LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Two wins in two matches have given a much-needed boost to Marseille’s chances of reaching the last 16 of the Champions League.
Marseille eased to a 2-0 victory at Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday after the Portuguese side had two players sent off.
Sporting also had a player sent off in last week’s 4-1 loss to Marseille.
Marseille was bottom after two straight defeats but has now moved second, above Sporting on head-to-head record and a point behind Group D leader Tottenham after the English side beat Frankfurt 3-2.
It all went wrong for Sporting in the 19th when defender Ricardo Esgaio was sent off following two yellow cards in three minutes.
Esgaio’s second yellow card also saw him concede a penalty for a foul on Amine Harit. Mattéo Guendouzi had never taken a penalty before but he sent the ball in off the post to give Marseille the lead.
That was the first time Marseille had opened the scoring in a Champions League match since 2013.
Harit was also involved in Marseille’s second goal, 10 minutes later, with a cross for Alexis Sánchez to tap in. The goal was given after a VAR check for a possible offside in the buildup.
Matters went from bad to worse for Sporting in the 61st when midfielder Pedro Gonçalves was shown two yellow cards in a matter of seconds and also sent off. The first booking was for a late challenge and the second was for something he said to the referee.
___
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports