Osamagbe Imadiyi
Sporting CP defeated Manchester City 4-1 in their UEFA Champions League match on Tuesday night at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon thanks to a hat-trick from Viktor Gyökeres.
The 26-year-old Swede, who was hailed as a possible replacement for City forward Erling Haaland, gave his team a boost four minutes into the match when Phil Foden scored. Rúben Amorim, who is heading to Manchester United, won by a landslide after Gyökeres scored twice from the penalty spot.
After jumping on a stray ball, Foden deflected a shot 15 yards out and beat goalie Franco Israel. Gyökeres broke through Man City’s defense a few minutes later, going one-on-one with Ederson but missing the chance to score. However, in the 38th minute, he held off Akanji before putting the ball over Ederson and into the net to give the home team the equalizer.
Maximiliano Araujo’s goal in the 46th minute gave Sporting the lead following the half. Gyökeres of Sporting scored his second goal with a skillfully executed penalty kick in the 49th minute, sending Ederson in the opposite direction. After a review revealed that Bernardo Silva’s attempt had struck a Sporting defender’s arm, Haaland was unfortunate to have his penalty strike the crossbar in the 69th minute.
The Norwegian goalie failed to turn around his team’s chances. In the 80th minute, Gyökeres scored another penalty to leave the visitors speechless. Ederson’s guess this time was accurate, but the ball ended up in the net. Pep Guardiola’s team had a difficult game because they were unable to secure a favorable outcome in Lisbon.