Paris Suffers Narrow Defeat in Crucial Lisbon Match

It was in Portugal, and more precisely in Lisbon, that the club from the capital continued its defence of its European champion title in the club's first continental match of 2026, a year that is hoped will be just as successful as the previous one in the competition. Third in the league table with 13 points on the board after 7 matches, means that the Parisians have already qualified—at least—for the play-offs and the knockout stage of the tournament. Sporting sat in 14th, with three points less than the visitors before kick-off, and Paris travelled to the Portuguese capital to face the Leões for the first time in their history in a competitive match, aiming to make a success of their 300th European game... In front of 50,000 spectators in Lisbon, the Rouge et Bleu made a strong start. Désiré Doué cut inside and went for the far corner but narrowly missed the target (4'), as did Senny Mayulu (8'). In between, Fabián Ruiz saw his effort gathered by Rui Silva (6'), with the same outcome for Vitinha’s attempt moments later (8'). Sporting’s last line of defence shone again as he punched away Nuno Mendes’ powerful effort (13'). Under pressure, the Portuguese side finally threatened as the first quarter-hour drew to a close through Geny Catamo, who failed to find the target (14'). The Lisbon club’s goalkeeper then denied Senny Mayulu’s header (15'), watched Marquinhos’ header (22') and Vitinha’s powerful strike (25') sail wide, before being helped out by Gonçalo Inácio, who produced a last-ditch block to prevent Bradley Barcola’s shot (25th) and then cut out the Parisian No. 29’s inviting pass to Ousmane Dembélé (30'). Warren Zaïre-Emery thought he had broken the deadlock, but his header was ultimately ruled out for a foul at the start of the move (30'), as was Nuno Mendes’ goal just before the break for a charge on the opposing goalkeeper (43'). A flurry of chances and sheets of rain pouring down on the stadium followed, and the Lisbon side came close to pulling off a smash-and-grab just before half-time, when Hidemasa Morita failed to hit the target deep into stoppage time (45+3). After the break, Vitinha on one side (51') and Francisco Trincão on the other both fired wide (53'). Dembélé then became the third Paris player of the evening to see a goal disallowed, this time for offside (58'), before being denied by Silva (61'). It took until the hour mark to see Lucas Chevalier make his first save of the match, from another effort from Catamo (65'). Catamo would, however, go on to play a part in Luis Suarez's opening goal, when the latter was on hand at the far post to convert a shot from the No. 10 coming in from the right and unintentionally deflected by Giorgos Vagiannidis (1–0, 74'). Paris were shaken but not sunk, as moments later Dembélé fed Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on the left. The Georgian cut inside and unleashed a sublime curling strike into the far corner, sending the 2,500 Paris supporters in Lisbon into pandemonium (1–1, 79'). The match then opened up, and it was ultimately Sporting who took the spoils: Francisco Trincão was first denied by Lucas Chevalier, but Suárez, lurking and heading home the rebound, completed his brace to seal victory for the hosts (2–1, 90'). A frustrating scenario for Paris Saint-Germain who, now sit in 5th in the standings (ahead of Wednesday’s matches), will conclude their league phase against Newcastle United FC in eight days’ time at the Parc des Princes. Before that, they face another away trip. This time to Burgundy to take on AJ Auxerre on Matchday 19 of Ligue 1.