Marseille continues CL revival with 2-0 win v 9-man Sporting

Updated Oct. 12, 2022 5:22 p.m. ET

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Two wins in two matches have given a much-needed boost to Marseille’s chances of reaching the last 16 of the Champions League.

Marseille eased to a 2-0 victory at Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday after the Portuguese side had two players sent off.

Sporting also had a player sent off in last week’s 4-1 loss to Marseille.

Marseille was bottom after two straight defeats but has now moved second, above Sporting on head-to-head record and a point behind Group D leader Tottenham after the English side beat Frankfurt 3-2.

ADVERTISEMENT

It all went wrong for Sporting in the 19th when defender Ricardo Esgaio was sent off following two yellow cards in three minutes.

Esgaio’s second yellow card also saw him concede a penalty for a foul on Amine Harit. Mattéo Guendouzi had never taken a penalty before but he sent the ball in off the post to give Marseille the lead.

That was the first time Marseille had opened the scoring in a Champions League match since 2013.

Harit was also involved in Marseille’s second goal, 10 minutes later, with a cross for Alexis Sánchez to tap in. The goal was given after a VAR check for a possible offside in the buildup.

Matters went from bad to worse for Sporting in the 61st when midfielder Pedro Gonçalves was shown two yellow cards in a matter of seconds and also sent off. The first booking was for a late challenge and the second was for something he said to the referee.

___

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

share