The ‘lions’ only took the lead in the second half, with a goal from Hjulmand, in the 53rd minute, Gyökeres, from a penalty, in the 65th, and a free kick, in the 70th, with Macedo, in the 66th, scoring. the only goal for the Madeiran.
In the semi-finals, the ‘green and white’ will meet, in January 2025, in Leiria, the winner of the duel between FC Porto and Moreirense, which will be played on Thursday, at Estádio do Dragão.
The two teams had already faced each other this season in the Portuguese Football League, with the ‘lions’ beating the islanders in Madeira, 6-1, in a second round match.
As expected, Rúben Amorim made a big rotation in the team for the fight with Nacional, regarding the match in Famalicão (0-3) in League I. The coach of the Lions made some changes, especially the starting role of Marcus Edwards , after a month’s absence due to injury, with the English coming with Maxi Araújo and Conrad Harder up front.
Kovacevic returned to the back of Sporting and in the three defenders the options fell on Ricardo Esgaio, Gonçalo Inácio and Matheus Reis, and the middle of the field was left to Fresneda, Morita, Hjulmand and Geny Catamo.
In the formation of the island, the coach Tiago Margarido made two changes regarding the last defeat in the championship, at Casa Pia (1-0), calling the captain João Aurélio on the right side of the defense, to the detriment of Garcia, and face. the attack Tiago Reis was chosen instead of Nigel Thomas.
Nacional even had the first shot at the other goal, by Luís Esteves, in a ‘shot’ from distance that Kovacevic saved in half, but Sporting responded immediately after a corner, with Matheus Reis deflecting a header at the near post, forcing make Lucas França defend carefully.
At 10 minutes, and after an excess of balls in the penalty area, the Spaniard Fresneda, who started for the first time this season in the ‘Leonine’ team, shot with his right foot, but it hit the base of Nacional’s post.
In the next move, Sporting came close to the goal again, shooting harder for Lucas Franca’s defense and Geny Catamo shooting hard on the rebound, but out wide.
Despite the chances, Sporting lost offensive momentum after half-time and Nacional took the opportunity to clear the field, and although they did not interfere much with Kovacevic’s goal, they remained goalless until the break.
In a half-heated Alvalade Stadium, without the usual support from the fans, absent in protest against the current format of the League Cup and the possibility of the competition being played abroad in the future, the ‘Leonine’ team only woke up again in the second time, with Debast, Trincão and Gyökeres instead of Gonçalo Inácio, Fresneda and Edwards.
The Swedish striker had the first threat, when he made the ball over the bar, running towards a cross from Maxi Araújo, but in the 53rd minute, it was the captain Hjulmand who managed to break the island ‘wall’ three cross shots, after. the ball was available to the Dane, coming from a defender’s cut after a cross from Morita.
Nacional responded with a strong shot from Daniel Penha to Kovacevic, but, soon after, Gyökeres made it 2-0, converting a penalty, after a foul by Ulisses on the Viking striker, at a time when Quenda (who had conceded Geny Catamo) had already joined the ‘lions’.
The Madeira team lost shortly after, through a ridiculous move, with the ball hitting Macedo after Luís Esteves’ shot, which ended up fouling Kovacevic, giving Nacional hope.
However, after the maximum penalty was indicated, Gyökeres scored a double, in the 70th minute, with an excellent conversion of a direct free kick, reaching the mark of 16 goals this season for Sporting.
w/Lusa