The home team looked the more dangerous side for most of the match, with the exception of the early minutes of the second half, after a 40 minute delay caused by problems with the lighting at Jose Alvalade Stadium visibly deflated the green and white.

The second loss for Maribor in group G puts an end to their slim hopes of progressing to the round of 16 and means that the purple and gold will need a win in their final fixture at home on 10 December against Schalke to move into the Europa League.

Earlier in the evening, English powerhouse Chelsea guaranteed itself first place in the group by crushing the German side 5-0 in Gelsenkirchen.

In Lisbon, Sporting took the early lead when Carlos Mane slotted home after a pinpoint cross from Jefferson in the 10th minute and never looked back.

Dominating in possession, Lisbon extended its lead in the 35th when Nani pranced across the face of goal mostly unimpeded by a timid Maribor defence. While his first shot was saved, he was able to blast the rebound past goalkeeper Jasmin Handanović.

Just before half time, Maribor pulled back one when Jefferson scored an own goal after he failed to control a threatening cross from Aleš Mejač.

The purple and gold emerged out of the extended break with more purpose, but could not find a way to the goal.

Finally able to regroup after 15 minutes of the second half, Sporting quickly eased the worries of the 35,000 home faithful on hand as Islam Slimani blasted home from six metres out after a cross into the box was headed back into the middle by Nani.

Sporting created several more scoring opportunities in the final minutes but were denied by a number of fine saves from Handanović, Maribor's best player of the evening.