Sporting CP 0-1 Arsenal: Havertz nets late winner to seal victory for Gunners

Arsenal won their first European knockout game played in Portugal at the seventh attempt, after an injury-time Kai Havertz goal saw the Gunners earn a 1-0 victory in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Sporting CP at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.

Match Report

After a cagey opening from both sides, Maxi Araújo smashed a left-foot shot goalwards, which David Raya somehow managed to divert onto the crossbar. It would be 10 minutes before Arsenal even had a sniff of a half-chance, with former Sporting striker, Viktor Gyökeres easily shepherded away from goal. Noni Madueke, a replacement for the injured Bukayo Saka, then hit the bar with an effort to score an Olympic goal from a corner for the visitors.

The Portuguese side were happy to change to a back five whenever Arsenal attempted to attack, limiting the North Londoners’ momentum. However, as the half progressed, Sporting had still not got their danger man, Luis Suárez involved, and collectively the hosts had only mustered three touches in the Gunners’ area to show for their efforts. By HT, neither side had really imposed themselves to any great degree, though Arsenal would likely have been the more disappointed of the two teams, given they’d not made anything of nine crosses into the box.

The game quickly settled into a familiar pattern after the break, with Declan Rice in particular stopping any Sporting attacks at source. Martin Ødegaard’s floated free-kick kept Rui Silva on his toes, before Trincão’s low drive had Raya scrambling across goal. Just after the hour mark, Martin Zubimendi looked to have given Arsenal the lead with a curling effort from outside the box, but the goal was quickly ruled out for offside. Rice was doing more than most to ensure a positive outcome for Arsenal, as his winning back of possession on 13 occasions would attest. With seven to play, Raya again came to the Gunners’ rescue, with a superb one-handed save from Geny Catamo’s intelligent header. 

With only two minutes of injury-time to be played, there was no better moment for Havertz to silence the stadium with a low drive to win the match for the Gunners. The result means that the Portuguese side remain winless after eight games against Arsenal (D4, L4), but the way in which they contained the Gunners for long periods will give them hope of springing a surprise at the Emirates Stadium. 

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

6' A loose pass is latched onto by Araujo, but his effort hits the crossbar

8' Trincao takes a mid-range free kick and the effort crashes into the wall

10' Catamo fashions a shot from the edge of the box, but Raya makes a save

15' OFF THE BAR! Madueke swings in the corner but the ball hits the crossbar!

31' Yellow Card! Morita booked yellow for his harsh tackle

39' Diomande takes a shot from distance, but it goes wide

43' Odegaard fires the ball towards the bottom corner, but the keeper is equal to it

49' Trossard gets himself in a great position on the edge, but his shot is well wide

53' Odegaard hits a free kick towards the net, but the keeper saves his attempt

57' Trincao shoots from a promising distance, but his effort goes wide

63' Zubimendi scores, but it is ruled offside after a VAR review

68' Gyokeres strikes from the edge of the box, but it is saved

70' Odegaard is replaced by Havertz

74' Madueke sends over a cross from the side into the penalty area, but he fails

76' Martinelli and Dowman on, Madueke and Trossard off

90'+1' GOAL Sporting CP 0-1 Arsenal (Havertz)

Line-ups

Sporting CP XI: Rui Silva, Luis Suárez, Francisco Trincão, Pedro Gonçalves, Hidemasa Morita, Maxi Araújo, Geny Catamo, Gonçalo Inácio, Ousmane Diomande, Iván Fresneda, João Simões

Subs: Giorgi Kochorashvili, João Virgínia, Ricardo Mangas, Daniel Bragança, Eduardo Quaresma, Georgios Vagiannidis, Souleymane Faye, Zeno Debast, Diego Callai, Rafael Nel, Flávio Gonçalves

Arsenal XI: Trossard, David Raya, Ødegaard, Rice, Viktor Gyökeres, Gabriel, Ben White, Martín Zubimendi, Saliba, Madueke, Calafiori

Subs: Christian Nørgaard, Kepa, Jesus, Havertz, Martinelli, Cristhian Mosquera, Lewis-Skelly, Khari Ranson, Max Dowman, Marli Salmon, Andre Harriman-Annous