Sporting Lisbon kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League courtesy of a 3-1 victory over Maribor this evening.
The home side cruised into a two-goal lead at the Estadio Jose Alvalde with strikes from Carlos Mane and Nani, although Nascimento Jefferson's own goal shortly before the interval gave the Slovenian outfit some hope.
A 50-minute delay at half time due to floodlight failure led to a rather stop-start second half, but it was Sporting who took control of the contest to seal the points through Islam Slimani's 65th-minute goal.
Here, Sports Mole takes a look at who impressed during the 90 minutes of action.
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SPORTING LISBON
Goal
Rui Patricio: Had one shot on goal all evening to contend with, which was a straightforward stop down low. Could do little to keep out the own goal. (6/10)
Defence
Cedric Soares: The defender did well to get forward, although his yellow card for a coming together with Arghus in the second half will see him miss the huge match against Chelsea in two weeks' time. (7/10)
Nascimento Mauricio: Having been named in the starting lineup this evening following his recent one-match ban, the Brazilian will be pleased that he had little to do across the 90 minutes. (6/10)
Paulo Oliveira: Likewise, this was not the busiest of night's for the home side's backline, although when they were called into action they were unable to turn away Mejac's cross which led to the Maribor goal. (6/10)
Nascimento Jefferson: He may have put the ball into his own net to give the Slovenian opposition a route back into the contest, but it was the flying full-back's scintillating delivery which led to his side's opener. Did not stop powering forward all evening. (8/10)
Midfield
Joao Mario: Came to life in the second half to produce a number of high-quality crosses and test Handanovic on a couple of occasions. Was then replaced with the game wrapped up in the final 10 minutes. (7/10)
William Carvalho: The highly-rated holding midfielder did not need to be at his best this evening, although he still managed to create attacks from the back. Came close to scoring at the death with goal-bound effort. (7/10)
Adrien Silva: His name was hardly mentioned during the game, although he quietly played his part to help the Lions dominate possession in the middle of the park. (6/10)
Attack
Carlos Mane: Could hardly miss his first-half tap-in which paved the way for Sporting's success. Was replaced in the second half having failed to make a real impact besides his earlier goal. (6/10)
Islam Slimani: Took his volley brilliantly to seal the three points for the hosts. Could have bagged a second shortly after if not for the opposition stopper's solid save. (7/10)
Nani: Arguably Sporting's liveliest player on the night, Nani was constantly moving about the cause the away side no end of problems. He was given far too much time on the ball inside the box for his goal, but credit to the former Manchester United winger for keeping his composure. (8/10)
Substitutes
Andre Martins: Introduced late on with the game already over. Could not make an impact on the game in his short time on the pitch. (5/10)
Fredy Montero: The Portuguese outfit produced an array of high-quality crosses all evening, which improved even further when Montero was introduced. Came close to adding his name to the scoresheet numerous times, but just could not find a way past Handanovic. (8/10)
Andre Carrillo: Much like Montero, the replacement midfielder was only kept out by the heroics of Maribor's goalkeeper. (7/10)
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MARIBOR
Goal
Jasmin Handanovic: He may have been beaten three times, but the Slovenian produced a handful of top-class stops to prolong his side's hopes of a comeback. (9/10)
Defence
Peter Stojanovic: His horror challenge on Nani perhaps should have led to a red card. In truth that was the lasting impressio the full-back left on the game. (5/10)
Aleksander Rajcevic: Certainly does not lack experience in Europe having now played 57 times in the Europa League and Champions League combined, although he was unable to control Sporting's free-flowing forwards in this one. (6/10)
Soares Arghus: His coming together with Cedric in the second half highlighted his frustrations. He came out second best on the night. (6/10)
Ales Mejac: Looked to get forward as often as possible, and bagged an assist thanks to his fantastic delivery which led to Jefferson putting the ball into his own net. (7/10)
Midfield
Dare Vrsic: Was unable to make an impact in the first half, which led to him being withdrawn at the interval in place of fresh legs. (5/10)
Ales Mertelj: There is no denying that, bar a 10-minute spell at the start of the second half, the home side were the ones on top in the midfield battle. (6/10)
Zeljko Fillipovic: Again, for all his efforts, Maribor struggled to click in the middle of the park which proved costly in the end. (6/10)
Sintayehu Sallallich: Was replaced 20 minutes from time having failed to grow into the game following the restart. (6/10)
Attack
Marcos Tavares: The forward certainly knows how to find the net, but having only returned to action last time out, he was given little to feed off. (5/10)
Luka Zahovic: Much like his strike partner, it was a frustrating night for Zahovic who was eventually replaced. (5/10)
Substitutes
Agim Ibraimi: Clearly not fit enough to start from the off, the attacking midfielder was introduced ahead of the second half, although he did not change the flow of the game. (6/10)
Jean-Philippe Mendy: Was given a 12-minute cameo, in which time Sporting continued firing shots in at Handanovic's goal. (6/10)
Damjan Bohar: The midfielder boasts a decent scoring rate, but none of that was on show at the Estadio Jose Alvalde this evening. (X/10)
Daniel Lewis
