UCL: PSG beaten in Lisbon as Sporting strike late

Despite dominating large stretches of the match, Paris Saint-Germain left Lisbon empty-handed on Tuesday night, beaten 2–1 by Sporting CP. A ruthless Portuguese side made the most of their few chances, leaving PSG with work still to do to secure a place in the Champions League Top 8.

On the pitch of Sporting CP, Paris Saint-Germain produced arguably their most accomplished away performance of the European campaign. With 75% possession, 676 completed passes and sustained territorial control, Luis Enrique’s side appeared firmly in command — yet were ultimately undone by inefficiency and late punishment.

Kvara only scores bangers 💥🇬🇪 pic.twitter.com/jhRSpCntJN
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) January 20, 2026

Total control, no reward before the break

From the opening minutes, PSG set the tempo. Désiré Doué, Vitinha, Ousmane Dembélé and Nuno Mendes all tested Rui Silva, who proved decisive with a string of saves. Warren Zaïre-Emery thought he had broken the deadlock midway through the first half with a free header, only for VAR to rule the goal out for a foul in the build-up.

At half-time, the scoreboard remained blank — a harsh reflection of Paris’ dominance and Sporting’s resistance.

Cruel second-half scenario

The pattern continued after the restart, but it was Sporting who struck first. Against the run of play, Luis Suárez capitalised on a loose ball in the box to give the hosts the lead in the 74th minute.

PSG responded almost immediately. Introduced from the bench, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia produced a moment of brilliance, smashing an unstoppable effort into the top corner to level the score at 1–1 (79’).

However, the sting came late. In the 90th minute, Luis Suárez struck again, following up a rebound to complete his brace and snatch victory for Sporting with one of their final attacks of the match.

Luis Enrique: “An incredibly unfair result”

A visibly frustrated Luis Enrique did not hide his feelings after full-time:

“This was our best away performance of the season. We controlled everything. To lose like this is incredible — football can be very unfair. But I am extremely proud of my players.”

Captain Marquinhos echoed that sentiment, pointing to a lack of efficiency in both penalty areas, while Warren Zaïre-Emery admitted: “That’s football — sometimes it’s unjust.”