Sporting CP Beat Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 in Champions League as Doumbia Scores, Moving Sporting to Nine Points
Sporting CP beat Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in London on Tuesday, November 3, in Matchday 4 of the Champions League league phase. Midfielder Issa Doumbia scored the only goal in the 59th minute. The win took Sporting to nine points from four games. Shakhtar stay on four points and sit 18th in the table.
The first half was a cagey affair. Shakhtar had more of the ball and completed more passes. They also created the only big chance of the half. Sporting stayed compact in their 3-4-1-2 shape and kept the box clean.
The goal came early in the second half. After a deflection, the ball dropped to Doumbia in the penalty area. He took one touch and beat goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk from close range.
Shakhtar pushed hard after going behind. Arda Turan's side raised the tempo and took over the territory in the final half hour. They had 14 shots to Sporting's 11, and four of their efforts were on target compared with three for the visitors. Shakhtar also forced more corners, but Sporting defended well. They made 24 clearances to Shakhtar's nine.
Shakhtar's crossing was not accurate enough. They completed only 5 of their 17 crosses. Sporting, in contrast, found their target with five of their six deliveries. That was an 83 per cent success rate and helped them create the cleaner chances in the game.
Left wing-back Maximiliano Araujo was a key figure for Sporting. He made nine recoveries, the most of any player on his team. He also delivered three accurate crosses and created two chances. Sofascore gave its highest rating to Quaresma.
The result keeps Sporting's European campaign moving in the right direction. They had come into the match on six points, after two wins and a defeat in their first three games. The win moved them up from 12th place. Sporting have now won all three of their meetings with Shakhtar.
It was a second defeat in a row in the competition for Shakhtar. Turan's team arrived on four points from three games, after a draw, a win and a loss. They stay in the lower half of the standings.