Fast start sees Porto stun Juventus 2-1
PORTO (PORTUGAL): Porto scored at the start of each half to beat Juventus 2-1 in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League. Mehdi Taremi gave Porto the lead after just 63 seconds after a defensive mixup by Juventus gifted him an easy finish, and Moussa Marega netted 19 seconds into the second half.
Federico Chiesa scored what could prove to be a vital away goal for Juventus in the 82nd minute. “Our approach changed after a minute, because when you concede like that after a minute you lose confidence,” Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo said. “The lads let their heads drop a but and they (Porto) could play the match they wanted, closing themselves up and counterattacking. Luckily we managed to get back on track for the return match with Chiesa’s goal. We shouldn’t have played this type of match and it’s a pity, we could have done better. We had prepared a different game.”
Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo was kept quiet on his return to his homeland as the visitors struggled to make an impact, although the Portugal
international did have a penalty appeal waved away in the final seconds of stoppage time.
The second leg will be on March 9 in Turin.
“Juventus had its first dangerous shot only in the 70th minute and we are talking about the Italian champion, a very strong team with some of the best players in the world,” Porto coach Sérgio Conceição said.
“That shows the solidity of our performance.
“We could have made it 3-0 . ... It is bittersweet: the players did not deserve the goal we conceded.”
Haaland excels
SEVILLE: Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland continued his prolific run in the Champions League by scoring twice as his side came from behind to earn a 3-2 win at Sevilla in a last-16 first leg on Wednesday. The Spanish team took the lead in the seventh minute when midfielder Suso’s shot skidded into the net off Dortmund’s Mats Hummels but the visitors responded emphatically, levelling in the 19th thanks to Dahoud’s long-range strike.
Norwegian forward Haaland put the German team ahead in the 27th, playing a one-two with Jadon Sancho and showing real hunger to slide in ahead of Sevilla keeper Bono and score.
Haaland netted his 10th goal in seven Champions League games for Dortmund to increase their lead moments before halftime but Sevilla salvaged some hope of turning the tie around in the second leg on March 9 when Dutch striker Luuk de Jong volleyed home six minutes from time. “The first half, apart from their early goal, went exactly as we had imagined,” said Dortmund captain Marco Reus.
“The second half wasn’t as good because we became too passive. It got harder as the night wore on so we’re delighted to have won.”
Sevilla substitute Oscar Rodriguez hit the post from a free kick shortly before De Jong scored while the hosts thought they could have earned a penalty in added time when De Jong went down from a challenge by
Thomas Meunier which was checked by VAR but went unpunished.
“We didn’t deserve to lose but they have some of the best attacking players in the world and they made the difference with three opportunities which we should have avoided. The scoreline is harsh on us,” said Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui.
Sevilla, last season’s Europa League winners, went into the game on a run of nine victories in all competitions and without conceding in their last seven games. Their recent results contrasted with Dortmund’s poor domestic form of one win in six Bundesliga games.
Lopetegui had said before the game, however, that Dortmund had one of the best attacks in Europe and his words quickly rang true as his side conceded three goals in the first half, as many as they had in their previous 10 matches. Haaland was a threat all over the pitch, striking fear into the hosts every time he picked up the ball and playing a part in all three goals. He laid the ball off to Dahoud and the out of favour midfielder, making his first start since December, let fly with an unstoppable shot which flummoxed keeper Bono.