paulinho grabbed a stoppage time winner to give the team the three points.

Gyökeres was playing his first official game and Geny Catamo made his starting XI debut, whilst Daniel Bragança was playing for the first time since May 2022 - coming back from a long term injury.

After receiving the award for the best pitch in Liga Portugal in 2022/23, Sporting CP got the contest underway. They could have opened the scoring after just four minutes, when Pedro Gonçalves took a free-kick and Sebastián Coates, with a header, forced goalkeeper Fabijan Buntić into an excellent intervention.

Shortly afterwards, Gonçalves was unable to reach Gyökeres's ball by a matter of centimetres, then later it was Hidemasa Morita's turn to try to set up Ousmane Diomande without success. The pressure from Sporting CP was very high and FC Vizela were unable to bring the ball out well.

The feeling was that it was only a matter of time before Sporting CP scored, and they got the goal in the 14th minute: Matheus Reis crossed into the heart of the area and Gyökeres took the ball off a deflection, taking on the defence and firing the ball into the net.

In the very next minute, the Swede took advantage of a mistake by the opposition to steal the ball, sell an opponent a dummy and shoot with his right foot to make it 2-0.

The two goals calmed the pace of the match, even though it was Sporting CP that continued to control proceedings. More goals could have followed, such as from the 27th-minute counterattack in which Gonçalves struck into a defender and from Gyökeres' header which Fabijan Buntić saved.

The first attempt by FC Vizela of any danger came in the 42nd minute, when Tomás Silva - a Liga Portugal winner for Sporting CP in 2020/21 - set up fellow former Leão Nuno Moreira, and he missed the target. In response, Gonçalves found Gyökeres and he crossed to Bragança, who shot over the crossbar.

For FC Vizela, shots by Kiko Bondoso and Samu went wide and were saved by Antonio Adán, respectively, before the halftime whistle.

During the interval, Sporting CP Women players Alicia Correia, Ana Borges, Ana Capeta, Diana Silva, Fátima Pinto and Joana Martins, who participated in Portugal's historic campaign in the Women's World Cup, as well as Olivia Smith, who also participated representing Canada, were welcomed onto the pitch.

For the second half, Marcus Edwards replaced Bragança, whilst in the 55th minute coach Rúben Amorim made another change to bring on Ricardo Esgaio in place of Geny Catamo.

Gonçalves had two chances before the hour, missing the target on the first and being denied by a good save from Buntić the second time around. At the other end, Diogo Nascimento shot from distance and Adán covered.

In the 64th minute, Afonso Moreira came on to make his debut for the first team, joined by Paulinho as Matheus Reis and Francisco Trincão went off.

It was FC Vizela who reduced their deficit in the 75th minute, when a mistake by Adán allowed Samuel Essende to make it 2-1.

They did not stop there and, two minutes later, they leveled after a cross by Tomás Silva found Nuno Moreira to turn it into the net.

After many minutes of indecision and frustration, the winning goal arrived. In the ninth minute of stoppage time, a high ball went into the FC Vizela area, Gyökeres headed on, Coates got a touch and Paulinho took the chance to score.

The late goal earned Sporting CP a winning start to the Liga Portugal campaign, and their first three points in 2023/24. Next up is a visit Casa Pia AC on Friday, August 18th.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GK], Ousmane Diomande, Sebastián Coates [C], Gonçalo Inácio, Geny Catamo (Ricardo Esgaio, 55'), Hidemasa Morita, Daniel Bragança (Marcus Edwards, 46'), Matheus Reis (Afonso Moreira, 64', Luís Neto, 90+10'), Francisco Trincão (Paulinho, 64'), Pedro Gonçalves and Viktor Gyökeres.