Sporting CP wins CD Nacional 1-6
The main football team of Sporting Clube de Portugal went to Madeira this Saturday to win 1-6 in the second round of Liga Portugal, continuing their 100% winning streak in the competition.
In the first Leonino match at Choupana since 2021, the good weather, sunny and very hot – something always uncertain in this venue – was the highlight of the clash that featured a change in the starting 11 defined by Rúben Amorim: Morten Hjulmand (injured and out of the squad) was replaced by Daniel Bragança, who also took the captain’s armband. On the bench, Gabriel Silva, a 17-year-old forward, was notably present.
After a minute’s silence in homage to José Manuel Constantino, president of the Portuguese Olympic Committee who recently passed away, the match began with CD Nacional putting pressure on Sporting CP. First, it was Luís Esteves, shooting wide from distance, and shortly after, Adrián Butzke also missed the target with a header. In response, Daniel Bragança fired over the bar.
The pace was high and lively, and just after the first quarter-hour, the scoreboard was opened by the Alvalade emblem. Gonçalo Inácio regained possession, Daniel Bragança passed to Pedro Gonçalves, who decided to shine, dribbling through the opposing defense and, already in the area, shot with great precision into the back of the net. An explosion of joy for the many Sporting supporters present at the Madeira Stadium.
Sporting CP grew into the game and began to threaten more, as seen in Francisco Trincão’s attempt that went over or when Geovany Quenda, after working very well on the right, hit the post. However, CD Nacional also approached the visitor’s goal. In the 30th minute, Eduardo Quaresma denied the equalizer to Arvin Appiah with a great clearance, while Vladan Kovačević made an impressive save with his face when Zé Vítor was close to finishing successfully.
Served by Pedro Gonçalves, Viktor Gyökeres only missed scoring in the 35th minute because Lucas França made a quality save, with the black-and-whites equalizing right after with a strong cross shot from Nigel Thomas.
The reaction from Sporting CP came five minutes later, resulting in a return to the lead on the scoreboard: Francisco Trincão combined very well with Pedro Gonçalves and entered the area to score his first of the 2024/2025 season. Another great piece of work from the National Champions resulted in the 1-2 with which the challenge went to halftime.
In the second half, CD Nacional came in strong again, with Arvin Appiah and Luís Esteves testing Vladan Kovačević, who responded well each time.
However, Sporting CP secured a penalty in the 49th minute due to a foul on Geovany Quenda in the Madeira area. In the conversion, Viktor Gyökeres did not miss and scored his second goal in this edition of Liga Portugal.
Shortly after, it was another one for Rúben Amorim’s team: Geny Catamo stole the ball in a dangerous area and assisted Francisco Trincão for the brace. In an instant, the 1-2 turned into 1-4, a much more comfortable lead for Sporting CP.
There was a clear feeling that the Leoninos’ goals were not finished, something that was confirmed a little over 20 minutes from the end. After Geovany Quenda’s shot was well defended by Lucas França for a corner, a well-rehearsed play ended with Pedro Gonçalves making (another) assist, now for Daniel Bragança to work his magic. The captain did whatever he wanted against the defenders in the opponent’s area and shot for 1-5.
Right after, Zeno Debast came in for Eduardo Quaresma, and Sporting CP did not take their foot off the accelerator. Viktor Gyökeres threatened in the 73rd minute, Francisco Trincão missed the hat-trick by inches in the 74th, and the 1-6 arrived in the 76th minute: a great long pass from Zeno Debast, and Viktor Gyökeres accelerated before firing a ‘rocket’ that almost tore the net.
Geny Catamo and Hidemasa Morita made way for Matheus Reis and Dário Essugo with just over ten minutes to go before 90, and Viktor Gyökeres, as insatiable as ever, sought his third of the afternoon, but Lucas França saved.
There was still time for the entries of Iván Fresneda and Marcus Edwards (Ousmane Diomande and Francisco Trincão came off) and for Viktor Gyökeres to hit the crossbar in yet another great moment.
The score of 1-6 saw no further changes, and Sporting CP is at the top of Liga Portugal, visiting SC Farense in the next round, scheduled for 8:15 PM on Friday, August 23, in the Algarve.
Sporting CP: Vladan Kovačević [GK], Eduardo Quaresma (Zeno Debast, 69′), Ousmane Diomande (Iván Fresneda, 85′), Gonçalo Inácio, Geovany Quenda, Hidemasa Morita (Dário Essugo, 78′), Daniel Bragança [C], Geny Catamo (Matheus Reis, 78′), Francisco Trincão (Marcus Edwards, 85′), Pedro Gonçalves, and Viktor Gyökeres.