Tag: UEFA Champions League

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REAL MADRID EASE PAST ATALANTA TO REACH FIRST UCL QUARTER FINAL IN THREE YEARS

Real Madrid secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals with a 3-1 win over Atalanta.

The LaLiga side had been 1-0 up from the first leg and, after the Italians missed a couple of early chances, Karim Benzema fired them ahead on the night in the 34th minute.

A penalty from captain Sergio Ramos on the hour all but ended the tie, with Luis Muriel clipping in a fine free-kick to pull a goal back for Atalanta before substitute Marco Asensio wrapped things up late on.

With Casemiro suspended, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos came back into the Real Madrid side, as Isco dropped to the bench.

Atalanta had a great chance to level the tie, but Robin Gosens failed to make enough contact with Muriel’s cross from the left and could only knock the ball straight at Thibaut Courtois.

Defender Berat Djimsiti fired over from a corner and the Italians were made to pay as Real Madrid started to take control.

It took a fine block from Djimsiti to deny Vinicius Junior after a clever exchange with Benzema in the penalty area to prevent the opening goal which eventually arrived in the 34th minute.

Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Sportiello made a hash of his clearance, which fell to Modric and the Croatian chased the ball down before cutting a pass back for Benzema to fire the Spaniards in front.

Los Blancos almost doubled their lead early in the second half following a fine run from Vinicius but, after powering into the penalty area, the Brazilian stabbed wide from six yards.

As the hour mark approached, Real Madrid were awarded a penalty.

Again, Vinicius was the instigator after he took possession from Atalanta midfielder Ruslan Malinovskiy and charged forwards before being tripped by Rafael Toloi.

Although contact looked to have been just outside the area, Dutch referee Danny Makkelie pointed to the spot and captain Sergio Ramos powered in a penalty past the diving Sportiello.

Atalanta striker Duvan Zapata finally called Courtois into action in the 67th minute, before at the other end Benzema’s header was saved and then the Frenchman nodded the rebound against the post.

With seven minutes left, Muriel clipped a well-worked 25-yard free-kick up over the wall into the top corner as several Atalanta players peeled away.

Real Madrid, though, soon restored their two-goal cushion when substitute Marco Asensio drilled the ball into the bottom corner after being picked out by Lucas Vazquez.

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UCL: LIVERPOOL REPEAT FIRST LEG SCORE LINE AGAINST LEIPZIG TO PROGRESS TO LAST EIGHT

Liverpool put their domestic crisis behind them as a 2-0 win over RB Leipzig eased them into the quarter-finals of the Champions League in Budapest.

This was Reds’ designated ‘home’ fixture but their woeful Anfield form – where they had lost six in a row in the league – meant they were probably grateful coronavirus restrictions forced them to play in Hungary again.

And having waited more than 11 hours for a goal from open play at home two came along within the space of five second-half minutes as Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane – scoring the 100th Champions League goal in manager Jurgen Klopp’s 44th match in charge – made the tie safe with a 4-0 aggregate victory.

The return of Fabinho, one of five changes from the defeat to Fulham, to central midfield for the first time since he was forced to permanently deputise at centre-back when Virgil Van Dijk’s season was ended by a knee injury in the Merseyside derby in mid-October proved to be pivotal.

It also meant a fit-again Ozan Kabak partnering Nat Phillips, on his European debut having been omitted from the squad for the group stage, in an eighth different central defensive combination in eight Champions League matches.

The effect on the team was a marked improvement with the Brazil international providing essential cover in front of the back four, allowing the centre-backs to concentrate on defending.

Holding a 2-0 lead it was a night for an old-fashioned, no-nonsense centre-back and the excellent Phillips filled that role perfectly up against a traditional striker in Yussuf Poulsen, winning his fair share in the air and spotting and closing the gaps when danger appeared.

The other positive from Fabinho’s midfield presence was it allowed full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson to play higher and with Thiago Alcantara freed from defensive responsibilities he could focus on the creative side of his game.

His desire to create was to his detriment early on when he opted to lay-off to Salah when played through the middle and the chance was lost.

Mane volleyed over, although would probably have been flagged offside, while Diogo Jota’s powerful header was tipped over by former Liverpool goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi.

Salah failed to beat the Leipzig keeper from a quick counter-attack, Mane making a mess of the follow-up header, as Klopp’s side looked more threatening.

Alisson Becker made one save in the first half from Dani Olmo after Leipzig broke in numbers but Liverpool should have been ahead in the tie just before the break as Jota was denied by Gulacsi after a three-on-three counter-attack and then fired into the side-netting after Dayot Upamecano miscontrolled to take the ball away from Gulacsi.

Liverpool were comfortable for the first 20 minutes of the second half but substitute Alexander Sorloth, the former Crystal Palace striker, hitting the crossbar with a header was the wake-up call they needed.

It worked as a quick passing move from just inside their own half involving Thiago, Mane and Jota teed up Salah to cut inside and slot home with his left foot in the 70th minute.

Mane made sure there was to be no late drama by converting substitute Divock Origi’s driven cross from close range to bring up Klopp’s Champions League century.

Surprisingly Leipzig had won eight of the last nine with the defeat coming in the first leg, failed where Premier League opposition have succeeded seemingly so easily as Liverpool were able to keep a sixth clean sheet in their seven European outings this season.

Europe may offer Klopp’s side the best opportunity for Champions League qualification as their domestic form – three wins since Christmas – has put a top-four place in jeopardy.

And if the six-time winners were looking for omens on the last two occasions the club have faced German opponents at this stage they have gone on to win the Champions League (Bayer Leverkusen in 2005 and Bayern Munich in 2019).

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UCL: PSG DENY BARCELONA MIRACLE COME BACK AFTER 1-1 DRAW SEND SPANISH GIANT TO EARLY EXIT

Paris St Germain booked their spot in the Champions League quarter-finals as Barcelona were unable to mount another comeback for the ages – despite a Lionel Messi thunderbolt at the Parc des Princes.

A 4-1 defeat in the first leg meant Barca needed a miracle similar to the one they conjured four years ago at the Nou Camp when they overturned a 4-0 deficit against the same opponents at the same stage, but the LaLiga giants fell behind to Kylian Mbappe’s controversial penalty on the half hour.

Aged 22 years and 80 days, Mbappe became the youngest player to score 25 goals in Europe’s premier club competition, overtaking Messi, who made sure he was not upstaged even if Barca drew 1-1 to lose 5-2 on aggregate.

The Barca captain sensationally found the top corner in the 37th minute from distance to seemingly breathe fresh life into proceedings, but then saw his spot-kick saved by Keylor Navas on the stroke of half-time

Navas, who made more than 150 appearances for Real Madrid, made several telling interventions to deny Barca another fairytale fightback as they bowed out before the quarter-finals for the first time in 14 seasons.

PSG, who were once again without former Barca forward Neymar, banished the ghosts of the thrilling fixture in 2016-17, with Mbappe’s four goals going a long way to settling an absorbing tie in the Ligue 1 side’s favour.

There was no lack of endeavour from the visitors as they sought a route back and several chances in a breathless first half fell to Ousmane Dembele, who ultimately failed to take advantage of any of them.

Navas did well to get down low and push away a left-foot effort across goal but Dembele was otherwise guilty of poor finishing when well-set. Sergino Dest drove forward on the right but his strike was tipped on to the bar.

Mbappe had looked threatening but the opportunity to grab his landmark goal came courtesy of a contentious penalty decision, with Mauro Icardi going over in the area after Marc-Andre ter Stegen had gathered a loose cross.

Referee Anthony Taylor’s check with the video assistant referee highlighted Clement Lenglet brushing the heels of Icardi and, despite Barca’s protests, Mbappe gratefully converted the spot-kick, sending Ter Stegen the wrong way.

If it was supposed to be a knockout blow then Messi was unaware. The Argentinian shifted on to his left foot before letting fly from 30 yards, an astonishing strike that sailed past Navas and into the top corner.

Messi, however, would then fluff his lines after Layvin Kurzawa’s high boot on Antoine Griezmann in the box, with Navas rewarded for guessing the right way as the resulting penalty came off his legs before rebounding off the bar.

Barca had 16 shots at goal in the opening 45 minutes and they were on the front foot from the off after half-time although PSG were largely comfortable in repelling the intricate attacks around their area.

Messi managed to find space in the centre of goal eight yards from goal but a last-gasp intervention from Marquinhos managed to subdue the danger as the Barca talisman got his feet in a tangle.

Sergio Busquets had spent the evening making a nuisance of himself at set-pieces and his near post header from a corner had to be palmed away by Navas before the hosts scrambled clear.

Even as it became clear there was to be no way back for Barca – they needed three goals just to force extra-time – they continued to pour forward in the hope of at least winning on the night.

In the event they almost lost late on as Mbappe bore down on goal only to uncharacteristically slash his effort high and wide, but it hardly mattered as last year’s Champions League runners-up made it safely through.

While this was an encouraging display from Barca – who elected Joan Laporta as their new president on Sunday – their focus now turns back to their domestic fortunes.

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HAALAND BRACE HELP DORTMUND DUMP SEVILLA TO REACH UCL QUARTER FINALS

Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland struck in each half as they advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals after a 2-2 draw with Sevilla in their last-16 second leg on Tuesday to complete a 5-4 aggregate win.

The Norwegian notched his 20th Champions League goal in 14 games — and 10th in the competition this season — with a controversial 54th-minute penalty after having tapped in a Marco Reus cutback against the run of play to give Dortmund the lead in the first half.

Sevilla, who made the quarter-finals in 2018 and enjoyed a strong first half, hit back with two goals from Youssef En-Nesyri in the second half, the first a 66th-minute penalty followed by a stoppage-time header to make it 2-2.

Sevilla’s second goal set up a frantic finish, but Dortmund held on to edge through after their 3-2 win in the first leg last month.

The 20-year-old Haaland has become Norway’s all-time top scorer in the competition, with one more goal than current Manchester United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as Dortmund reached the last eight for the first time since 2017.

Sevilla, who arrived in Dortmund on the back of three straight defeats, dictated proceedings from the start and had a good effort by Lucas Ocampos early on.

Without injured Jadon Sancho, Dortmund, who lost to Bayern Munich in the league on Saturday, hardly got a look in until Haaland struck with their first chance of the game in the 35th minute.

The Norwegian put the ball in the net five minutes after the restart with a superb effort, but in an extraordinary VAR review, the referee Cuneyt Cakir first disallowed the goal for a foul by Haaland and then awarded Dortmund a penalty for a shirt-pull on the striker minutes earlier.

Keeper Yassine Bounou saved Haaland’s spot kick as well as his thundering rebound but the referee ordered it to be retaken after he said the keeper had moved off the line.

Haaland slotted in on his second attempt to take his goal tally in the competition this season to an impressive 10 goals in his six games.

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UCL: PORTO STUN JUVENTUS TO REACH LAST EIGHT

Ten-man Porto upset Juventus to reach the Champions League quarter-finals on away goals after a 4-4 aggregate draw despite losing 3-2 to the Italian side on Tuesday.

Sergio Oliveira’s extra-time free-kick for Porto’s second goal proved decisive for the visitors.

Porto dominated the first half and took the lead in the 19th minute with Oliveira’s penalty taking them into the break in front as they looked comfortable at the Juventus Stadium.

But with the first attack of the second half Juve’s Federico Chiesa, who scored their goal in the 2-1 last-16, first-leg defeat in Portugal, arrowed a strike into the top corner to give his side hope four minutes after the re-start.

The game turned further in Juve’s favour as Mehdi Taremi needlessly got sent off for picking up a second yellow card in the 54th minute for kicking the ball away, with Chiesa levelling the scoreline on aggregate with his head in the 63rd.

The hosts had chances to win the tie but the game went to extra time and the drama was far from over as Porto won a free-kick which Oliveira drilled home to spark wild scenes of celebration amongst the players and coaching staff.

Adrien Rabiot’s header three minutes from time for Juve ensured a grandstand finish in an enthralling encounter, but Porto held on for a famous victory.

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LIVERPOOL, RB LEIPZIG SET FOR BUDAPEST RETURN FOR SECOND LEG UCL TIE.

Liverpool are returning to Budapest for the return leg of their Champions League last-16 clash with RB Leipzig.

Coronavirus restrictions in Germany meant last month’s first leg was switched to the Puskas Arena in Hungary’s capital, where Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane goals sealed a 2-0 win for Jurgen Klopp’s men.

The return tie will also be played on neutral territory, with UEFA confirming Budapest will again host the sides as next Wednesday’s match is moved away from Anfield.

“Liverpool can confirm the Champions League last-16, second-leg tie with RB Leipzig will be played in Budapest,” the Premier League club said in a statement.

“Puskas Arena in the Hungarian capital will host the fixture, the same venue the teams contested the first meeting at on February 16.

“Covid-19 regulations in Germany have prevented Leipzig from travelling to the United Kingdom to play the match at Anfield as planned.”

Chelsea’s first leg against Atletico Madrid was moved from Spain to Bucharest last month, while Borussia Monchengladbach’s home tie against Manchester City was played in Budapest rather than Germany.

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UCL: MANCHESTER CITY NEAR LAST EIGHT AFTER BEATING MONCHENGLADBACH

Manchester City moved to the verge of the Champions League quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach on Wednesday but coach Pep Guardiola insisted his team still need to “be more clinical up front”. A first half header from Bernardo Silva and a Gabriel Jesus strike in the second period of the last 16 first leg tie extended a winning streak by Guardiola’s high-flying side to 19 games in all competitions. Premier League leaders City camped inside the Gladbach half for most of the game, which was moved to Hungary due to Germany’s Covid-19 travel restrictions.

Although dominant, City took time to break down a stubborn German defence, often foiled by the interceptions of Algeria left-back Ramy Bensebaini.

While Guardiola said afterwards he was “pleased” with the result, he added City “have to improve” to challenge for Champions League honours.

“We controlled the game. Unfortunately we were not clinical up front, it is something we have to improve in this competition, we were not good enough in the box, we didn’t dribble and shoot enough,” said Guardiola.

“In this competition you have to be perfect to be sure you can go through,” he said.

Debutants in the Champions League knockout stages, Gladbach had been urged by coach Marco Rose to be brave against Guardiola’s side.

France’s Alassane Plea was almost through on goal on 20 minutes after a rare counterattack, but a nervy and deep-lying Gladbach eventually succumbed to mounting pressure in the 29th minute.

A sublime inch-perfect cross by Portuguese defender Joao Cancelo curled over the defence from the left to reach his compatriot Silva who flicked his close-range header past Yann Sommer.

“We tried to play simple and not make mistakes. It’s a good win for us, but it’s not over yet,” Silva told news men.

“Every time when he plays (Silva) is an exceptional player, he’s really good in the air, the goal was fantastic how he finished it,” said Guardiola.

The 26-year-old Cancelo, impressive throughout, nearly doubled the lead five minutes from the break but his shot from just outside the box pinged over the bar.

Then early in the second half Jesus should have converted after latching on to a poorly judged backpass by Bensebaini but saw his shot blocked by Swiss defender Nico Elvedi.

Apart from a lunging backheel from Plea that flashed just wide of Ederson’s far post on the hour mark, City comfortably contained the Germans, and went two up in the 65th minute.

Another majestic cross-field pass by Cancelo again found Silva at Sommer’s far post who this time headed back across the goalmouth for Jesus to fire home and seal City’s 19th successive victory and sixth Champions League clean sheet in a row.

Gladbach, who managed just one shot on target throughout the game, an effort by substitute Hannes Wolf saved by Ederson in the last moments, now face a formidable task to turn around the tie in the return leg scheduled for March 16 in Manchester.

We deservedly lost today against a very strong team, you don’t get many chances against such an opponent, we simply couldn’t attack more,” said Rose

“It would have been good to score at the end to be in a better position.”

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UCL: OLIVIER GIROUD ACROBATIC HELP CHELSEA TO AN AWAY WIN AGAINST ATLETICO MADRID

Olivier Giroud produced another Champions League special to hand Chelsea the advantage in their last-16 tie with Atletico Madrid after a 1-0 first-leg win in Bucharest.

The Blues forward grabbed his sixth goal in the competition this season with an overhead kick in the 68th minute but it was only awarded after a lengthy VAR review.

It was thoroughly deserved for Thomas Tuchel’s side, who dominated for large parts and extended their unbeaten run under the German to eight games since his arrival on January 26.

A negative was bookings for Mason Mount and Jorginho, which rules them out of the second leg, but Atletico boss Diego Simeone knows his team will need to score at least twice next month to go through in normal time.

Callum Hudson-Odoi was a surprise name in the Blues starting line-up for this tie hosted in Romania due to coronavirus travel restrictions enforced by the Spanish government.

The England international had lasted only 31 minutes following his half-time introduction at Southampton on Saturday, but manager Tuchel played the youngster at right wing-back.

Chelsea’s night started on a poor note when inside 60 seconds Mount was booked for a foul on Joao Felix, meaning he will be suspended for the second leg at Stamford Bridge next month.

Edouard Mendy almost contrived to pile more misery on the visitors after a heavy touch in the penalty area but Saul was unable to make the most of the goalkeeper’s mistake.

After early pressure from Atletico, including a dangerous Luis Suarez centre across the face of goal, the Premier League side started to dominate possession and a long-range effort from Marcos Alonso represented the first shot on target from either side

It was routine for Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who had gone seven matches without a clean sheet and was forced into more strenuous action six minutes before the break as Timo Werner’s strike from a tight angle was well saved.

Goalless at the interval, Simeone would have been the happier of the two managers with numerous absentees including England full-back Kieran Trippier due to suspension.

Not long after Suarez saw an effort deflected wide by Andreas Christensen, Joao Felix fired an overhead kick off target following Cesar Azpilicueta’s poor headed clearance in a sign Atleti were set to be more adventurous in this half.

Jorginho became the second Chelsea player to be ruled out of the second leg in the 64th minute when he brought down Joao Felix, but four minutes later the away side were able to break the deadlock in style.

Alonso got forward well and his cross was deflected into the path of Giroud, who produced a superb overhead kick from 12 yards which beat Oblak and found the bottom corner.

It was immediately ruled out for offside, with Mount deemed to have knocked the ball forward for his team-mate, but after a lengthy VAR review it was adjudged Atletico centre-back Mario Hermoso had got the decisive final touch.

Giroud’s 11th goal of the season and sixth in this competition gave Chelsea a crucial away goal in the tie and Tuchel reacted instantly with the introduction of N’Golo Kante and Hakim Ziyech with 16 minutes left.

Reece James followed them on to the pitch soon after, with Hudson-Odoi taken off after 80 minutes on this occasion.

While Atletico pushed for an equaliser, Simeone made the surprise decision to take off Joao Felix and they suffered a second consecutive defeat.

It gives Chelsea the upper hand ahead of the return leg at Stamford Bridge on March 17, where the Blues will aim to make the quarter-finals for the first time in seven years

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HAALAND DAZZLES AS DORTMUND BEAT SEVILLA IN UCL ROUND OF 16

Haaland produced another deadly display of finishing with a first-half brace as Dortmund came from behind to beat Sevilla 3-2 in Spain in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

Suso’s deflected strike gave last season’s Europa League winners an early lead behind closed doors at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium, but Mahmoud Dahoud soon equalised before Haaland took over.

The Norway phenomenon put Dortmund in front in the 27th minute and then scored again two minutes before half-time, the goals taking him to 25 in 24 appearances this season in all competitions.

Still aged just 20, he has scored 18 times in just 13 Champions League appearances since the start of last season.

Substitute Luuk de Jong’s late reply gave Sevilla cause for hope heading into the return leg on March 9, but Dortmund remain favourites to progress to the quarter-finals.

“We didn’t deserve to lose, but in the end they had one of the best players in the world up front and he made the difference in three situations which could have been avoided,” said Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui.

Haaland, who also set up Dahoud’s equaliser, produced a performance, in the first half at least, which showcased his remarkable strength, hold-up play and pace as well as his brilliant finishing.

It was too much for a Sevilla side who had come into this tie with high hopes, having only been beaten by La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid, away, in their previous 19 outings.

Lopetegui’s team had won their previous nine matches on the bounce and had kept seven straight clean sheets before the arrival of Dortmund and Haaland.

“This was one of our best performances of the season,” Dortmund coach Edin Terzic, who replaced the sacked Lucien Favre after the group phase, told Sky.

“We are pleased with the result and proud to have beaten such a team.”

Sevilla have won the Europa League or its predecessor, the UEFA Cup, an incredible six times since 2005, but only once have they got past the last 16 of the Champions League, when they beat Manchester United in 2018 before losing to Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.

The quality of Haaland was the difference here as Dortmund, having sunk to sixth in the Bundesliga on a poor run of form, came to life on their return to the Champions League.

“We had a good plan. Edin has been good and I’ve been talking a lot with him. He said today would be my game and that I would get my chances and I did, so it was an important win,” Haaland told news men.

Yet the game had started well for Sevilla, with Suso opening the scoring in the seventh minute, his shot deflecting in off Mats Hummels.

Dortmund drew level in the 19th minute as Haaland showed terrific strength to hold the ball up on the right before coming infield and feeding Dahoud, who worked his way into position to fire a superb shot high into net from just outside the area.

It was the first goal Sevilla had conceded in more than 12 hours of football.

Eight minutes later they conceded again.

Haaland dropped deep, collecting possession near the halfway line, and then turned and charged towards goal, playing a pass to Jadon Sancho on the edge of the box and then continuing on to place the return ball past goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.

He struck again two minutes before half-time, slotting home first-time after Marco Reus had stolen the ball from the feet of Alejandro ‘Papu’ Gomez before bearing down on goal.

However, Sevilla dominated the second half as Dortmund sat back, and the hosts got a potentially crucial second goal six minutes from the end.

Oscar Rodriguez’s high, hanging free-kick was turned into the net by De Jong, giving them something to cling to.

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UCL: FC PORTO STUN JUVENTUS IN 2-1 WIN AT HOME.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s first game for Juventus in his native Portugal ended in 2-1 defeat as FC Porto out-played the Italians for much of Wednesday’s Champions League last-16, first leg tie.

Such was Juve’s lacklustre performance that coach Andrea Pirlo claimed his team handed victory to their hosts on “a silver platter”.

Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi put Porto ahead after just a minute at Estadio do Dragao following a Rodrigo Bentancur error.

And Mali striker Moussa Marega added a second straight after the break.

But Federico Chiesa pulled a goal back with eight minutes to go to keep Juventus afloat with the second leg in Turin on 9 March.

“The approach was wrong from the first minute,” said Pirlo.

“When you concede a goal like this it’s normal that fear sets in, you lack a bit of certainty.

“Porto are good at closing down and after that goal it was much more difficult. We served them the match they wanted on a silver platter.

“Fortunately we scored an important goal through Chiesa and now we will focus on the return leg.”

It was a below-par performance by Juventus,chasing their third Champions League title and first in 25 years.

Record Champions League goal scorer Ronaldo, 36, drew a blank against a side captained by his Portuguese international teammate Pepe, as the visitors struggled to recover from their early blunder.

“We studied Juventus well,” said defender Pepe who won three Champions League titles with Ronaldo at Real Madrid.

“We knew that we had to press hard to keep Juventus from playing. In these type of games it’s difficult to concede goals at home, but we played a great game.”

It was a shocking start for Juventus, with Wojciech Szczesny sending the ball out to Bentancur, who passed back to the Polish goalkeeper despite Taremi being just on front of goal.

The Iranian quickly pounced to prod past Szczesny for his first Champions League goal.

Porto pressed forward with Juventus almost conceding a second on 23 minutes as Szczesny cleared straight to Sergio Oliveira whose shot was deflected away from goal.

To add to Andrea Pirlo’s woes captain Giorgio Chiellini limped off 10 minutes later with defender Merih Demiral coming off the bench.

Pirlo had juggled Juve’s defence with Leonardo Bonucci out injured with Alex Sandro returning, playing alongside veteran Chiellini, Matthijs de Ligt and Danilo.

Juve had to wait until four minutes before the break for their first shot on goal with an Adrien Rabiot overhead kick cleared by Porto ‘keeper Agustin Marchesin, but the offside flag had already been raised.

The Italians suffered another terrible start to the second half with Marega picking up a Wilson Manafa cross to finish low past Szczesny.

Ronaldo had to wait until five minutes after the break to have a shot on goal. Weston McKennie nodded the ball into the path of the Portuguese star, whose weak effort was blocked.

However, Chiesa pulled Juventus back into the tie following a Rabiot run down the right with a pull back for the Italian to finish off into the corner of the net.

“The goal will give us strength for the second leg, and it will certainly be another game,” said Chiesa.

It was the first goal conceded by Porto in the competition at home this season for the former two-time winners.

Ronaldo had penalty appeals waved away after going down under a Sanusi Zaidu challenge late as the hosts held on for their first win over Juventus in five meetings.