Schalke 04 secured a crucial 4-3 victory over Sporting Lisbon in a dramatic Champions league clash in Gelsenkirchen on Tuesday night.
Nani opened the scoring for Sporting in the first half, before Mauricio's red card handed the advantage to the hosts.
A Chinedu Obasi header in the 34th minute and second-half goals from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Benedikt Howedes appeared to put Schalke on course for a comfortable triumph.
However, Adrien Silva responded with a brace to level the scores, before a controversial penalty in the 93rd minute allowed Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to secure the points for the hosts.
Below, Sports Mole reflects on an enthralling contest in Group G.
Match statistics
SCHALKE
Shots: 15
On target: 6
Possession: 66%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 11
SPORTING LISBON
Shots: 11
On target: 4
Possession: 34%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 19
Was the result fair?
It is very difficult to argue that Sporting did not deserve at least a point from the game. Despite scoring four times and having one more player on the pitch for most of the match, Schalke never really produced their best and were unable to kill off the visitors. After coming from 3-1 down to level the scores, Sporting deserved the draw. Losing the game to such a controversial decision was very, very harsh.
Schalke's performance
Schalke were pretty good in spells, but they were never at their best. The pace of their play was too often slow in the final third of the pitch, and they didn't help their own cause with some poor defending. Roberto Di Matteo's side played their best football in the build-up to Huntelaar's goal, but failed to press on after Howedes made it 3-1. The Italian will know there is plenty more for his side to improve on, despite picking up all three points.
Sporting's performance
Marco Silva will have mixed feelings about the game in Gelsenkirchen. It would have hurt him to see Choupo-Moting condemn his side to defeat in the final minute of stoppage time, but he will be proud of how the Sporting players performed. A bright start was ruined by two avoidable bookings for Mauricio, who piled the pressure on his side by getting sent off. It looked like Sporting were on the way to a thrashing, but their attitude was superb. They kept men behind the ball and took advantage of Schalke's defensive problems with the pace of Andre Carrillo and Fredy Montero.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Andre Carrillo: If Sporting had collected anything from the game, plenty more would have been said about Carrillo's display. He was asked to lead the line on his own after the visitors were reduced to 10 men, and he responded superbly, while also looking a threat when he moved out wide. Schalke's defence were asked questions by Carrillo throughout the match as the forward chased down lost causes and linked up with his teammates impressively.
Biggest gaffe
The Russian officials should be hanging their heads in shame tonight. In the final minute of stoppage time Huntelaar headed the ball straight at Jonathan Silva's face, and moments later, referee Sergey Karasev pointed to the spot after his assistant behind the goal indicated the Sporting defender had handled the ball. It was an awful decision which ensured a brilliant match ended in disappointing fashion.
Referee performance
Before the controversy late on it was a pretty good night for Karasev, who was right to send off Mauricio. The official behind the goal should take most of the blame for the Schalke penalty, but the referee should have seen the incident from his position.
What next?
Schalke: Di Matteo's side return to action against Bundesliga rivals Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
Sporting: The Portuguese side host Maritimo on Sunday evening.
Callum Mulvihill
