Fluent Sporting brush Basel aside

Liedson scored twice as Sporting Clube de Portugal overwhelmed FC Basel 1893 5-0 on aggregate to secure a UEFA Cup Round of 16 tie against Bolton Wanderers FC next month.

Positive omen
Leading 2-0 after the first leg in Lisbon last week, the visitors enjoyed a perfect start at St. Jakob-Park when Bruno Pereirinha broke the deadlock after just two minutes. It left Basel needing to score four times, but even one did not seem forthcoming and Liedson ended home hopes with two goals either side of half-time. Sporting reach the last 16 for the first time since 2004/05, when they went on to contest the final on home turf, losing to PFC CSKA Moskva.

Vukčević sidelined
Simon Vukčević struck twice for Sporting last week and though he was ruled out through injury tonight, any doubts about where the visitors' goals were going to come from were soon answered when Pereirinha was found by João Moutinho before calmly slotting into the bottom corner. It left Christian Gross's charges with a mountain to climb, and they quickly set about reducing the deficit as Carlitos and Eduardo both fired over the crossbar.

Basel frustrated
Rui Patrício was tested twice after the quarter-hour, first by Eduardo's long-range effort and then Eren Derdiyok's shot from the left side of the area. If they were routine stops, Rui Patrício's block to deny Ivan Ergić was anything but as he reacted quickly to keep out the midfielder's volley from ten metres.

Clinical Liedson
Basel always looked vulnerable at the back, however, and Liedson exposed their defensive failings again four minutes before the break. The Brazilian striker added another six minutes after the restart, firing in after the Swiss side's back line had failed to deal properly clear Miguel Veloso's corner. In between Derdiyok had seen his shot saved by Rui Patrício, but from then on it was Basel keeper Louis Crayton who was in the thick of things and the home side owed a debt of gratitude to him for limiting Sporting to 3-0.