Porto devours a butter Arsenal in injury time
Engrossed in its fight for the Premier, Arsenal came face to face with the reality of the Champions League, a tournament that hides rivals as harsh as Porto. Not once did Arteta's team finish with sticks, dazed by an opponent with great competitiveness, who ended up sending them to the canvas with a great goal from Galeno in the last minute of added time.. [Narrative and statistics (1-0)]
All the credit goes to Sergio Conceiçao's group, which made solidarity and commitment its reason for being.. Without regretting for a moment the long-term absences of Marcano and Taremi, their best centre-back and top scorer, Porto established a shock plan and fulfilled it with flying colours.. His options against Arsenal involved strict monitoring of Rice, Odegaard and Havertz, the stokers of the machinery. And for much of the night, marked by the determination of Francisco Conceiçao and the skill of Pepê, Porto more than delivered.
Rice, the fashionable midfielder in the Premier, was penalized for a kick on Galeno that was punished with yellow in the second minute. The Norwegian, for his part, barely contributed from his inside-right position, which in turn disconnected Havertz, the star signing of the summer.. With their lights out, Arsenal only knew how to play without doing harm. In waste land.
Only set pieces
The battle was handled to the sound of the timbales of Nico González and Alan Varela, with an infectious intensity. Special mention for the Barça youth player, who still had the strength to unleash a far right hand, over the crossbar. It was not, however, the best chance for the blue and white, the work of Galeno, with a double shot against the passivity of Gabriel and Saliba. From the post, the ball was spit again into the Brazilian's right boot. Not even he himself must know why he didn't know how to hit the net.
Arsenal, which had just massacred Burnley and West Ham at home with 11 goals, showed no signs. Although to be honest, something could be sensed in each of the five corner kicks in the first half, exquisitely prepared by Nicolas Jover, Arteta's guru for set pieces.
The captain's example
After passing through the locker room, the visitors' first approach also came from the corner, with a ball served this time by Rice towards Trossard, whose volley went high.. Porto's effort to close the lines, interior and exterior, continued to be commendable thanks to Pepe, the captain, who had already left his stamp on Odegaard's boot. It could have even made it 1-0 in a shot by Evanilson assisted by the elusive Pepê. Porto, third in the Primeira Liga, seven points behind the Lisbon leaders, competed with exemplary solvency.
This return to Portugal was very hard after the last elimination on penalties against Sporting in the Europa League. Another setback in the Champions League round of 16, the cursed round for seven years in a row, including the unfortunate 2-10 accumulated against Bayern in 2017. Unlike that Wenger team, which crumbled at the slightest breath, this Arsenal seemed to have learned to face adversity with the audacity typical of its young stars. Within three weeks you will have to confirm it at the Emirates.