The team win against FC Porto with a goal from Gyökeres

Sporting Clube de Portugal secured a place in the Taça da Liga final after beating FC Porto 1-0 in the semifinal, played at the Estádio Municipal Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, in Leiria.

Ahead of the game, coach Rui Borges asked his side for ambition and pragmatism, and this was the recipe for success, coupled with a 58th minute strike from Viktor Gyökeres to decide the contest.

This was the third time that Sporting CP and FC Porto faced each other this season, after a victory for each side – 2-0 in Liga Portugal at Alvalade and 3-4, after extra time, for FC Porto in the Supertaça.

Borges made two changes to the starting eleven that had featured against both SL Benfica and Vitória SC: Iván Fresneda took over on the right flank instead of Eduardo Quaresma, and Maxi Araújo was the starting left winger in place of Geovany Quenda left.

Gonçalo Inácio was back from injury and Ricardo Esgaio from a three-game suspension, with both on the bench.

On their first attack, Sporting CP could have caused a lot of danger, but Geny Catamo was unable to send the ball to Gyökeres  inside the area. After the first ten minutes, FC Porto responded with an attack from Samu, but Fresneda came out to clean up in the nick of time. However, as a result of this move, Matheus Reis picked up an injury and had to be replaced by Quenda, as Maxi retreated to the left flank.

FC Porto's Nico González shot slightly wide of Franco Israel's goal, and close to half an hour in, Rodrigo Mora also tried his luck from the edge of the area.

Geny Catamo had a blocked shot that lifted the team, and also sent in a low cross that no teammate was able to reach. Sporting CP grew into the contest and proved more capable of finding ways to attack in the final stretch of the first half. Gyökeres was called upon from deep more frequently. On one such occasion, he cut in from the left to the middle, then struck wide.

Quenda, who had already seen a shot blocked, tried again from outside the area, but goalkeeper Cláudio Ramos was not fooled by the deflection that the ball took and made the save.

Although Rui Borges' men ended the first half clearly on top, the score remained 0-0 at the break.

In the second period, Sporting CP took control of the game and made it 1-0 with the first big opportunity of the game: After a good attacking combination, Quenda received the ball in the 'D' and, with a touch from the defender, picked out Gyökeres, who held his nerve when through on Cláudio Ramos and found the net. It was his fifth goal in six games against FC Porto, and took the team closer to the final.

Immediately, FC Porto tried to react, mainly through crosses, but without their attacks requiring much work from Israel. At the other end, Trincão was set free in the area, but an awkward shot failed to cause problems.

At the hour of play, Rui Borges made the first substitution,  replacing the young João Simões with Hidemasa Morita.

The best attempt at an equaliser for FC Porto was a shot over Samu, after a Sporting CP error, and another shot from distance from Otávio, saved relatively smoothly by Israel.

Sporting CP controlled things until the end, and made their way through to the final. They will play either SL Benfica or SC Braga on Saturday, at 7:45 pm, in their eighth appearance in the final of a competition which they have won four times.

Sporting CP: Franco Israel [GK], Iván Fresneda (Eduardo Quaresma, 89’), Ousmane Diomande, Jeremiah St. Juste, Matheus Reis (Geovany Quenda, 14'), Morten Hjulmand [C], Hidemasa Morita (João Simões, 69'), Geny Catamo, Maxi Araújo, Francisco Trincão (Conrad Harder, 89') and Viktor Gyökeres.