Sporting CP brush away FC Arouca on their return home

Sporting Clube de Portugal defeated FC Arouca 6-0 at the renovated Estádio José Alvalade on Liga Portugal Matchday 2, taking them to 6 points from their opening pair of fixtures.

Before kickoff, Pedro Gonçalves was honoured for his 200th appearances for the club, receiving a commemorative jersey from president Frederico Varandas and a thunderous ovation from the Sporting CP fans in attendance.

The match started in a lively fashion, with both teams showing initiative and quickly getting into the opposition penalty area. Rui Borges's men took control, and before the fifth minute was up, Geny Catamo had already twice attempted to set up Luis Suárez to score -the ball bouncing off the defence on both occasions.

From the 10th minute onward, with greater possession and decisiveness, Sporting CP began to push FC Arouca further back, while Vasco Seabra's men relied on quick transitions to try to catch out the home team’s defence.

The first goal came in the 19th minute, from the feet of first-time starter Ricardo Mangas. He appeared in the right place to open the scoring, kicking off a long-awaited debut in the best possible way.

Sporting CP didn't take their foot off the gas, and three minutes later Mangas came very close to getting his second. Storming down the left, the winger unleashed a powerful shot from the edge of the box just wide of João Valido's goal.

On a night of many firsts, Luis Suárez also opened his scoring account. In the 30th minute, after Gonçalo Inácio was fouled inside the box, the striker stepped up to convert the penalty.

With FC Arouca reduced to ten men due to the sending off that led to the penalty, the pace of play slowed until halftime, but in the 41st minute, Pedro Gonçalves once again got the crowd excited. The Portuguese midfielder fired a shot over the bar after a Luis Suárez effort.

Goal number three arrived three minutes later: Francisco Trincão appeared brilliantly in the area and, after a powerful shot from Zeno Debast, took advantage of the rebound to make it 3-0 heading into the halftime break.

Sporting CP began the second half with another debut, as Giorgios Vagiannidis accrued his first minutes. It was the Greek who, in the 50th minute, set up Mangas for his brace, in a perfect combination between wingers. The Portuguese appeared in the six-yard box and poked home the finish.

Dominant and assertive, Sporting CP gave FC Arouca no chance to get into the game. Rui Silva remained a mere spectator and, from his own box, watched Geovany Quenda come on for Geny Catamo in the 57th minute and Luis Suárez head wide after a good cross from the left.

Hungry for more, the Colombian also bagged a brace. In the 62nd minute, the forward broke free and, with space to get a shot away, struck into the net.

With half an hour remaining, the intensity reduced but defensive solidity remained. In the 73rd minute, Rui Borges refreshed the team, introducing Conrad Harder and Giorgi Kochorashvili, and within a minute on the field, the former forced João Valido into two consecutive saves.

Following a corner kick, Trincão got his second goal to make it 6-0, capping a dominant display.

Sporting CP next travel to Madeira, where they will face CD Nacional on Saturday, August 23rd.

Sporting CP: Rui Silva [GK], Hidemasa Morita (Giorgi Kochorashvili, 73’), Zeno Debast, Pedro Gonçalves (Conrad Harder, 73’), Geny Catamo (Geovany Quenda, 57’), Francisco Trincão, Iván Fresneda (Giorgios Vagiannidis, 46’), Gonçalo Inácio, Morten Hjulmand [C], Ricardo Mangas and Luis Suárez (Alisson Santos, 80’).