Sporting CP claim a 3-0 home win in Liga Portugal

Sporting Clube de Portugal defeated Casa Pia AC 3-0 on Liga Portugal Matchday 18, as Geny Catamo scored twice and Daniel Bragança added a third late on.

For the first game at the Estádio José Alvalade in 2026, Rui Borges gave Luís Guilherme his maiden start in the league, whilst also welcoming back Gonçalo Inácio, Hidemasa Morita, Geny Catamo and Georgios Vagiannidis to the first XI.

Zeno Debast was also back available, almost three months after the injury he sustained in the match against Olympique Marseille. Bragança, who had already been included in the squad for the match against Vitória SC, was still looking for his first minutes back, although had tested the waters with an appearance for the Sporting CP B team.

Before the opening whistle, the Sporting CP Legends, who last weekend were crowned champions of the Taça da Liga Legends, took to the pitch to receive applause from the fans.

When the game got underway, Iván Fresneda played on the left, Matheus Reis partnering up with captain Gonçalo Inácio. Casa Pia AC had the first shot of the contest, albeit without troubling Rui Silva in goal.

Debuting Casa Pia AC coach had his team organised and daring on the pitch, demonstrating from the start their intention to make life difficult for Sporting CP.

On nine minutes, in another very quick counter-attack, Casa Pia players again made a move upfield, but Iván Fresneda made a quick interception, deflecting Jérémy Livolant's shot.

Sporting CP managed to breach the defence for the first time on 14 minutes, following a direct free kick taken by Luis Suárez. In the 17th minute, a shot from outside the area by João Simões also went harmlessly over.

On 20 minutes, the Suárez tried his luck again, with another direct free kick from the left that went wide. On 27 minutes, a good combination between Francisco Trincão and Fresneda saw the latter head off target by a matter of centimetres.

The first great move of the match came after the half-hour mark and caused a huge roar from the stands. On 35 minutes, Trincão found Suárez and, with a powerful run, he left an opponent behind before setting up Luís Guilherme. The Brazilian stretched to the fullest, but couldn't turn the ball into the empty net.

The opening goal came soon afterwards. Back after participating in the African Cup of Nations, Geny Catamo made an impact by single-handedly breaking the deadlock: He received the ball from Trincão, cut inside and placed a shot out of the reach of the goalkeeper.

Five minutes later, in the 43rd minute, he got his second. Inácio found the winger, and Catamo slotted the ball past Patrick Sequeira to make it 2-0.

It was the visitors who started the second half better. Not even a minute had passed before Cassiano and Jérémy Livolant combined at speed near the area. The Frenchman's shot didn't go far wide. Trincão's effort at the other end, following up from a Sequeira save, was also off target.

Both teams only created danger: Tiago Morais popped up in a central position and shot, forcing a safe intervention from Rui Silva.

On 65th minutes, after eleven months out, Daniel Bragança stepped onto the pitch to mark his return to first team action.

Playing at a slower pace, Sporting CP continued to dominate the match, and Bragança had an opportunity with a volley that Sequeira saved.

He would get his happy ending moments later, in the 79th minute, after a mistake in transition from the visitors. Suárez passed to the returning midfielder, and Bragança struck the ball through Patrick Sequeira's legs to score.

There was still time for more good news for Rui Borges. In the 82nd minute, Zeno Debast came back from injury, brought on by the coach in a triple substitution along with Giorgi Kochorashvili and Alisson Santos. The Brazilian had another opportunity to extend the lead, already in stoppage time, when he dribbled past a defender on the right and shot powerfully into the side netting.

With the game entering stoppage time, Clau Mendes received a red card and, with a numerical advantage in the four additional minutes, Sporting CP ran down the clock for a 3-0 win.

The team next host Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, on Tuesday at 8pm.

Sporting CP: Rui Silva [GK], Matheus Reis (Zeno Debast, 82’), Hidemasa Morita, Geny Catamo (Alisson Santos, 82’), Georgios Vagiannidis (Ricardo Mangas, 65’), Francisco Trincão, Iván Fresneda, Gonçalo Inácio, Luís Guilherme (Daniel Bragança, 65’), João Simões (Giorgi Kochorashvili, 82’) and Luis Suárez. Coach: Rui Borges.