Sporting CP U19 beat Liverpool to qualify for the semi-finals of the UEFA Youth League

Sporting CP U19 have qualified for the semi-finals of the UEFA Youth League following a 1–0 win over Liverpool at the Stadium Aurelio Pereira in Alcochete this afternoon.

Os Leões could possibly be the third Portuguese youth side to win this competition in a row as they head into the semi-finals to face either AZ Alkmaar or Real Madrid.

Young striker Rodrigo Ribeiro scored the decisive goal for Sporting on the 65th minute mark as he pounced on a ball over the top of the defence and slotted the ball into the bottom right corner.

Sporting are currently undefeated in the competition as they have beaten Ajax, Liverpool, Tottenham, Marseille and Frankfurt so far in their campaign.

Sporting CP have always been seen as a third option in Portugal as both Porto and Benfica have found greater success in league and cup competitions and as well as this even their youth teams play in higher divisions.

However, the side in green and white have developed some game changing players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Figo and Quaresma who have all gone on to have strong careers outside of Portugal.

The new era in Sporting contains highly rated young prospects including Rodrigo Ribeiro, Diego Callai, Gonçalo Esteves and Afonso Moreira who are all certain to make first team debuts in the coming years.

As much as this competition benefits the youth side of the club the first team will be benefit from having their academy labelled as one of the best in Europe.

There is a lot of pressure resting on the young lions as they are on track to make history for Sporting as well as giving Portugal dominance in continental youth football.