PORTO, PORTUGAL (AFP) - Atletico Madrid grabbed a place in the last 16 of the Champions League as Antoine Griezmann scored one goal and had a key role in the two others as the Spanish side beat Porto 3-1. The win in northern Porto coupled with AC Milan's 2-1 defeat to a second-string Liverpool side at the San Siro was enough to send Diego Simeone's side through as the second-placed team in Group B despite starting the day bottom. Yannick Carrasco complicated Atletico's task by getting sent off with 20 minutes to go for grappling Otavio to the ground in a touchline melee. Three minutes later, the numbers were evened up as Porto had Wendell red-carded after French referee Clement Turpin adjudged he had struck an Atletico player. Porto had two golden chances to score, but Mehdi Taremi wasted both. First he was denied by a brilliant one-handed save by Jan Oblak in the first half and then he side-footed over the bar in the second from a good position. After a largely sterile first half, all the goals came in a frenetic second period. Against the run of play, Atletico went ahead on 56 minutes when Griezmann was left unmarked by Otavio and nonchalantly tapped in at the back post from an in-swinging corner. Ater the bad-tempered period that produced two red cards, Griezmann created the second goal by drawing two Porto defenders on the touchline before brilliantly slipping the ball to the charging Angel Correa who kept his head to slide a shot past 'keeper Diogo Costa. Griezmann was involved again as Porto, with players committed in attack, were caught out and the French striker scuffed his shot but Rodrigo De Paul made no mistake two minutes into stoppage time. Sergio Oliveira scored from the penalty spot for Porto in the sixth minute of injury time but the long faces on the Portuguese side's bench told the story of the match. More on this topic Related Story Football: Perfect Liverpool knock Milan out of Champions League Related Story Football: Walker sent off as Man City crash in Champions League at Leipzig
PORTO (REUTERS) - Mohamed Salah struck twice as Liverpool sauntered to a 5-1 victory against injury-struck Porto to seize command of a daunting looking Champions League Group B on Tuesday (Sept 28). A tricky-looking fixture on paper was negotiated with ease by Liverpool who were far superior in every department and helped by a woeful display from Porto keeper Diogo Costa. Porto were dealt a blow before kickoff as captain and centre back Pepe was injured in the warmup and the hosts were further handicapped when midfielder Otavio lasted only 13 minutes before hobbling off with a hamstring injury. Liverpool took ruthless advantage with Salah tapping in after a mistake by Costa after 17 minutes and they doubled their lead just before halftime when Sadio Mane scored from close range with Costa again culpable. Salah made it 3-0 on the hour with a typically neat finish before Porto rallied with Mehdi Taremi heading past Alisson. Any hope of a late Porto comeback was extinguished, however, when Costa made a mad dash from his goal and substitute Roberto Firmino rolled a shot into an empty net. Porto's misery was complete when Firmino grabbed his second of the night in the 81st minute. Liverpool top the group with six points from two games, ahead of Atletico Madrid who have four points. More on this topic Related Story Football: Messi off the mark for PSG in Champions League win over Man City Related Story Football: Sheriff Tiraspol stun Real Madrid with shock away victory in Champions League
SEVILLE, SPAIN (AFP) - Chelsea reached the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2014 despite a 1-0 defeat against Porto in Tuesday's (April 13) quarter-final second leg in Seville. Thomas Tuchel's side will play Real Madrid or Liverpool for a place in the final after producing a masterclass in game management to win 2-1 on aggregate. Real travel to Anfield on Wednesday looking to protect a 3-1 lead from the first leg. They could do worse than copy Tuchel's tactics as Chelsea smothered Porto with an intelligent defensive approach until Mehdi Taremi's stunning bicycle kick in the last minute of stoppage time. That sublime strike was out of character with the rest of Porto's display as they laboured to overturn the 2-0 first-leg deficit. Chelsea have lost only once in 18 matches since Tuchel replaced the sacked Frank Lampard in January and this was another feather in the German's cap. "We accepted what was needed was a tough fight. It was a very intense game. It's hard to play against them but we defended well and deserved a clean sheet," Tuchel said. "Part of the performance is to not let the other team perform. Until the lucky shot in the last minute we did not concede any chances. "We had the better chances. We could not finish it off with a goal so we had to hang in there and the guys did that. "Overall we deserved to win. It was a tough 180 minutes." Tuchel had admitted this week was a make or break period for Chelsea. They passed the first test with ease and can now focus on Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Premier League leaders Manchester City at Wembley. The Blues are fifth in the Premier League as they chase a top-four finish, meaning they might need to win the Champions League for the first time since 2012 if they are to qualify for next season's competition. Led by the astute Tuchel, who took Paris Saint-Germain to the Champions League final last season, that lofty ambition can't be ruled out. Tuchel this week said he wouldn't want to fight Antonio Rudiger or Cesar Azpilicueta, such is the ferocious will to win coursing through Chelsea's most vocal players. Both defenders lived up to Tuchel's billing as they fought tooth and nail to keep Porto at bay in a niggly clash. Chelsea cruise Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy gifted Porto a golden opportunity for a priceless early goal when his miscued pass went straight to Jesus Corona inside the penalty area. But Corona couldn't keep his composure and Jorginho did enough to ensure the shot flashed wide. Mendy's blunder was forced in part by the relentless pressing that epitomised Porto's frenetic start, but Chelsea matched their work rate as the foul count rose for both teams. N'Golo Kante was fit to start for Chelsea after a hamstring problem and the France midfielder teed up a good chance for Kai Havertz, whose limp finish failed to match the quality of his team-mate's incisive raid. Having already wasted one good chance, Corona's profligacy let Porto down again when he lashed hurriedly over from 12 yards after Ben Chilwell misjudged Otavio's high ball. Chelsea had never lost a knockout tie in Europe after winning the first leg away from home and that record remained pristine as Porto ran out of steam in the second half. Chilwell's cross presented Christian Pulisic with a clear sight of goal, but the winger couldn't get enough power on his wayward volley. Desperately short of a cutting edge, it took Porto until the 68th minute for their first effort on target as Taremi's header from Corona's cross forced Mendy to save. Taremi's eye-catching strike with seconds left came far too late for a dramatic finale, with tempers flaring in a heated exchange involving Rudiger and several Porto players after the final whistle.
SEVILLE, SPAIN (AFP) - A classy goal from Mason Mount on Wednesday (April 7) helped Chelsea to a 2-0 first-leg win over Porto, whose wasteful finishing could have scuppered their hopes of springing another Champions League upset in the quarter-finals. Mount’s slick turn and shot in the first half would have been painful enough for Porto, who were the better side for large spells of this first leg in Seville but repeatedly lacked the precision to take advantage. Instead, their misery was compounded by Ben Chilwell capitalising on a mistake at the back to score a late second that gave Chelsea another away goal and leaves them on the brink of the semi-finals. They were away goals only in name given both these teams were playing in the unfamiliar Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, where they will meet again next week, just with the home and away roles reversed. Porto were in the home dug-out, wore their home kit, had a large club banner in the empty stand behind one goal and their anthem was the one that played out before kick-off. And Chelsea played the part too, delivering a classic away performance of soaking up the pressure and hitting their opponents on the counter-attack, their quality in the final third proving decisive. Real Madrid could lie in wait for the victors, after they beat Liverpool 3-1 on Tuesday. “There is a good atmosphere in the dressing room, we are happy but not too happy, excited but not too excited,” said Chelsea’s coach Thomas Tuchel. “We have to have a top mentality and a top performance next Tuesday.” Mount’s goal makes him Chelsea’s youngest ever scorer in the Champions League at 22 years and 87 days old while Chilwell’s second meant the club boasted two English scorers in a Champions League game for the first time since 2012. Chelsea’s win also goes some way to easing the shock of Saturday’s 5-2 loss at home to West Brom in the Premier League, which ended Thomas Tuchel’s 14-match unbeaten start as coach. Tuchel decided Thiago Silva’s 29 minutes before being sent off in that game were not enough to hone his sharpness, meaning Andreas Christensen was picked in the back three. And Antonio Rudiger also returned, despite his training ground scuffle with Kepa Arrizabalaga on Sunday, which Tuchel described as a “serious situation”. Porto were regarded as the plum draw in the last eight, despite seeing off Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus in the last 16, their task made harder this time by the suspensions of Mehdi Taremi and top scorer Sergio Oliveira. But they were the aggressors from the outset, with Chelsea surrendering the ball and the chances. Porto had six shots to Chelsea’s one before half-time, with Mateus Uribe grazing the top of the net with an early volley and the excellent Otavio almost catching Edouard Mendy out with a corner before Zaidu Sanusi smashed over the rebound. Chelsea, though, showed them what ruthlessness looked like when Jorginho fired a pass into Mount on the edge of the area inside the right channel. Mount took it on his back foot and twisted away from the sliding Zaidu, before firing a cool finish into the far corner. Porto kept coming in the second half and kept missing too. Moussa Marega snuck in but his shot was saved by the feet of Mendy before Jesus Corona feathered Luis Diaz through but he took too long. Diaz curled wide after a good run by Wilson Manafa. Chelsea absorbed them and then hit them with a sucker-punch, Mateo Kovacic’s ball over the top miscontrolled by Corona, allowing Chilwell to steam clear, round the goalkeeper and finish.
PORTO, PORTUGAL (REUTERS) - Goals from Mehdi Taremi and Moussa Marega earned Porto a deserved 2-1 win over Juventus in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 clash on Wednesday (Feb 17), with Federico Chiesa's late strike handing the Italian champions a lifeline. Taremi pounced on a sloppy back pass after 63 seconds to fire in the opener that left Juventus rattled as they failed to create any meaningful chances before halftime. Things got worse for Andrea Pirlo's side when Marega blasted in Porto's second 19 seconds into the second half. Juventus eventually mustered a response when Chiesa fired home a precious away goal with eight minutes remaining. The winger's strike ended Porto's run of five consecutive clean sheets in the competition and leaves the tie wide open ahead of the return leg in Turin on March 9. More on this topic Related Story Football: Porto join Manchester City in advancing in Champions League Related Story Football: Ronaldo returns to Portugal as Juve battle to keep among Europe's elite
PORTO, PORTUGAL (REUTERS) - FC Porto joined Manchester City in advancing to the next phase of the Champions League after the two played out a goalless draw in their Group C clash on Tuesday (Dec 1). The point, combined with defeat for Olympiakos in France, was enough to ensure Porto finished second while City, who had already qualified last week, are assured of top place. But Pep Guardiola's team surrendered their 100 per cent record in the group despite dominating their hosts as they set up a myriad of chances but proved unable to make the breakthrough. With one round left to play, City are on 13 points, three more than Porto - with both well clear of Olympiakos and Olympique Marseille, who have three points each. City pinned Porto back for most of the contest at the Estadio do Dragao and looked to have eventually broken through when substitute Gabriel Jesus found the net in the 80th minute, only for VAR to determine Joao Cancelo had been offside in the build-up. Raheem Sterling had two efforts cleared off the line - one by his own team mate - while Porto goalkeeper Agustin Marchesin made several sharp stops in an impressive display. Sterling got a goalward touch to the ball at the near post in the 69th minute and as it sped across the goal mouth, Ferran Torres stretched in to steer it over the line but bizarrely succeeded only in hooking it clear of the goal. In the first half, Sterling had cut in from the flank and blasted towards goal but the effort was cleared off the Porto line by Zaidu Sanussi. The City skipper's best opportunity, however, came just before the hour mark when Phil Foden's floated pass put the pacey England star away on goal, only to see him smothered by the on-rushing Marchesin in a fine stop. The ball rebounded off the goalkeeper and fell for the supporting Torres but the back spin caught him out and he was unable to tuck away the opportunity. City will finish their campaign at home to Marseille next week while Porto travel to Olympiakos in another dead rubber.