A 0-3 win sees Sporting CP dominate on the road

Goals from Luis Suárez, Pedro Gonçalves, and Geovany Quenda enabled Sporting CP to take a 0-3 away win against CD Tondela on Liga Portugal Matchday 9. The victory takes them level at the top of the table with FC Porto, who play their fixture on Monday night.

Coach Rui Borges made two changes to the starting lineup that he fielded in the Champions League against Olympique de Marseille: Zeno Debast missed the game through injury and Geovany Quenda was rotated out, with Ousmane Diomande and Geny Catamo coming in.

The match started in a lively fashion, with the first goalscoring opportunity coming in the second minute. Pedro Gonçalves had his shot saved by goalkeeper Bernardo Fontes, who ended up being the best player for the home team during the first half.

After a header off target from Diomande and, at the other end, a similar effort from Cícero Alves that was easily saved by Rui Silva, it was Bernardo Fontes' turn to again intervene: He blocked Geny Catamo's powerful shot with an acrobatic save. Shortly after, Francisco Trincão tried his luck, but could not keep his strike between the posts.

In the 18th minute, the opening goal arrived: Set up by Pedro Gonçalves, Luis Suárez used incredible trickery to dribble past two defenders, before firing a shot in off the post. It was the Colombian striker’s seventh goal in Liga Portugal action this season.

The dominance only intensified, with opportunities becoming increasingly frequent. In the 25th minute, Suárez came close to scoring a second goal after a good pass from Catamo, but Bernardo Fontes made the save. From the ensuing corner, the centre forward headed wide from an excellent position.

Suárez was lurking when a dangerous ball from Catamo was cleared by Christian Marques near the goal line, but couldn’t reach the loose ball, and a long-range shot from Diomande missed the target shortly thereafter.

In the 33rd minute, Sporting CP won the ball back, Trincão passed to Suárez, and he teed up Gonçalves for the finish -only to be denied again by Bernardo Fontes.

The goalkeeper added three more saves in a single move, as Catamo’s effort and two from Suárez were all kept out. Fontes frustrated the Colombian again in the 38th minute, keeping the deficit to a single goal at halftime.

CD Tondela had enjoyed their best chance just before the break, with Pedro Maranhão having a shot that was saved by Rui Silva.

The second half picked up from where the first had left off, with Sporting CP playing well, completely dominating and creating numerous chances.

The opposition goalkeeper continued to shine, and in the early stages saved shots from Maxi Araújo, Geny Catamo and Pedro Gonçalves.

The 58th minute saw more Suárez magic, as he deceived a defender and was only prevented from scoring by Bernardo Fontes.

The second goal arrived just past the hour, when Gonçalves received the ball on the left and took on two defenders before tucking the ball into the back of the net. The stunning goal was his sixth in the league this season.

The increase in the advantage brought more calm to the game. CD Tondela pushed their lines forward, but it was almost always Sporting CP who were the more dangerous side, as seen with Catamo's shot wide in the 62nd minute.

At the other end, Pedro Maranhão slammed a wild shot wide.

With just under 20 minutes remaining, Rui Borges made his first changes, replacing Catamo and Suárez with Geovany Quenda and Fotis Ioannidis. Later, Matheus Reis and Alisson Santos came in for Araújo and Gonçalves.

The final goal came past the 90th minute, and after Bernardo Fontes had denied Francisco Trincão once again. Matheus Reis crossed wide for Quenda, positioned at the far post, to head home to make it 0-3.

Sporting CP have a swift turnaround, as on Tuesday they host FC Alverca in the Taça da Liga quarter finals.

Sporting CP: Rui Silva [GK], Iván Fresneda, Ousmane Diomande, Gonçalo Inácio, Maxi Araújo (Matheus Reis, 84'), Morten Hjulmand [C], João Simões (Giorgi Kochorashvili, 90'), Geny Catamo (Geovany Quenda, 73'), Francisco Trincão, Pedro Gonçalves (Alisson Santos, 84') and Luis Suárez (Fotis Ioannidis, 73').