Sporting up and running at Legia's expense
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Article summary
Sporting produced an assured display to pick up their first Group F points, first-half volleys from Bryan Ruiz and Bas Dost proving enough to see off Legia Warszawa.
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Sporting CP opened their UEFA Champions League account for the season after a 2-0 Lisbon success over a Legia Warszawa team now rooted to the bottom of Group F.
Jorge Jesus's side began brightly and quickly found a promising avenue from set pieces, Gelson Martins crashing against the crossbar from close range following a corner. Moments later, the defending Miroslav Radović's inadvertent flick-on was turned in at the far post by Bryan Ruiz.
Adrien Silva was the architect of the second goal nine minutes later, his lovely floated ball over the defence leaving Bas Dost with a relatively simple volleyed finish. The intensity dropped in the second period, and when Radović sent a shot a metre wide when well placed, Legia's chances of getting back into the game had gone.
Key player: Bryan Ruiz (Sporting)
The Costa Rican left the field on 87 minutes, loudly applauded by the Sporting supporters. His confident finish for the opening goal helped dampen Legia's early ardour, with the visitors initially having caused Sporting some defensive problems. The strike allowed Jesus's team to take charge, paving the way for three invaluable points.
New-look Sporting gel quickly
Shorn of key players like midfielder João Mario and striker Islam Slimani, who left the club at the onset of the campaign, Sporting appear to be making light of those losses under the stewardship of their wise tactician. The continual and rapid development of Gelson Martins and the shrewd signing of Dost have added to an already solid spine and, with this victory over Legia, the Leões' Group F challenge is back on track.
Dost in form
Ruiz was not the only forward to make his mark – Dutch international Dost scored his fifth goal in as many games for Sporting, and fourth in his last three appearances. The 27-year-old applied a cool finish to Adrien Silva's pass, confirming Legia's pre-match fears of him as Sporting's main threat. Fair to say he is well on his way to becoming a fans' favourite.
Reporters' view
Paul Bryan (@UEFAcomPaulB)
Legia arrived in Lisbon as a team in transition under new coach Jacek Magiera yet, with their lively start, they managed to frighten the hosts into decisive action. Once into their stride, however, Sporting oozed confidence and they controlled proceedings while working towards a deserved win that will increase confidence ahead of Borussia Dortmund's visit on 18 October.
Piotr Koźmiński, Legia (@UEFAcomPiotrK)
Sporting's professional performance leaves Legia bottom of Group F. The Polish champions now face a big task to recover from their crisis. They are struggling in the Polish Ekstraklasa, siting 14th after ten weeks, and are still without a goal in this UEFA Champions League group stage. Going back to their only other campaign in the competition proper, in 1995/96, that's seven matches without scoring at this level. Next up: Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu.
