Marchesín heroics earn Porto point and Champions League progress against Manchester City

FC Porto 0-0 Manchester City

It was far from a classic, but Porto booked their place in the last 16 of the Champions League after winning a hard-fought point in a goalless draw at home to Manchester City.

The Dragons equal a club record of four consecutive Champions League matches without conceding a goal, and the 10 points accumulated from 5 matches guarantees a second-place finish in Group C with one game to spare.

Manchester City started with their three Portuguese players, Rúben Dias, João Cancelo and Bernardo Silva. The English side took control of proceedings from the start, with Bernardo looking back to his old self with energy and silky touches aplenty.

It was a tough physical battle throughout, and Porto were aggrieved not to be awarded a penalty in the first half when former Benfica goalkeeper Ederson clumsily clattered into Otávio, but the referee waved play on.

The hero of the night for Porto was Argentine goalkeeper Augustín Marchesín, who pulled off a serious of exceptional saves as Pep Guardiola’s team turned the screw in the second 45 minutes, denying Sterling, Bernardo and Garcia when a goal looked imminent, while Rúben Dias missed a chance when it seemed easier to score.

VAR to the rescue

Perhaps the best Marchesín save appeared to have been made in vain as the Porto No1 produced an incredible reflex stop to push Gabriel Jesus’ point-blank bullet header onto the bar, only for the Brazilian striker to bundle the rebound into the net. However, a VAR review chalked off the goal for an offside in the build-up and the hosts held out for the draw.

The bad blood between the teams, following on from the tense atmosphere surrounding first group encounter in Manchester, was evident at the final whistle as Bernardo Silva exchanged words with Porto director Luís Gonçalves, and Fernandinho complained about the attitude of Porto’s players.

“We knew it would be tough game,” said the Brazilian holding midfielder. “FC Porto have a unique style of playing. They pressure the referee and for every foul they fall on the floor and scream as if an ambulance has to be called.”

Sérgio Conceição was asked about Guardiola also looking not best pleased at the final whistle and did not miss the opportunity to get in a dig. “I’d be annoyed too if I couldn’t win with the team and the budget he has.”

“We have to remember our team contained players like Nanú, Zaidu, Manafá, Evanilson, Fábio Vieira and all these guys are playing in the Champions League for the first time and we can’t forget where they were a short while ago [Zaidu was playing in the Portuguese district leagues two years ago].

“This is the spirit. We had very good moments in our defensive mission, but it was difficult to push forward because City reacted fantastically to losing the ball. Our goal was achieved and now we’ll be focusing on the league, which is our main target,” added the Porto boss.

By Tom Kundert