Sporting CP 3-1 Dortmund: Goncalves brace as Emre Can sees red

Sporting beat 10-man Borussia Dortmund 3-1 on Wednesday to clinch their spot in the Champions League knockout stages and eliminate their opponents.

Match Reports

Pedro Gonçalves scored twice in the first half to put the Portuguese side on track to progress from Group C, based on their head-to-head record against Dortmund. The playmaker pounced on a poor clearance from Nico Schulz to score the first, then rifled home from just outside the area.

Substitute Junior Messias, an amateur player and delivery driver seven years ago, heads home Milan’s winning goal.

The visitors, who were without the injured striker Erling Braut Haaland, saw Emre Can sent off 16 minutes from time after an altercation with Pedro Porro. Gonçalves had the chance to seal his hat-trick from the penalty spot but Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel denied him, only for Porro to head home the rebound.

Donyell Malen scored a late consolation for the German side, who will now drop into the Europa League. “We are discussing the same mistakes we keep making,” the Dortmund captain, Marco Reus, said. “Even with 10 [men] we were better than Sporting were. They did little but still won 3-1. It was a terrible evening. We are eliminated and that is the truth.”

Line-ups

Sporting CP XI: Adan, Coates, Sarabia, Feddal, Paulinho, João Palhinha, Matheus Reis, Pedro Gonçalves, Pedro Porro, Matheus Nunes, Gonçalo Inácio

Subs: Luís Carlos, Ricardo Esgaio, Nuno Santos, Bruno Tabata, M. Ugarte, André Paulo, João Virginia, Daniel Bragança, Tiago Tomás, Flávio Nazinho

Dortmund XI: Witsel, Reus, Meunier, Schulz, Brandt, Akanji, G. Kobel, M. Pongracic, D. Malen, Reinier, J. Bellingham

Subs: Hitz, Emre Can, Dahoud, Passlack, Zagadou, S. Tigges, A. Knauff, S. Ostrzinski