The team triumph 1-4 on the road

Sporting Clube de Portugal defeated Rio Ave FC 1-4 on the penultimate matchday of the Liga Portugal season, returning to second place in the standings and leaving their fate in their own hands in the race for the runner-up spot.

There were two changes to the starting lineup, with Ousmane Diomande and Luís Guilherme replacing Zeno Debast and Geny Catamo.

Rio Ave FC started out sharpest in Vila do Conde. Just two minutes in, their first attempt on goal came from Dario Špikić, with his shot being turned out for a corner. Shortly after, Tamble Monteiro created a much more serious threat with a header, narrowly missing the target.

In response, Francisco Trincão found Pedro Gonçalves with a beautiful pass, and he aimed for goal and came very close to scoring.

On 10 minutes, another shot from Tamble Monteiro went wide.

Rio Ave FC's strong start resulted in a 1-0 lead within the first quarter of an hour. Diogo Bezerra finished off a counter-attack initiated by a loss of possession by Rui Borges' men, and gave his side the advantage.

Sporting CP began to work harder to dominate the game and create more danger in the opposition area. In the 17th minute, Luis Suárez tried for the equalizer, but his effort lacked accuracy.

The striker managed to win a penalty in the 33rd minute, when brought down in the area by Petrasso. He stepped up to convert, taking Sporting CP back level.

In bizarre circumstances, the visitors made it 1-2: Gustavo Mancha attempted a pass to goalkeeper Cezary Miszta, but the ball ended up in the back of the net.

Suárez came close to a second goal when he met Maxi Araújo's cross with a subtle finish that was just centimetres from hitting the target. At the other end, Rio Ave FC could have equalised before the interval, first with a shot from Tamble Monteiro saved by Rui Silva with his foot, then with a hit from Dario Špikić into the side netting.

The second half was much more convincing for Sporting CP, even without a brilliant performance from them. In the 52nd minute, Petrasso fouled Suárez near the penalty area, receiving his second yellow card and reducing Rio Ave FC to ten men. In the ensuing free kick, Gonçalves' shot was saved by Miszta.

With a numerical advantage, Sporting CP exerted more control and created more opportunities. In the 63rd minute, Luis Suárez almost scored on two occasions, but the ball went slightly wide of the post.

Geny Catamo and Geovany Quenda replaced Luís Guilherme and Hidemasa Morita to change things up for Sporting CP.

In the 66th minute, the scoreline moved to 1-3, thanks to a great move by Trincão, who cut in from the right and, from outside the area, struck into the back of the net.

The third Sporting CP goal effectively killed the game off, as it lost much of its intensity. In the final ten minutes, Pedro Gonçalves and Daniel Bragança were replaced by Eduardo Felicíssimo – playing his first minutes for the first team in 2025/26 – and Giorgi Kochorashvili.

In the 85th minute there was another sending off for Rio Ave FC, as Ryan Guilherme also received a red card after two bookings.

Against only nine players, Sporting CP sealed the victory with a goal from Quenda, who had recovered the ball at the start of the play and finished confidently. It was the 19-year-old's first goal since November.

Following the 1-4 win, Sporting CP have one final game in Liga Portugal, hosting Gil Vicente FC at the Estádio José Alvalade on the last day of the season.

Sporting CP: Rui Silva [GK], Eduardo Quaresma, Ousmane Diomande, Gonçalo Inácio [C], Maxi Araújo, Hidemasa Morita (Geovany Quenda, 65'), Daniel Bragança (Giorgi Kochorashvili, 82'), Luís Guilherme (Geny Catamo, 65'), Francisco Trincão, Pedro Gonçalves (Eduardo Felicíssimo, 82') and Luis Suárez (Rafael Nel, 90+1')