A 3-0 loss to FK Bodø/Glimt gives work to do in the Champions League tie

Sporting Clube de Portugal lost 3-0 to FK Bodø/Glimt in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16. In the game in Norway, Rui Borges' side struggled to contain the fast-paced, efficient home team, and they will now need to turn the result around at the Estádio José Alvalade.
 
With six players unavailable, the coach made three changes compared to the starting lineup, fielding Giorgios Vagiannidis, João Simões and Luís Guilherme. On the artificial turf of the glacial Aspmyra Stadion, the thermometers showed temperatures of 5ºC, but there was a much lower wind chill that made conditions even more uncomfortable.
 
Sporting CP started the match well and, just three minutes in, created danger with a combination between Geny Catamo and Giorgios Vagiannidis. Then, Francisco Trincão and Luis Suárez linked up and won the first corner of the game in the sixth minute. Off that set piece, the Colombian won the ball and shot wide.
 
FK Bodø/Glimt threatened for the first time in the eighth minute, after a very quick attack down the right. Jens Petter Hauge's shot went close to goal, providing a scare for Sporting CP..
 
On13 minutes, Ole Blomberg reappeared on the right and crossed into a dangerous area, but Rui Silva caught it without difficulty. The opposition began to look more in control and more comfortable, despite not creating an abundance of clear-cut chances.
 
On 24 minutes, the game opened up and, in the space of a few seconds, there could have been a goal at either end. First, Hakon Evjen went through alone against Rui Silva, who denied him with a huge save. Then, Luís Guilherme advanced down the left and shot, but Nikita Haikin made the stop.
 
Half an hour into the game, FK Bodø/Glimt scored, as the referee pointed to the penalty spot after a collision between Giorgios Vagiannidis and Sondre Fet. The Norwegian midfielder himself converted.

In the following minutes, Sporting CP tried to have more possession and establish themselves in the final third, but always ran into the well-organised Norwegian defensive line. On 42 minutes, Luis Suárez cut inside from the left and attempted a shot, as the ball got smothered by the opposition.
 
At the end of the first half, Sporting CP conceded a second goal. Ole Blomberg, ran to the edge of the six-yard box on the left, broke in and struck past Rui Silva.
 
After the interval, Sporting CP came out more aggressively and decisively. The first opportunity to score came in the 52nd minute, through Luis Suárez. After a series of headers in the area, the ball fell to the Colombian striker who tried to aim for goal from a tricky position. The effort went inches wide of the goalkeeper's left post. 
 
In the 56th minute, Gonçalo Inácio almost scored an own goal after another Norwegian counter-attack, but deflected the ball out of play.
 
The visitors continued to show signs of improvement and came very close to making it 2-1 in the 60th minute. Suárez stepped up on the left wing and attempted a shot between Nikita Haikin's legs, but he was able to keep the strike out.
 
Rui Borges made three substitutions at once in the 63rd minute, bringing on Hidemasa Morita, Nuno Santos, and Souleymane Faye -making his debut in the competition. 
 
FK Bodø/Glimt once again proved deadly in attack and, in the 71st minute, made it 3-0. In a scramble inside the area, Kasper Hogh prevailed and poked the ball into the net.
 
Daniel Bragança entered the pitch for the last ten minutes of the game.
 
It was FK Bodø/Glimt who came close to scoring again, off a quick move down the wings. Jens Petter Hauge's cross-shot from the edge of the area went slightly wide.
 
Sporting CP lacked space in the central channel and could no longer break through on the wings. The exception to this came in the 90th minute, but Suárez was unfortunate with a shot that rebounded off a teammate and sent the ball into the opposite direction.
 
The two teams will meet again in a week’s time, on March 17th, at the Estádio José Alvalade, to decide who goes through to the quarter finals.
 
Sporting CP: Rui Silva [GK], Iván Fresneda, Gonçalo Inácio, Ousmane Diomande, Giorgios Vagiannidis (Nuno Santos, 63’), Morten Hjulmand [C], João Simões (Hidemasa Morita), Luís Guilherme (Daniel Bragança, 80’), Francisco Trincão, Geny Catamo (Souleymane Faye, 63’) and Luis Suárez.