Mission accomplished. FC Porto is in the round of 16 of the Champions League, where it will be the only Portuguese representative, after beating Ukrainians Shakhtar Donetsk 5-3 at Dragão in the final round of Group H. The Dragons finished in second place in at the table, behind Barcelona (defeated 3-2 in Antwerp), and added an important financial contribution: 9.6 million for qualifying and 2.8 million for victory. It could have been better, especially since the Catalans are not exactly a formidable opponent these days, but the most important thing has been achieved. And now the devil comes and chooses the next opponent for the blue and white, the fate is of course impressive: Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Atlético Madrid, B. Dortmund and Manchester City
In a packed Estádio do Dragão, two teams entered the field with the same points, but one with a lead in the direct confrontation: precisely that of Sérgio Conceição, thanks to the victory in Hamburg in the first round (1-3). With the stands full, FC Porto came at full strength and could have scored very early in the match, after a cross from Evanilson. Taremi headed but Riznyk saved well and nothing came from the corner. There was none, nor with two shots from Eustáquio in a frontal position that collided with the defensive barrier of the Ukrainians, but within ten minutes the advantage swung towards the blue and white: Pepe’s long throw, Evanilson got space to cross again with difficulty stiches. and offer the goal to Galeno, who only had to push it into the back of the net (9′).
Shakhtar’s response was not long in coming and after a free kick, Sikan climbed above the host’s defense and headed dangerously – the ball hit the upper net, but from outside (13′). From here the pace calmed down, with the blue and white always looking to keep up the pressure and disrupt the visitors’ almost always risky exit, but without the initial urgency. When that failed, the equalizer was again in sight (27′), in a beautiful transition, culminating in a cross that Diogo Costa had difficulty clearing: the ball went to the edge of the area where Gocholeishvili shot for a tight ball. save from the goalkeeper. But the 1-1 came shortly afterwards, in a move that mixed mistakes by the assistant referee and Porto’s defense: launched on the right, Zubkov took off into the area on the edge of offside; the flag was raised, which especially confused Fábio Cardoso, who hesitated after Zaidu was overtaken; and Sikan did not forgive it and pushed the center towards the goal (30′) without resistance from his colleague.
The game became lively again. Kryskiv tested Diogo Costa again and Galeno was close to the second, which he eventually managed to achieve in the second (he had already scored twice in the first game), this time with a beautiful shot from the edge of the penalty area after a move from Zaidu (43′) on the left and a pass from Pepê, which allowed FC Porto to return to the dressing room in a more relaxed manner. The team therefore entered the second half calmly and could have dealt the fatal blow to Shakhtar’s aspirations in the 50th minute, after Taremi, already in the downward phase, managed to head in a beautiful save from Riznyk. But it would be the Iranian who finally reassured the banks. Galeno, always him, asked the striker who made the 3-1 with his left foot with a powerful shot, without defense for Riznyk (62′).
In the eighth match against an opponent who had never defeated them, FC Porto gained even more control and mastery of events and could have even achieved a bigger victory. Conceição asked his players to continue pushing, but another mistake by Jorge Sánchez allowed Shakhtar to get back into the match: Sikan fled into the area, risking a shot that Diogo Costa saved, with the ball bouncing off Eustáquio before he went into the goal for the 3-2 (72′).
Taremi threatened again with a header (75′), but only won a corner. Just no. Because Pepe subsequently took advantage of a deflection from Galeno (who else?) to make it 4-2 and settle the distribution of the three points once and for all. Francisco Conceição, who had just arrived, scored the fifth (82′) in his father’s 350th game as coach of the Dragons, and even the 5-3 of Eguinaldo (88′), another newcomer, did not spoil the party in Porto .
Source: DN
