Match ends, Sporting Lisbon 0, Barcelona 1.
SportingSporting Lisbon0BarcelonaBarcelona1
An own goal by former Liverpool defender Sebastian Coates was enough to earn Barcelona a Champions League Group B victory away to Sporting Lisbon.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez both wasted excellent chances in the opening 45 minutes.
However, Barca never looked in danger once Coates bundled into his own net while under pressure from Suarez.
Lionel Messi made his 593rd Barcelona appearance - tying him third with Carles Puyol on the club's all-time list.
Barcelona are top of the group with six points from two games, with Sporting second on three points.
Five star Basel
Basel scored five goals in Europe's most prestigious competition for the first time since 1973 to leave Benfica bottom of Group A without a point.
The Swiss club, beaten 3-0 at Manchester United in their first game, went 3-0 up through Michael Lang, Dimitri Oberlin and a penalty by former Norwich forward Ricky van Wolfswinkel.
Benfica's night went from bad to worse when Andre Almeida was sent off for a terrible two-footed lunge.
Basel added a further two goals through Oberlin and Blas Riveros.
Higuain scores after being dropped
Juventus secured their first Champions League points of the season with a 2-0 Group D win over Olympiakos.
Boss Massimiliano Allegri left Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain out of his side but sent the former Real Madrid player on with the game goalless after an hour.
Within 10 minutes Higuain had scored before having a hand in Mario Mandzukic's second at the Allianz Arena.
"I made a choice and Higuain wasn't as good as the others," said Allegri, when asked about his decision to leave the 29-year-old out.
"But we saw this evening that he already moved differently. He has never been a problem and never will be. He's a player who can make the difference and win us games."
Juventus are now third in Group D which is led by unbeaten Barcelona.
Dzeko on target for Roma
Former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko scored his sixth goal in four games as Roma beat Qarabag 2-1 in Azerbaijan.
Kostas Manolas had given the Italians the lead before Dzeko made it 2-0 - Pedro Henrique reducing the deficit.
Qarabag are still seeking a maiden Champions League point, while Roma are two points behind Group C leaders Chelsea, who snatched a dramatic victory against Atletico Madrid to maintain their 100% start.
Line-ups
Sporting
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Rui Patrício
- 92PicciniBooked at 53mins
- 4CoatesBooked at 58mins
- 22Mathieu
- 5da Silva CoentrãoBooked at 26minsSubstituted forSilvaat 74'minutes
- 14William Carvalho
- 16Battaglia
- 77Gelson MartinsBooked at 6mins
- 8Bruno Fernandes
- 9AcuñaBooked at 48minsSubstituted forCésar Zanakiat 73'minutes
- 88DoumbiaBooked at 40minsSubstituted forDostat 44'minutes
Substitutes
- 3Silva
- 10Ruíz
- 11César Zanaki
- 18Salin
- 25Petrovic
- 28Dost
- 55Figueiredo
Barcelona
Formation 4-4-2
- 1ter Stegen
- 2Nélson SemedoBooked at 69mins
- 3Piqué
- 23Umtiti
- 18Alba
- 20RobertoSubstituted forAndré Gomesat 87'minutes
- 4Rakitic
- 5Busquets
- 8IniestaSubstituted forPaulinhoat 80'minutes
- 9SuárezSubstituted forVidalat 89'minutesBooked at 90mins
- 10Messi
Substitutes
- 6D Suárez
- 13Cillessen
- 14Mascherano
- 15Paulinho
- 19Digne
- 21André Gomes
- 22Vidal
- Referee:
- Ovidiu Hategan
- Attendance:
- 48,575
Match Stats
Home TeamSportingAway TeamBarcelona
- Possession
- Home31%
- Away69%
- Shots
- Home11
- Away10
- Shots on Target
- Home3
- Away5
- Corners
- Home3
- Away4
- Fouls
- Home19
- Away12
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Sporting Lisbon 0, Barcelona 1.
Post update
Foul by Sergio Busquets (Barcelona).
Post update
Bruno Fernandes (Sporting Lisbon) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Bruno César (Sporting Lisbon) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Bruno Fernandes.
Booking
Aleix Vidal (Barcelona) is shown the yellow card.
Substitution
Substitution, Barcelona. Aleix Vidal replaces Luis Suárez.
Post update
Attempt saved. Bruno Fernandes (Sporting Lisbon) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Substitution
Substitution, Barcelona. André Gomes replaces Sergi Roberto.
Post update
Attempt saved. Paulinho (Barcelona) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Ivan Rakitic with a through ball.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Nélson Semedo.
Post update
Attempt missed. Paulinho (Barcelona) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Ivan Rakitic.
Substitution
Substitution, Barcelona. Paulinho replaces Andrés Iniesta.
Post update
Attempt missed. William Carvalho (Sporting Lisbon) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Bas Dost with a headed pass.
Post update
Corner, Sporting Lisbon. Conceded by Sergio Busquets.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Bruno Fernandes (Sporting Lisbon) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by William Carvalho.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Bruno Fernandes (Sporting Lisbon) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Bruno César.
Substitution
Substitution, Sporting Lisbon. Jonathan Silva replaces Fábio Coentrão because of an injury.
Substitution
Substitution, Sporting Lisbon. Bruno César replaces Marcos Acuña.
Post update
Foul by Nélson Semedo (Barcelona).
Comments
Join the conversation
So BBC, please give the 7 followers of Liga NOS here some analysis!
Bayern are in the same situation. Now is the time for English clubs to take advantage as both Barca and Bayern will come back stronger next season.
Have you watched Barca play or are you just looking at scorelines?
Suggest you go on youtube and watch 3:0 win v Juventus, 5:0 v Espanyol and 6:1 v Eibar. Watch the movement and passing. Sublime. Messi impossible to mark.
You're talking out your backside.
What this result tells you is that Barca have lost their swagger and are faltering under the circumstances they find themselves in. They have to now grind out results and will soon realise how far they have fallen behind Real
What your waffling comment tells me is that you haven't really checked. Barca are faltering 4pts clear at the top of la liga, and 3pts clear in the CL.