PEP’S ON POINT
PORTO 0 MAN CITY 0
PEP GUARDIOLA emerged with the point Manchester City needed in Porto last night to top their group – but not quite the performance to keep a perfect record intact.
The City boss will wonder long and hard about that, after Ruben Dias missed a golden chance to secure a fifth group win from five.
Frustratingly for City, late substitute Gabriel Jesus also had what he thought was a winner chalked off for an offside early in the build up of a move which saw him bundle the ball home.
Of the two, Dias’s opportunity proved the best of the night and he would have loved to have scored the winner in a game of few chances, given he’s spent time in Portugal playing for Porto rivals Benfica.
Yet with the goal at this mercy in the 69th minute the
City defender, at full stretch trying to get on the end of a flick on from Raheem Sterling, managed to hook the ball up and out from under the Porto bar rather than just nudging it across the line.
Porto proved obstinate opponents and while City enjoyed the majority of possession the final ball was lacking.
Sterling, Ferran Torres and Eric Garcia all had chances to settle proceedings on a night when Argentine goalkeeper Marchesin was generally inspired.
But a goalless draw was enough to see City through to the knockout stages as winners, with the benefit of an away leg first up in the last 16.
Guardiola made seven changes from the side which thrashed Burnley 5- 0 at home on Saturday, with only Dias surviving in a rejigged back four.
There was no place for hat- trick hero Riyad Mahrez or Kevin de Bruyne either, yet there was no
suggestion that the boss was taking Porto lightly.
This was a side who have done something that no other have managed so far in this Champions League campaign, namely score against City – albeit in a defeat.
And since that hot- tempered affair in Manchester in October, they had gone unbeaten in three matches and will now go through with City from Group C.
The visitors had few chances to break the deadlock in the first half in which both sides kept each other at
City
arm’s length. Sterling might have had a penalty when he was bundled into touch by Malang Sarr after five minutes.
The proximity to the byline and a lack of reaction from the City player probably counted against him getting the decision.
And Sterling had City’s clearest chance after the half- hour mark firing a shot in from the left flank which Fernandinho dummied only for Zaidu Sanusi to clear it off the line at the far post. Porto carved out less at the other end, themselves shouting a little more loudly for a penalty which was waved away when Ederson blocked Otavio near the right byline, and again when the City keeper punched away a cross from the left side.
In the second half Sterling might have put City in front latching on to a lovely ball from Foden only to see Marchesin block bravely.
Torres hesitated too long on the follow- up, and the chance evaporated. Garcia had a golden opportunity to head home only to put his effort too close to the inspired Porto keeper from six yards.
Substitute Jesus thought he had put City one up only to be ruled out correctly offside in the build up. As it was, a stalemate proved to be satisfactory.
PORTO ( 3- 5- 2): Marchesin 8; Mbemba 5, Leite 6, Sarr 6; Manafa 6 ( Gomes 72), Oliveira 5, Otavio 6 ( Vieira 87), Uribe 6, Sanusi 5; Corona 5 ( Diaz 63, 6), Marega 5 ( Evanilson 72).
MAN CITY ( 4- 3- 3): Ederson 6; Cancelo 6, Dias 5, Garcia 5, Zinchenko 5; Fernandinho 6, Rodri 7, Foden 7; B Silva 5, Torres 4 ( Jesus 71, 6), Sterling 6.