Club Brugge recovered from an early setback to beat Sporting CP 2-1 and deal their opponents another blow in their post-Ruben Amorim era.
Sporting were flying in the Champions League until Amorim left to take up the Manchester United job, before losing 5-1 at home to Arsenal. They were also defeated in the past two league matches.
A fourth straight defeat in all competitions looked unlikely when Geny Catamo grabbed a rebound to put Sporting ahead in the third minute, but more pain was to come.
Brugge leveled when Eduardo Quaresma deflected Christos Tzolis' effort into his own net, before a VAR review led to a penalty in Sporting's favor being reduced to a free-kick.
The match remained in the balance until the 84th minute, but substitute Casper Nielsen fired Brugge to victory after a pass from captain Hans Vanaken.
Three points put Brugge level with Sporting, who are still well placed for a place in the play-offs but have fallen behind the top eight.
Data debriefing: a long-awaited comeback
Sporting had not lost consecutive European matches since the 2022/23 Champions League group stage, but Brugge took advantage of their new-found vulnerability on Tuesday.
But the Belgian team also had to show courage. They had lost the previous nine Champions League games in which they had conceded the opening goal, ending that run not only with a draw but also with a precious victory.
With Sporting faltering, there are signs that Brugge have found their place in the Champions League. They have won three of the past five games, as many as in the previous thirteen.
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