One goal settled it, and it settled Sporting's way. Issa Doumbia's 59th-minute finish — prodded in as he tumbled forward — gave Sporting CP a 1–0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night, a third win from four in the league phase and back-to-back away wins in this competition for the first time since 2008. Shakhtar had more of the ball, more of the shots and the best chance of the first half. Sporting had the goal, and then they had the nerve to protect it. The full match archive is in the Game Center.
Shakhtar came into the night on a run of three straight clean sheets, and with a point of local pride to protect at their adopted home: Alisson, their right winger, had been handed his first-ever Brazil call-up just days earlier. Sporting, for their part, had won their first two games of the campaign before LASK upset them — a side still shaping its season, and one that started like it knew a result here would change the picture.
The first half was tight between two in-form sides. Pedro Henrique shot straight at Rui Silva from range for Shakhtar; at the other end Maxi Araújo's close-range volley was blocked inside the six-yard box by Vinícius Tobias. Silas Andersen put one over the bar from a corner after 32 minutes, and the half's biggest chance came just before the break: Yegor Nazaryna's delivery from the right found Kauã Elias alone at the back post, and the Brazilian — without a goal in all competitions since August — blazed it high into the stands. It summed up the 45 minutes: glimpses of life, no end product.
The second half began with far more intent. Doumbia flashed an outside-of-the-boot effort across the face of goal, and Elias was denied the opener by a fantastic block from Eduardo Felicíssimo. Then, just before the hour, the mistake Shakhtar had been flirting with arrived. Andersen's dinked pass was inadvertently played into Doumbia's path by Pedro Henrique, and the Italian reacted instinctively — falling as he prodded the ball past Dmytro Riznyk. His second Champions League goal of the season, and the only one this match needed.
The goal also ended Shakhtar's run of three straight clean sheets, and it changed the night. Sporting no longer had to chase anything; Shakhtar had to force a game they had been controlling without reward — against a goalkeeper, Rui Silva, who would spend the closing stages proving the difference between control and points.
Sporting nearly doubled it quickly — Riznyk reacted well to push away Eduardo Quaresma's glancing header — and after that the game tilted. Luis Suárez fired over at one end, Elias over at the other, and then Shakhtar turned the screw properly. Rui Silva denied both Marlon Gomes and Alisson from range. Alisson's next shot flew past Silva and came back off the post. Doumbia's work was done by then — he was replaced by Salvador Blopa at 88 minutes — and still Shakhtar had one more chance in stoppage time: Newerton's bullet header, straight at a grateful Silva. Too little, too late.
Winning the game they didn't control
The numbers say Shakhtar ran this match: 54 per cent of the ball, 14 shots to 11, seven corners to two. The scoreline says Sporting won it, and the scoreline is the one that counts — Sporting's three shots on target produced the goal, their goalkeeper produced the late saves, and Flashscore's man of the match was their defender, Eduardo Felicíssimo, whose block on Elias early in the second half kept the game at 0–0 long enough for Doumbia to win it. Nine points from four games puts Sporting in the top five of the league phase, at least for now, and they did it in a week of noise off the pitch, with Rui Borges having departed and reports in Portugal linking Lyon coach Paulo Fonseca with the job. Shakhtar stay on four points from four, and face Fenerbahçe at Stamford Bridge — their adopted European home — after the international break. Sporting face Manchester United next in this competition. More football coverage is on the Previously Sports front.
| Goal | Issa Doumbia 59' — Andersen's dinked pass deflected into his path by Pedro Henrique; prodded past Riznyk while tumbling forward |
|---|---|
| The chances | Elias blazed over alone at the back post just before half-time; Alisson hit the post late; Newerton's stoppage-time header went straight at Rui Silva |
| The balance | Possession 54–46 Shakhtar · Shots 14–11 Shakhtar · On target 4–3 Shakhtar · Corners 7–2 Shakhtar — and the only goal to Sporting |
| The occasion | Sporting's consecutive away Champions League wins for the first time since 2008 · Attendance 28,260 · Referee Ivan Kruzliak · Full time 90+4' |
Sources · 5 sources
- Sportradar — FC Shakhtar Donetsk vs Sporting CP, UEFA Champions League 26/27 Matchday 4 — the 0–1 full-time record, Doumbia 59', Stamford Bridge.
- Flashscore — "Sporting sneak win against Shakhtar to continue fine Champions League form" — the match narrative: the first-half chances, the goal sequence, the late Shakhtar pressure; Eduardo Felicíssimo man of the match; consecutive away wins for the first time since 2008.
- Fantasy Football Scout — Shakhtar Donetsk v Sporting CP full-time data — possession 54.0/46.0, referee Ivan Kruzliak.
- FC Shakhtar Donetsk — the club's official match report and photography of this fixture at Stamford Bridge.
- ESPN — match summary for event 401915310 — attendance 28,260.
