THE Lisbon Lions are through to the quarter finals of the Uefa Cup. Sporting qualified with a win over Bolton, 1-0, in the second leg of the last-16 round.

The match took place at José Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon and a goal from Pereirinha in the 85th minute booked Sporting's place in the next phase of the competition after a 1-1 draw in the first leg away to Bolton.

At the end of the match, Sporting coach Paulo Bento was happy with his team’s performance. “It was a good result. We did not play well offensively in the first 45 minutes, but in terms of opportunities throughout the 90 minutes, we had a sufficient amount to win even by a bigger margin.

Above all, we had a solid showing, whereby our adversary did not create chances and because of it, the tie was never in jeopardy,” he said.

After Benfica being kicked out by the Spaniards of Getafe, Sporting is the only Portuguese club still playing in European competitions this season. And Sporting will have to face another team from the UK as the draw held in Nyon on Friday dictated that the Portuguese side will be playing Scottish giants, Glasgow Rangers.

Sporting’s next Uefa Cup match is scheduled for April 3 in Scotland, with the return leg at Alvalade Stadium one week later. The winner of this clash will play either Fiorentina of Italy or Holland’s PSV Eindhoven for a place in the final.