Sporting’s Comeback Against Marseille Quells ‘Slump’ Talk in Lisbon

A hush of satisfaction is drifting across Alvalade after Sporting’s come-from-behind 2-1 win over Olympique de Marseille, yet head coach Rúben Amorim insists that nothing about the past few weeks ever warranted the doom-and-gloom label some had slapped on the side. The Lisbon native, whose every word is now parsed by supporters fretting over the domestic title race and the Champions League group, believes the Lions are nowhere near a crisis—statistics and an increasingly bouncy dressing room appear to back him up.

Lisbon mood shift ahead of a heavyweight night

The talk of a Sporting “slump” peaked when Braga stole a late point in early October and Estoril forced an anxious second half a week later. Amorim brushed off that narrative in the pre-match press conference, reminding reporters that his team sat three points off the Liga Portugal summit, had lost just once in eight outings and were, by his calculation, “still playing the best collective football in the country.” Inside the stadium the tension was unmistakable: Marseille arrived top of Ligue 1, backed by more than 2,600 travelling supporters who turned the away sector into a roaring blue-and-white pocket.

Numbers tell a different story

Over the past eight official matches Sporting’s ledger reads six wins, one draw and one defeat, with 17 goals scored and only eight conceded—a 75 percent success rate that would make most European contenders envious. The aggregate tells its own tale: the side averages above two goals per game and is conceding roughly once every 90 minutes, hardly the profile of a squad in free-fall. Those figures are not lost on Amorim, who argued that “external noise rarely matches our internal reality.”

French praise meets internal scrutiny

Across the border the tone was decidedly respectful. L’Équipe highlighted Sporting’s pressing shape, while RMC Sport’s popular talk-show “Rothen s’enflamme” called the Lisbon side “the toughest road test in Group F.” Even La Provence, unabashedly parochial in its Marseille coverage, warned that the “Lion’s Den of Lisbon” can maul any visitor. Curiously, the same French commentary amplified Portuguese doubts, pointing to Sporting’s extra-time struggle in the Taça de Portugal against second-tier Paços de Ferreira. Amorim dismissed that as “cup folklore” rather than evidence of frailty.

Amorim on Marseille’s strengths

Still, the coach went out of his way to heap compliments on his opponents. He spoke of the Ligue 1 leaders’ high possession percentage and vertical instinct in the final third, singling out their speed in transition and accuracy in passing as “exactly what you expect in the Champions League.” For Amorim the logic is simple: if Sporting want to belong among Europe’s elite, they must “beat the best while they are at their best.”

Second-half comeback changes the narrative

Marseille struck first on 22 October, briefly silencing a sell-out crowd. Then the substitutions arrived—Geny Catamo injecting width, Marcus Edwards threading the decisive assist—and the match flipped. Sporting’s 2-1 triumph was described by Amorim as “playing with the heart,” though he was quick to credit tactical tweaks that freed Pedro Gonçalves between the lines. “Only a great group reverses that score,” he said, half-smiling, half-daring anyone to bring up the phrase má fase again.

What it means for the title chase and Europe

The win lifted Sporting to six points in their Champions League pool, level with Napoli and ahead of Marseille on head-to-head. Domestically, victory keeps the Lisbon side glued to the coattails of league-leading Porto, setting up a potentially seismic Clássico in November. For Portuguese fans hoping to see a deep European run, the result matters beyond simple arithmetic: beating the Ligue 1 frontrunner reinforces the idea that Portuguese clubs can still muscle into UEFA’s late-spring conversations.

Looking ahead: traps and opportunities

Amorim cautioned that the calendar offers no breathers—Moreirense away, Napoli at home and a resurgent Boavista all loom in the next three weeks. Yet he sounded bullish, insisting the squad’s blend of home-grown talent and savvy signings is equipped for the grind. “The best antidote to speculation,” he said, “is winning football matches.” For now, the numbers and the mood in Lisbon suggest Sporting’s so-called rough patch has been little more than a storytelling convenience.