Admirable performance from Jorge Jesus' side comes up short of a first win in Germany
Sporting's European campaign for this season was brought to an end this Thursday night, after a harsh 3-1 defeat at the hands of Bayern Leverkusen.
The evening got off to a frantic start, with both teams scrapping hard for possession in the midfield. On two minutes, the first chance materialised for the hosts, when Papadopoulos rose higher than the Alvalade defence to put a header wide after a cross from Çalhanoglu. Sporting were instantly down the other end, but Carlos Mané was unable to keep his shot down after a cross from Bruno César. The theme for the rest of the half had been set, with a slight advantage for the Germans courtesy in part of some sloppy passing bySporting. However, Bayer only really threatened goal once in the early exchanges, when Wendell pulled a stop out of Patrício.
As time ticked over, Sporting began to get a foothold going forward, largely due to a fantastic showing of intelligence and tactical maturity on the part of João Mário. The Germans had laid down an impervious looking defensive wall, but Sporting soon began to find ways through with flashes of creativity, like in the 26th minute when Bruno César found an inch of space and fired a shot towards goal that Leno did well to stop. Jorge Jesus' side were looking more and more likely to find the back of the net, but a quick break saw Bayer strike first when Chicharito Hernández set Bellarabi away on goal for a driven finish between Patrício's legs.
Although now trailing 2-0 on aggregate, Sporting rallied and took the fight to the hosts and after Mané had the goal at his mercy in the 36th minute, João Mário equalised with a tap in at the far post following an intelligent delayed cross from João Pereira and an initial volley from Carlos Mané that Leno parried into the path of the Portuguese international.
The second-half got underway with a change for the Germans (Mehmedi on for Brandt), followed by some wasteful finishing from both sides and some baffling refereeing decisions. In the 57th minute Carlos Mané failed to get a shot away and Leno denied João Mário from the rebound, before the evening's official failed to respond to a clash between Wendell and Wendell and Bruno César (59’).
Sporting were looking capable of taking the lead, but what looked to be a stroke of bad luck for Bayer Leverkusen (injury to Kiessling) actually worked against the visitors, with the introduction of Ramalho in place of the forward seeing the Germans bolster up their midfield in a move that gave an extra bit of freedom to their players in the final third. On 65 minutes, Bellarabi scored what will likely be a candidate for goal of the tournament with a blistering shot from range with the outside of his boot.
Jorge Jesus, who had already brought on Bryan Ruiz for Mané, rolled the dice and signaled for Slimani (in place of Teo Gutiérrez, 67’) and Gelson Martins (for Bruno César, 78’). However, the Sporting's busy fixture schedule started to show and tired legs set in as the final whistle approached. Bayer Leverkusen finally put the game beyond all doubt in the 87th minute, when Tah picked out Çalhanoglu running in behind the Alvalade backline and blasted past Patrício with an unstoppable half-volley.
