January 21, (THEWILL) — Sporting CP clinched a thrilling 2-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain with a Luis Suarez double in the Champions League on Tuesday night, dealing a significant blow to the French side’s hopes of finishing in the top eight. The Colombian striker netted twice at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, including a dramatic stoppage-time winner that sent the home crowd into celebration.
The visitors dominated proceedings early on and appeared to have broken the deadlock when Fabian Ruiz headed in unmarked after 30 minutes, only for VAR to overturn the decision due to a foul by Senny Mayulu. Ten minutes later, Nuno Mendes thought he had given PSG the lead after converting from close range, but Ousmane Dembele was ruled to have fouled goalkeeper Rui Silva in the build-up. Another disallowed goal followed in the second half when Dembele was caught offside before heading home.
Sporting had squandered opportunities at both ends of the interval before taking the lead against the flow of play in the 74th minute. Geny Catamo’s shot struck Georgios Vagiannidis and rebounded perfectly for Suarez, who made no mistake from close range.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia appeared to have rescued a point for the visitors five minutes later with a brilliant individual effort, cutting in from the left flank before curling a superb strike into the top corner. Yet PSG’s relief proved short-lived.
In the final minute of normal time, Suarez rose to head home after Trincao’s shot was saved, completing his brace and ensuring Sporting claimed all three points. The defeat leaves the reigning French champions facing an uphill battle to qualify automatically for the knockout stages.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
