Sporting CP of Portugal eliminated Arsenal from the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night after the match went into penalties at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal and Sporting headed into the game on the back of a 2-2 draw in the first leg.
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It was Sporting who looked likely to take the lead as they had a composed and dominant start to the game, making Arsenal chase the ball for the first 15 minutes.
Arsenal’s evening first showed a sign of going bad after Takehiro Tomiyaso was forced off in the ninth minute with what looked like a muscle injury.
As the match wore on, Arsenal settled down and controlled the game. In the 19th minute, Granit Xhaka netted to put the Gunners ahead. Gabriel Martinelli had seen his shot saved by Antonio Adan before Xhaka latched onto the loose ball to put Mikel Arteta’s men ahead.
Arsenal were again forced to substitute as William Saliba went down injured in the 21st minute.
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The second half started how the first did, with Sporting controlling proceedings. This time, their efforts paid off in the 62nd minute as Pedro Goncalves spotted Aaron Ramsdale off his line and struck the ball beyond him to level the scoring.
Sporting were back seeking a goal, but Marcus Edwards’ shot was saved beautifully by Ramsdale in the 72nd minute. The English keeper needed medical attention as he took the ball to his face.
The Sporting bench were left holding their heads after substitute Dario Essugo’s flimsy pass found Leandro Trossard, who charged at the Portuguese side’s goal. His shot was, however, saved by Adan, who hit it to the bar in the 97th minute.
After 120 minutes of football, the match remained 1-1, and penalties were required to settle the tie.
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Sporting won via penalties after Martinelli’s loss gave them a 5-3 penalty victory.
Other results
Ferencvaros vs Bayer Leverkusen
Leverkusen took the lead in the third minute through Moussa Diaby before Amine Adli scored the second at the Puskas Arena.
They had lost 2-0 at the German side’s home last week so Leverkusen progressed on a 4-0 aggregate.
Real Sociedad vs AS Roma
The match ended 0-0 on the night but the Serie A side had won 2-0 in the first leg and went through.
Union St Gilloise vs Union Berlin
Union St Gilloise continued their impressive form, blistering their German visitors 3-0 to go through on 6-3 aggregate.
Teddy Teuma and Jean Thierry Lazare Amani got the goals. The latter scored a brace.
