The visitors had the first chance of the game after just three minutes when Davinson Sanchez headed a Gabriel Sara delivery just wide.
That proved to be a warning that Sporting did not heed, as just three minutes later, the Colombian flicked on Eren Elmalı’s long throw. Rui Silva managed to keep that one out, but despite hooking the ball away, he couldn’t keep out Lucas Torreira's follow-up that ultimately went down as a Goncalo Inacio own goal.
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Sara then tested Silva with a low shot almost immediately, before Sporting started to gain a foothold. Luis Suarez had the ball in the net on 20 minutes, but his effort was ruled out due to an earlier offside in the build-up.
However, the hosts levelled the game on 27 minutes when Geny Catamo punished Gala with a low left-footed strike into the bottom corner after the defence failed to clear inside the box.
Leroy Sane did come close to re-establishing the visitors’ lead just before the break, but his left-footed strike curled just over the bar.
However, little over 10 minutes after the restart, Sporting turned the game on its head. Norwegian referee Espen Eskas pointed to the spot when Suárez rounded Ugurcan Cakır and went down after colliding with Ismail Jakobs. The Colombian international kept his composure despite a VAR-imposed delay and beat Cakır low to his right, despite the keeper guessing correctly.
Okan Buruk introduced Sporting academy graduate Rafael Leao to jeers and whistles from the home crowd, and a summer arrival at the Estádio José Alvalade soon had them out of their seats just moments later.
Rodrigo Zalazar was making his UCL debut, having arrived from Braga, and he unleashed a stunning free-kick into the top corner just after the hour mark. Ultimately, the Turkish champions could not find a way back into the game, which extends their winless run against Portuguese opposition to six (D1, L5).
Meanwhile, last season’s UCL quarter-finalists continue their impressive run against sides from Turkey as they have now lost just two of 11 games (W6, D3).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Rodrigo Zalazar (Sporting CP)