“Sporting scares away ghosts with five goals shining in Alvalade.”

The pressure was suffocating. Sporting needed a convincing victory to close the gap on Benfica in the fight for second place, at a time when doubts and shadows from recent matches still loomed over Alvalade. Against a courageous Vitória de Guimarães, the lions left no room for doubt: five excellent goals to sweep away any shadows of instability and reaffirm their power in the league.

From the opening whistle, Vitória entered fearlessly, as if they were playing at home, with Diogo Sousa and João Mendes testing Rui Silva’s goal. But Sporting did not let themselves be intimidated. In the 9th minute, in a play that untied the knots in the minds of players and fans, Pedro Gonçalves delivered a perfect cross to Luis Suárez, whose deflection by Gonçalo Inácio saw the ball kiss the net – first shot, first goal. The relief was palpable, as if the ghost of recent matches against Aves SAD and Tondela had finally been exorcised.

The response from the lions was brutal. In the 23rd minute, a long pass from Charles fell in the center circle, where the ball passed through several heads and feet, in a moment of collective magic: Gonçalo Inácio, Morita, Francisco Trincão, Luis Suárez, Morita again, until Daniel Bragança, who finished with a “lob” over Charles. The 2-0 was a clear warning: the Sporting was back and hungry for goals.

Vitória did not give up, showing quality and intensity, but Sporting controlled the operations, especially down the flanks. Catamo continued to stand out, a true torment for the Guimarães defense. Before the break, Sporting threatened to extend their lead, with Bragança, Trincão, and Miguel Nogueira creating dangerous opportunities, but goalkeeper Charles was always alert.

In the final minute of the first half, a decisive play: Maxi Araújo scored after a long throw from Debast, but the goal was initially disallowed for offside. VAR came into play and confirmed the incident, validating the 3-0 at halftime. An achievement: Sporting reached their third goal at the break for the third time in the league, an unmistakable sign of strength and effectiveness.

In the second half, Rui Borges tried to shake things up for Vitória, replacing Morita with Luis Guilherme and moving Pedro Gonçalves back to midfield. On Sporting’s side, Gil Lameiras responded by substituting Diogo Sousa for Gonçalo Nogueira. Vitória almost reduced the deficit right away in the 50th minute, but Nogueira missed the target, keeping the score at zero for Sporting.

The response from the lions was devastating. Gonçalo Inácio set up Pedro Gonçalves, who assisted Luis Suárez for the fourth goal in the 61st minute. The match was practically decided, but Sporting did not slow down. With more substitutions shaking up the Vitória lineup, Sporting reinforced their dominance, with Nuno Santos coming on for Geny Catamo in the 70th minute.

The icing on the cake came in the 74th minute when Luis Suárez assisted Luis Guilherme, who, coming in from the right, took advantage of a defensive lapse from Vitória to score the fifth goal. In the final 15 minutes, the game had only one idea: that of a relentless Sporting, who banished ghosts and once again showed why they continue to fight for the top spot in the league.

This luxury display makes it clear that Sporting is stronger than ever, ready to face any opponent and determined not to give up any ground. A night to remember at Alvalade, where the great goals served to definitively dispel the ghosts of the recent past.

This article first appeared on Apito Final.