Sporting triumphed in the Estádio do Bessa, 2-1, with the winning goal to be achieved through their lucky ‘amulet’.
[dropcap type=”background”]W[/dropcap]ith 24 goals scored so far in all competitions, Bruno Fernandes has already dethroned António Oliveira as Sporting’s top scorer in a season (22 goals in 1981/1982), and is three clear shots to equalize Frank Lampard, who reached this record in the season of 2009/10, at the service of Chelsea, being at the moment the average with the best record of goals in the Top-5 of the European Leagues.
The last goal of the leonine captain came after a penalty, converted to 90 + 3, and which led to strong criticism from players and chess players who accused Raphinha of simulating the fall inside the great area of Bracali in the last minute of time regulatory framework.
This was only the fifth victory of the lions in 12 matches away from Alvalade in the course of the 2018/19 season, and for the first time, this season Sporting has been four consecutive undefeated away matches in the league (Boavista, Maritimo, Feirense and Victory of Setúbal).
With regard to numbers, for the first time in the history of Sporting-Boavista (124 games), the Lions have been there for seven consecutive wins (three of those triumphs at Bessa), something that had not happened for 60 years.
Pantera went to ‘kill’, but soon the lion released the claws
Sporting lost in the Stadium of Bessa, as Neris – made his debut at the service of Boavista – was keen to make the taste to the foot at the end of the three minutes. Despite the greater intensity of the chess players in the first 15 minutes, early the lion took the reins of a game not always well played.
With 17 minutes, Raphinha worked well on the right, crossed and Edu Machado, in an attempt to knock the ball away, diverted it to the bottom of the goal. Shortly after, Luiz Phellype had the head turn, but within half a meter of the ball, the ball hit with a bang in the right post of the Bracali goal.
Owner and master of the game, the second part proved to be a more balanced duel, but in which the best occasions arose through the head of Coates, a true lighthouse offensive of the lions, always so well served by the crossings of Acuña and Raphinha. And it was exactly on the feet of the Brazilian that could have been born one of the goals of the championship. In one of the beautiful crosses of Raphinha, the ball was superiorly led to Bruno Fernandes, who following a bicycle kick made possible the monumental defence of Bracali, keeping the lions in agony.
The minutes went by and the score remained unchanged until … well, the end of this story already the reader knows. The lion was ‘saved’ by the sound of the gong and can breathe with relief, since the stumble was within minutes of being written, but was quickly erased … by Bruno Fernandes.
