Sporting Lisbon 1 Frankfurt 2 LIVE REACTION: German side THROUGH to Champions League last-16 after epic comeback
EINTRACHT FRANKFURT have qualified for the last-16 of the Champions League after coming from behind to beat Sporting Lisbon in their final group game.
Kolo Muani scored a 72nd-minute winner for the visitors. Arthur Gomes had put the hosts ahead in the 39th and Frankfurt equalized with a penalty kick converted by Daichi Kamada in the 62nd.
Sporting was leading Group D while it was winning at home, but it ended in third place and with a spot in the Europa League playoffs.
A draw would have been enough for it to advance regardless of other results.
The Portuguese side were trying to make it to the round of 16 of the Champions League for the second straight season.
They were eliminated by Manchester City in the last 16 last season.
Sporting started the game one point behind Tottenham, which scored late to win 2-1 at Marseille and finish first in what had been a wide-open Group D entering the last round. Marseille ended in last place.
Sporting lost forward Nuno Santos because of an injury in the first half. Santos was in a preliminary 55-man squad for Portugal ahead of the Qatar World Cup.
Sporting’s 17-year-old midfielder Dario Essugo made his Champions League debut in the second half.
- RESULT: Sporting 1-2 Frankfurt
- Sporting XI: Adan, Juste, Coates, Inacio, Porro, Goncalves, Ugarte, Santos, Edwards, Paulinho, Arthur
- Frankfurt XI: Trapp, Ndicka, Jakic, Sow, Muani, Kamada, Dina Ebimbe, Gotze, Lindstrom, Pellegrini, Tuta
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