Sporting Clube de Portugal smash Nacional 6-1 in Madeira
Sporting showed no mercy to promoted club Nacional after surging to a 6-1 victory at Estádio da Madeira.
Pote opened the scoring early on but Nacional held on and equalised in the 36th minute, Matheus Dias releasing Nigel Thomas who fired past Vladan Kovačević.
The Lions regained the lead before the break, Trincão playing a 1-2 with Pote and into the bottom corner.
Nacional started the second half strong but were soon 3-1 down after Bruno Costa brought down Geovany Quenda. Viktor Gyökeres stepped up to the spot and made no mistake, sending Lucas França the wrong way.
A howler from Matheus Dias allowed Gemy Catamo to tee up Trincão who made it 4-1, Daniel Bragança scoring the fifth after dancing around some feeble defence and finding the net.
Zeno Debast sent Gyökeres clear in the 76th minute, the striker smashing the ball past França and ratting the bar with the last chance of the match.
Pote scores again
Nacional began on the front foot, Luís Esteves’ low drive off target and Adrián Butzke heading a corner wide. Sporting got into the contest and took the lead in the 16th minute.
Luís Esteves failed to close down Pote who strolled into the 18-yard box, the playmaker steering the ball into the bottom corner despite Lucas França getting his fingertips on it.
Trincão fired over the bar and Geovany Quenda shot into the side netting after getting past José Gomes, the hosts weathering the storm and going close at the other end.
Nacional fight back
Eduardo Quaresma and Gonçalo Inácio made important clearances, Vladan Kovačević then coming up big to deny Zé Vitor from close range following a corner.
Nacional’s persistence paid off with the equalising goal coming in the 36th minute. Matheus Dias strode forward and spotted a sizeable hole in Sporting’s defence, Nigel Thomas racing clear and sending a sweet strike past Kovačević.
Not so fast
The Lions only needed five minutes to regain the lead. It was a well worked goal, Trincão playing a neat 1-2 with Pote before firing through Dias and into the bottom corner.
Nacional started the second half strong with Arvin Appiah and Esteves shooting straight at Kovačević. That was as good as it got however, the Lions running rampant in the final 40 minutes.
One way traffic
Quenda drove into the box where he was brought down by Bruno Costa, Pote giving the ball to Viktor Gyökeres who sent França the wrong way. Tiago Margarido brought on Miguel Baeza, Gabriel Santos and Rúben Macedo but soon saw his side trailing 4-1.
Dias made a disastrous attempt to shield the ball out of play, Gemy Catamo stealing it and teeing up Trincão who made no mistake. Quenda’s shot was then slapped wide by França but there was more to come as Sporting made it 5-1.
Some intricate play down the right wing resulted in Pote getting to the byline and picking out Daniel Bragança, the midfielder dancing around some feeble defence and beating França.
Rúben Amorim made his first substitution in the 69th minute when Eduardo Quaresma made way for Zeno Debast.
Gyökeres couldn't connect cleanly after being sent through by Pote and Trincão went close to a hat-trick as Margarido counted down the minutes to full-time.
There was some more pain to come with Debast involved in Sporting’s sixth goal in the 76th minute. The central defender played a great pass that sent Gyökeres clear, this time the striker well placed on his right foot that smashed the ball past França.
Gyökeres tested the helpless goalkeeper and rattled the bar late on, no hat-trick for the Swedish striker who is slowly finding his feet after an uncharacteristic start to the season.
Relegation candidates
It’s great to see Nacional back in the Primeira Liga, the uniquely situated Estádio da Madeira one of the most picturesque in Portugal. Enjoy it while you can.
Tiago Margarido’s side showed all the hallmarks of a club in trouble including individual mistakes, collective breakdowns and a big player turnover. Seven starters against Sporting were signed in the summer and three substitutes were making their debuts in Madeira.
Nacional won’t have to play the champions every week, but there are a lot of worrying signs and Margarido has a tough job on his hands.
Sporting the favourites
Sporting finished 10 points ahead of Benfica last season and are on track for successive Primeira Liga titles for the first time since the 1954.
Rúben Amorim’s decision to remain with the club alongside the likelihood of retaining Pote and Viktor Gyökeres the main reasons why.
Benfica internal struggles continue and Roger Schmidt is busy integrating a number of new signings into his team. Porto are adjusting to life under Vítor Bruno and appear light up front after the departures of Mehdi Taremi and Evanilson.