Sporting give Braga another 5-0 thrashing in Lisbon | OneFootball

Braga coach Artur Jorge will have haunting nightmares about the José Alvalade stadium. A few weeks after suffering a thumping 5-0 defeat at the Lisbon venue in the Taça da Liga, the exact same scoreline was repeated, this time in the league.

Sporting put the disappointment of defeat in the Taça da Liga final on Saturday behind them as a brace from man-of-the-match Hidemasa Morita and further goals from Marcus Edwards, Matheus Reis and Pedro Gonçalves gave the Lions a resounding victory.

Surprise debut

The inclusion of 18-year-old striker Youssef Chermiti was the big surprise in Sporting’s line-up, Rúben Amorim preferring to give the Azores-born forward his first start and leave Francisco Trincão on the bench in the absence of the suspended Paulinho. There was also a rare start for Jeremiah St. Juste in central defence, with Matheus Reis benched.

For Braga, talismanic captain Ricrado Horta remained out injured, with Jorge opting to mimic Sporting’s three-at-the-back wing-back system by selecting central defenders Tormena, Paulo Oliveira and Sikou Nikaté, with Víctor Gómez and Nuno Siqueira providing the width.

The visitors were first to threaten, Simon Banza getting on the end of a Paulo Oliveira long ball and running behind the Sporting defence, his angled shot bringing a sharp save out of Adán.

Early breakthrough

The hosts then won a series of corners, one of which would see them take the lead in the 9th minute. St. Juste rose highest to meet Nuno Santos’ delivery, with Morita showing excellent alertness to latch onto the ball and shoot in off the post from a tight angle.

Chermiti got his first sight of goal midway through the first half, getting his head to a wicked Ricardo Esgaio cross, but the effort was directed straight at Braga goalkeeper Matheus who made the save.

Sporting continued to dominate, Pote going close, with Braga completely inoffensive from an attacking point of view.

Morita at the double

Upon the restart Sporting doubled their lead, with Morita striking again. The referee allowed play to continue despite two Braga players down on the floor injured near the halfway line, with Matheus saving well from Pote. The Braga defence failed to clear their lines though, Chermiti assisted Morita with a clever back-heel and the Japanese midfielder calmly stroked the ball home.

Things went from bad to worse for Braga soon afterwards when Niakaté, already on a yellow card, protested vehemently against a referee’s decision, earning a second yellow card and consequent red for his troubles.

There was no let-up from Sporting. Morita almost completed his hat-trick but shot just wide.

Electric Edwards

Edwards was next to score, getting a deserved goal to cap a scintillating display. It was another thrilling dribble from the diminutive forward, sliding past defenders like they weren’t there, although he was greatly aided by a decoy run from Chermiti that opened up the shooting opportunity. The finish was clinical. 3-0 to Sporting with an hour played.

Nuno Santos shot just wide before Braga finally worked Adán, with André Horta and Abel Ruiz forcing the Spaniard into two diving saves.

Reis golaço

In the 86th minute the goal of the night was scored. An intricately worked short-corner routine created a shooting chance for Matheus Reis, the substitute curling a beauty of a shot into the top corner from the edge of the box.

Sporting were not finished yet, Fatawu winning a late penalty that Pedro Gonçalves confidently dispatched into the back of the net to complete the scoring.

by  at the José Alvalade stadium

Goals:

[1-0] Morita, 9’

[2-0] Morita, 46’

[3-0] Edwards, 61’

[4-0] Reis, 86’

[5-0] Pote, 90+3’