Schalke sneak past Sporting

Gelsenkirchen - A stoppage-time penalty from Schalke 04's Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has snatched a 4-3 win against Sporting in the Champions League on Tuesday for their first victory and a winning return to the competition for new coach Roberto Di Matteo.

In a rollercoaster game, Schalke squandered a two-goal lead after coming from a goal down when Adrien Silva struck twice in the second half. But Choupo-Moting kept his cool to win the game for Schalke deep in stoppage time.

Portugal winger Nani, on loan from Manchester United this season, had put the visitors ahead on 14 minutes before Schalke levelled through Nigerian Chinedu Obasi with the Portuguese down to 10 men after the dismissal of Mauricio in the 33rd.

It looked all over when second-half goals from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and captain Benedikt Hoewedes put the hosts two goals ahead.

But two goals from Silva, a spot kick and a header with 12 minutes remaining, looked to have turned the game around before Chuopo-Moting's last-gasp penalty.

Schalke are second in Group G on five points, two behind leaders Chelsea, who crushed Slovenia's Maribor 6-0. Sporting are on one.

Sporting coach Marco Silva named an unchanged line-up to the one that beat Porto 3-1 in the Portuguese Cup on Saturday and they got off to a good start with Algerian Islam Slimani going close early on.

With the roof closed over the Auf Schalke Arena on a rainy Ruhr valley evening, Nani opened the scoring when he was left completely unmarked, rifling in a clever Joao Mario cutback from a corner in the 16th minute.

The hosts, however, were dealt a double blow a little later with Slimani, a constant threat up front, forced off with an injury before Brazilian Mauricio clattered into Marco Hoeger for a second booking and a red card in the 33rd minute.

Schalke made the extra man count seconds later when Nigerian Chinedu Obasi headed in his first Champions League goal with the ball dribbling over the line after keeper Rui Patricio had failed to hold on to it.

Sporting, who have never won in Germany, found themselves with a mountain to climb against the aggressive hosts in the second half and Huntelaar needed only six minutes after the restart to net his third goal of the campaign in as many games.

Hoewedes, making his first appearance in the competition after recovering from a hip injury in September, headed in Schalke's third goal on the hour.

But far from giving up, Sporting battled on and Silva cut the deficit with a well-taken spot kick three minutes later, before heading his second goal at the far post for what would have been an unlikely draw before Choupo-Moting's late decider.