Watch and Download Highlights: Arsenal 1-1 Sporting CP as Sporting CP Beat Arsenal on penalty after playing 1-1 on full time with extra time.
Pedro Goncalves’ incredible equalizer for the Portuguese team in Thursday’s last 16 second match helped Sporting Lisbon eliminate Arsenal from the Europa League with a 5-3 victory on penalties. Granit Xhaka gave Premier League leaders Arsenal the advantage at the Emirates Stadium in the first half as Porting fell behind.
Goncalves, a Portuguese midfielder, defeated Aaron Ramsdale of Arsenal with a breathtaking strike from 46 yards out, forcing overtime. Oncalves’ unexpected goal was similar to David Beckham’s incredible long-range chip for Manchester United against Wimbledon in 1996, which propelled Beckham to fame.
It took penalties to break the draw after a heart-pounding game ended at 1-1 on the night and 3-3 overall. Sporting managed to pull off the surprise triumph after Antonio Adan blocked Gabriel Martinelli’s shot and Nuno Santos scored the game-winning goal.
In the first half, after Mikel Arteta attempted to protect his key players by making five substitutions, defenders William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu limped off hurt.
Since winning the Cup-Winners’ Cup in 1994, Arsenal has yet to bring home a major European prize, and they still have another year to wait. But the Gunners would happily exchange winning the Europa League for a long-awaited Premier League championship. As they pursue their first league championship since 2004, Arsenal leads second-place Manchester City by five points in the Premier League.
Since defeating Middlesbrough in the UEFA Cup in 2005, Sporting hadn’t won in England. Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Leandro Trossard, Ben White, and Thomas Party were rested ahead of Sunday’s Premier League match against Crystal Palace by Arteta, who had played a potent lineup in the first leg in Lisbon.