We turned in one of our best away performances in the Champions League in recent memory to secure a statement win in Lisbon.
Against the reigning Portuguese champions – unbeaten all season and second in the Champions League league phase going into the game – we netted three without reply in a dominant first half. Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz put us two to the good before Gabriel headed in from a corner on the stroke of half-time.
An early second-half goal from Goncalo Inacio gave the hosts brief hope, but Bukayo Saka’s penalty and Leandro Trossard’s late goal from a parried Mikel Merino shot gave the scoreline gloss on a remarkable night in Europe.
The travelling Arsenal supporters were left to celebrate our biggest away win in the competition since beating Inter by the same score in 2003.
Martinelli’s magic
Another European away day, another excitable home atmosphere to try to dampen early on, and we did just that inside the opening 10 minutes. We had started really brightly, having our first attempt on goal in the first minute, but Riccardo Calafiori’s follow-up after Martinelli’s cross was half-cleared went harmlessly wide.
We continued to dictate the early play – Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka combined well inside the area but the hosts scrambled away the danger.
Then came the breakthrough. Jurrien Timber found space on the right, sent in a low cross that asked questions that the Portuguese defence couldn’t answer, and Martinelli stole in to score past Franco Israel and net our first away goal in the Champions League since Eddie Nketiah netted against Eindhoven in December last year.
We were good value for the lead though. Sporting – with a 100 per cent domestic record this season had barely got into our half in the first ten minutes.
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Explosive Gunners
It was little surprise then when we doubled the lead midway through the first half. Again the build-up came down the right, this time Thomas Partey lifted a ball over the defence for Saka to scurry onto. He stabbed the ball through the legs of the advancing keeper inside the area, and Havertz had the simple task of tapping in from a yard or two out.
The home fans started letting off fireworks inside the Estadio Jose Alvalade, but all the entertainment was being supplied by the boys in red and white. We were knocking the ball around in midfield, our movement causing no end of problems for a team that hasn’t dropped a point at home in the league since the season before last.
The locals were growing increasingly restless, not used to any visiting team dominating them in this way. Their last home game in this competition don’t forget, was a 4-1 dispatching of Manchester City.
And literally with the last touch of the first half, Gabriel made it 3-0. Declan Rice’s swerving corner from the right was just on the money for our big Brazilian defender, arriving to power in his header at the far post. It was a near-perfect first-half display.
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Sporting’s revival
Sporting were simply not used to being in this position, and came out with renewed determination for the second half. A minute after the restart David Raya made a full stretch save low down to deny Hidemasa Morita, and from the resulting corner Goncalo Inacio turned the ball home at the near post.
Hope for the home side, and the sound levels turned up several notches. It was our turn to come under pressure. Shortly afterwards Viktor Gyokeres won a free-kick right on the edge of the area, and took it himself, firing well over.
Back in charge
The momentum had swung, but in one swift moment, it was back in our favour. Odegaard broke into the area and his progress was abruptly halted by a challenge by behind from Ousmane Diomande. A penalty was awarded, and Saka stepped up to score decisively, his first away goal in the competition.
With our three-goal cushion restored, we were back in control. On came the subs and two of them combined for our fifth. Mikel Merino’s long-range shot was parried by Israel, and there was Trossard to finish off.
Ethan Nwaneri could have added a late sixth, but the job had well and truly been done by then.
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Facts and stats
We scored 5+ goals in an away match in the Champions League tonight for only the third time, and for the first time since October 2008 (5-2 v Fenerbahce). We accumulated an xG of 3.89, our most on record for a match in the competition (since 2013/14).
This was Sporting’s first defeat at home across all competitions in over a year, putting an end to a 30-match unbeaten run.
Gabriel Martinelli’s goal with 06:43 on the clock was our fastest in the Champions League since Theo Walcott netted against Basel in September 2016 (06:42), whilst it was our quickest goal in an away match in the competition since Lukas Podolski at Galatasaray in December 2014 (02:01).
Kai Havertz’s goal was his 100th in his club career across all competitions, with the German netting 46 goals for Bayer Leverkusen, 32 for Chelsea and 22 for us.
Our five goals are as many as we managed in our previous eight Champions League away matches combined, having failed] to score at all in four consecutive previous away matches in the competition before tonight.
What’s next
On Saturday we head across London to face West Ham United at the London Stadium in the Premier League, before hosting Manchester United in midweek. We have three Champions League group stage matches remaining – the next two both at home, against Monaco (December 11) and Dinamo Zagreb (January 22).
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