Wednesday night saw Sporting deny Tottenham Hotspur three points as the North London club failed to register a win at their home ground after playing a 1-1 draw in the UEFA Champions League. Spurs will not be feeling very happy with the way things have gone for them, especially after having clear chances to win the match. Harry Kane did come up with a goal deep in the final seconds of added time, but it was denied by the intervention of VAR as the player was offside. Tottenham Hotspur now sit on top of the table in their Champions League table, but this will be a setback for them as they were trying to get back to winning ways after two straight defeats in the English Premier League.
We’ve broken down all the key stats for you to digest, including;
* shot maps
* xT (expected threat)
* pass networks
* xG timelines * defensive duels
* average positions and much more!
We also try to answer some questions for you with the visuals;
How did a disciplined Sporting back line deny Spurs three points? Why have Tottenham Hotspur not been able to find the back of the net even after having most of the possession?
To navigate the stats gallery simply click on the numbers to move through the pages.
Tottenham Hotspur went with a 3-4-3 formation with Harry Kane leading the line with Son Heung Min and Lucas Moura providing the width. 
Sporting started the game with a 3-4-3 formation with Paulinho as the lone striker and Trincao and Edwards on either flank. They later shifted to a 5-4-1 in the 75th minute to provide more solidarity at the back.
Even though Spurs had 58.21% of the possession, they couldn’t find the back of the net enough times to register a win at their home stadium. But they looked dangerous whenever they had possession.
The visitors had only 41.79% of the possession, but they opened the scoring in the 22nd minute through Marcus Edwards. Towards the end, Sporting was more focused on staying low and not conceding any goals.
The home side tried 17 shots, but only six of them were on target, with a low accuracy of 35.29%. Eric Dier had a couple of decent shots which were blocked by the Sporting goalkeeper. Bentancur scored Spurs’ only goal in the game in the 80th minute from a corner. Harry Kane scored a goal late in added time, which was disallowed for offside.
Sporting had ten shots, four of them on target with an accuracy of 40%. Marcus Edwards scored for Sporting in the 20th minute from outside the penalty box.
Spurs had an xG rate of 1.61. They had ten shots inside the penalty box. 
Sporting had an xG rate of 1.31. They tried six shots from the penalty box but couldn’t put any past Hugo Lloris. 
The majority of Spurs’ attacks were through the centre, with 73% of the positional attacks through the middle. They also had an xG of 0.66 when they attacked through the middle.
The Portuguese side, on the other hand, used their width as well. 45% of their attacks were through the right side. They also used the centre of the park as well, and scored the only goal from an attack through the middle.
Tottenham Hotspur passed the ball 561 times and completed 460, with a success rate of 82%. Players from the middle, Hojbjerg, combined well with the wide players to stretch the opposition’s defence. Eric Dier and Romero completed the most number of passes between two Spurs players as they played 27 passes between them.
Sporting played a total of 384 passes and completed 327 with an accuracy of 85.16%. They didn’t complete a lot of passes to the final third, though. 
The home side attempted 71 passes in the final third and completed 52 of them with an accuracy of 73.24%. The wingbacks overlapped and linked up with the forwards well, especially Perisic, who combined with Lucas Moura and Bentancur three times.
The visitors, on the other hand, attempted only 34 passes in the attacking third and completed only 19 of them. They only had an accuracy of 55.82%. Paulinho and Edwards combined three times in the final third for Sporting.
Spurs recovered the ball 93 times through the length of the pitch. Romero finished the match with the highest number of recoveries for Tottenham Hotspur. Their midfielders, Hojbjerg and Bentancur, also contributed towards regaining possession 13 times, which was crucial to the counterattack.
Sporting recovered possession 84 times, with a majority of them being in the defensive third. Pedro Porro finished the match with the highest number of recoveries for the visitors, as he helped his team regain possession 12 times.
Antonio Conte’s side contested 198 duels and came away with 98, with an accuracy of 49.49%. Ivan Perisic and Bentancur were the players with the highest number of duels for the home side. They both contested 22 duels.
The visitors contested 198 duels, winning 96 of them with a 48.48 success rate. Pedro Porro contested 25 duels for the Portuguese side.
Spurs participated in 58 defensive duels, with Romero and Perisic both having made ten each. They managed to defend and retrieve the ball high up the pitch. 
Sporting participated in 69 defensive duels and Ugarte completed 13 of them. The majority of those duels took place in the defensive third.
Tottenham Hotspur contested 36 aerial duels. Eric Dier contested the most number of aerial duels of them all. The Englishman had a chance to give Tottenham Hotspur the lead, but his header went a bit wide of the post.
Sporting contested one fewer aerial duel than the home side. They had 35 aerial duels, and Coates contested six of them. The centre-back completed all of them, earning him a success rate of 100%.
The home side made 35 interceptions, and Doherty completed seven of them. The Irish international stopped a lot of attacks on Spurs’ right side.
Sporting completed a total of 59 interceptions. Their defensive discipline helped them to cling to their narrow lead. Pedro Porro finished the match with the highest number of interceptions for Sporting. He made 13 interceptions.
Tottenham Hotspur would be disappointed that they dropped points against Sporting. Their thin run of form continues, and the road ahead doesn’t look very bright for Antonio Conte and his players. They will need the key players to step up to the occasion if they need to go forward in the competition, as they will be facing better teams.
Visuals via Wyscout.