Two goals, nine yellow cards, both sides content that they are very much in with an even enough shout of progressing. You would fancy Porto on the evidence available here, though – they dominated in possession only to find Basel’s defensive wall very difficult to break down. Man of the match: Mark Clattenburg. That’s all for me. Thanks for reading. Bye!
FULL-TIME! Basel 1-1 Porto.
90+4 min: The whistle goes and it’s finished 1-1.
90+3 min: Or maybe not! Suchy has conceded a corner … last chance Porto. Qunitero delivers but there’s too much weight on the delivery and Basel clear.
90+2 min: Martínez is felled by Elneny near halfway. Instead of putting it forward, they play it backwards. Should just blow it up now.
90 min: Basel stroking it about with little intensity as the fourth official’s board flashes up four minutes added time. Urgency, who needs it?
88 min: Game is dying out. Porto seem satisified now they have acquired an away goal, Basel appear physically exhausted.
86 min: Danilo takes down Hamoudi with a tug on his shorts and accepts the yellow card – the ninth shown by Mark Clattenburg.
84 min: Basel start to show some signs of attacking intent again from the first time since the 11th minute but Frei is robbed of the ball by Martinez. He sends it to Quaresma, whose cross is deflected for a corner. Again, it amounts to nothing.
83 min: Gashi’s evening is over. Basel’s leading scorer has disappointed. Hamoudi is given a chance to shine.
80 min: Must say, for all of Basel’s resolute defending, Porto deserve that. They have been the better side for the majority of this game. Now, can they find a winner in the final 10 minutes? It won’t be coming from Tello, who is hauled off for Quintero.
GOAL! Basel 1-1 Porto (Danilo, 79pen)
The full-back stares Vaclik out and sends a sweet penalty into the bottom left corner. Vaclik dived the right way but could not reach the strike.
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77 min: PENALTY! Samuel slides to try and block a Danilo cross from the right. He handles it but there isn’t much he could have down about it, because he’d already hit the deck. No second booking for him … Danilo steps up to take …
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Meanwhile on Irish TV …
@dangerhere Go home Setanta you're drunk pic.twitter.com/RTOa2cSAgb
— stephen davoren (@bailldogg) February 18, 2015
74 min: Xhaka has been good for Basel tonight but he is felled by Sandro on a rare jaunt forward for the hosts. Porto attack but Herrera’s attempt from 25 yards, following a Tello pass, curls tamely into Vaclik’s hands.
72 min: Tello plays a crossfield pass to Quaresma, who cross in from the right. It’s teed up for Herrera but he fails to land a shot.
70 min: Porto growing more and more dominant here, but Basel’s defence remains as resilient as ever. It’s like a game of backs v forwards at present.
67 min: Quaresma blasts over when he should have crossed from the right side of the box. Poor. Ruben Neves is on in place of Torres, who may have dislocated his shoulder.
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66 min: Torres has just walked off the pitch, asking to be substituted while pointing to his shoulder. Porto momentarily down to 10 men while waiting for a sub to be readied.
65 min: Oooooh, Martínez goes close with a lofted attempt from eight yards which lands on the roof of the net.
While the 22 on here appear more interested in fouling each other instead of playing football, an email from John Mann:
After the Bayern v Shakhtar game, do you think Shakhtar could knock Bayern out of the tournament?
No – Shakhtar have had fewer attempts than Basel’s one here so far and do not travel well (swerving any references to last night’s game being in Lviv!). Bayern will coast through the second leg, you would reckon.
63 min: Second change for Basel as the lightning quick Embolo replaces Streller.
62 min: Now Suchy is booked for coming in two-footed on Martinez. Suchy will miss the second leg at Porto because of that yellow.
61 min: Substitution for Porto as Brahimi is hooked in place of Quaresma. Find that peculiar because Tello had looked less threatening than Brahimi, who is not injured.
61 min: Xhaka crosses from the right but Fabiano saves.
59 min: Torres curls a long ball into the path of Tello. He tales one touch before shooting with his right. Vaclik saves. Corner. Tello takes. Comes to nothing.
57 min: Gashi trips Danilo and is the seventh player to go into Mark Clattenburg’s book.
55 min: Gashi sends a cross in from the left in a rare Basel attack but Fabiano is out to pick it from the air.
54 min: Tello looks to be through after a tidy delivery from Herrera but he is offiside again.
52 min: Anyway, since then Sandro is booked for a late tackle on Xhaka.
It took a little while for that decision to be made but it’s good refereeing from Clattenburg and his assistant, Friend. Vaclik looked to attempt to come off his line to try and save but he was impeded.
GOAL RULED OUT! It remains Basel 1-0 Porto
No! Scrap that. The goal has been ruled out! Kevin Friend, the official behind the goal, has alerted something to Clattenburg. They discuss it for a little while and finally we are shown replays which clearly show two offisde players in the way of Vaclik. They blocked his vision and it’s ruled out after a few moments of confusion. What drama.
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Awful, shocking, dreadful defending from Basel. Tello fizzes a corner, which he had won himself, in. Maicon rises to head towards goal. Vaclik parries and Casemiro converts the rebound.
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GOAL! Basel 1-1 Porto (Casemiro, 48)
And the visitors have levelled!
47 min: Now Suchy makes an abysmal challenge on Brahimi, planting his studs on the wide man’s achilles.
46 min: Samuel is booked 25 seconds in for a late tackle from behind on Martinez. Needless.
Peep!
Porto get us going again.
Half-time: Basel 1-0 Porto
Basel have had one chance and converted. Porto need to do more in attack.
45+4 min: We’re into an added on minute of added time as Martínez and Streller are called together by Clattenburg for a talking to after a succession of niggly fouls results in a little kerfuffle.
45+1 min: Suchy tries to dribble out from defence, is dispossessed by Casemiro and the Basel defender then fouls him 30 yards from goal. Casemiro takes it himself but it hits the wall.
45 min: There will be three minutes added on.
45 min: Brahimi wins a corner. Tello’s delivery is headed clear by Suchy.
43 min: Torres feeds Brahimi but his outside of the boot effort is tame and Vaclik collects.
42 min: Porto continuing to dominate possession since falling behind but they remain bereft of ideas in front of goal.
40 min: Frei plays another tasty pass forward from midfield, this time in the direction of Streller. The striker controls but then notices the flag is up for offside.
39 min: Torres, with his back to goal, passes to Martínez and turns before running goalwards. Martínez attempts to dink a return pass but Torres runs into trouble (or Samuel, if you want).
37 min: Elneny is booked for dragging down Torres rugby style near halfway and is booked. Torres gets up and waves the imaginary card, so Clattenburg flashes it at him too. Well done, ref.
35 min: Tello runs in off the right and latches on to Herrera’s pass but just as Tello is about to pull the trigger, the linesman’s flag is up for offside. Passing stats: Basel have played 55, Porto 174 – but who’s leading?!
31 min: Martínez’s captain armband was ripped by Samuel such was the ferocity of the defender’s dragging but no penalty was given.
30 min: Signs of mprovement from Porto. Herrera picks out Tello whose cross is cut out for a corner. Tello takes and Martínez attempts an audacious flick near the penalty spot but he cannot connect properly. Seconds later Martínez is wrestled to the ground by Samuel – the striker screams for a penalty but Mark Clattenburg ignores him. Very dodgy call.
28 min: Casemiro is booked for a lunge on Zuffi 40 yards from the Porto goal. The delivery is taken by Zuffi, he aims it towards the far post but it amounts to zilch.
26 min: This is developing into an odd game. Basel took their goal brilliantly but have not threatened since and are happy to leave the visitors have the ball. Porto look to be targeting Brahimi on the left wing and he has sped past Xhaka twice, Martínez remains anonymous, however, and Porto need to do much, much more.
24 min: Davide Calla is on in place of Gonzalez. Pretty much a straight swap with the former lining up on the right of Streller in Basel’s attacking three.
22 min: Gonzalez is down again. He looks dazed after that collision and the phsyio has signalled for him to be replaced. He’s holding his ear, but he certainly appears concussed. Frei, meanwhile, is booked for taking down Brahimi.
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21 min: Streller gets in behind Porto’s defence but is lacking support after a long ball from midfield. He holds it up and attempts to square to Gashi but the pass is cut out.
20 min: Danilo cuts in on his left and has a pop and Vaclik gets down to turn it around a post for a corner. Casemiro is the target again, unmarked at the front post, but he heads wide.
18 min: Torres attempts to pick out Brahimi on the left but he is fouled. Tello’s delivery from deep picks out Casemiro a chance to head towards goal but his effort is weak and is bread and butter for Vaclik.
17 min: Porto exchanging passes in their own half but Basel will be happy to leave them at it.
14 min: Gonzalez is back on. The game really needed that; it had been quite nervy. Now, how can Porto’s front three respond? Martínez hasn’t been given a sniff so far.
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12 min: Gonzalez now being treated for a minor head injury. He appeared to connect with Fabiano after shooting. But he should be ok.
Gonzalez’s run is not tracked closely enough by Alex Sandro and he controls Frei’s delicious delivery with his right boot to shake off the defender’s challenge. Fabiano comes off his line in an attempt to close the angle but Gonzalez pokes it past him and into the bottom left corner. That’s the 20-year-old’s third of the season in the Champions League.
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GOAL! Basel 1-0 Porto (Gonzalez, 11)
And just as we say that, Basel take the lead.
10 min: Another foul. Zuffi is halted by Casemiro. Both sides struggling to make any inroads so far.
9 min: Brahimi, the liveliest on show in a tepid start, accelerates down the left. He is tugged a little by Xhaka, which Mark Clattenburg fails to spot, and the ball trickles out for a Basel goal-kick.
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7 min: Porto play it around in midfield before Brahimi sets Sandro off, but he is felled by Gonzalez near halfway.
Samuel will be 37 next month, by the way, for those of you wondering.
5 min: Walter Samuel, starting due to the suspension incurred by Fabian Schar, comes in and clatters Herrera near halfway. Just to let the Porto player know he’s there, like.
3 min: Porto have promised to attack from the off here and, lining up with a 4-3-3, spearheaded by Jackson Martínez, they look to stick to that. Basel appear to be going with three across midfield too but it’s been a cagey start.
Yes, this is all well and good, but how does Clattenburg’s hair look? asks Matt Dony via email
Ah, the key issues. It looks like there isn’t a single hair hour of place. Will keep you updated.
Peep!
1 min: Basel get us going, playing in all white from right to left as we watch. Porto in a fetching looking fifty shades of blue kit.
The teams are out. The Champions League anthem is playing at St Jakob Park. We are moments away.
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Teams!
Basel: Vaclik, Xhaka, Suchy, Samuel, Safari, Gonzalez,
El-Nenny, Frei, Zuffi, Gashi, Streller. Subs: Vailati, Degen,
Arlind Ajeti, Delgado, Hamoudi, Embolo, Calla.
Porto: Fabiano, Danilo, Maicon, Marcano, Alex Sandro,
Herrera, Casemiro, Torres, Tello, Martinez, Brahimi. Subs:
Helton, Martins Indi, Quaresma, Quintero, Evandro, Ruben Neves,
Aboubakar.
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (England)
For the passing observer, this may be the least exciting tie in the Champions League last 16 but, pull yourselves in a little closer and whisper it quietly, it also has the potential to be the most exciting.
Basel are bizarrely considered surprise packets despite claiming the scalp of Liverpool this season, doing the double over Chelsea in the group stages last campaign and, further back, have wins at home to both Manchester United and Bayern Munich in their locker. Underestimate them at your peril. They have a steady conveyor belt of young talent progressing from their underage setup to the senior ranks (Ivan Rakitic and Xherdan Shaqiri are recent products), play good football and are formidable at home. The loss of Fabian Schär through suspension is a blow to the defence but Fabian Frei adds steel in midfield and the 20-year-old Derlis González is well worth watching.
Only Chelsea scored more in the group stages than Porto’s 16 and Julen Lopetegui’s team are unbeaten in their past eight Champions League games. They have lost just one in 14. And although Porto haven’t made it into the quarter-finals since 2008/09, they are unbeaten against Swiss opposition since October 1980, when Grasshoppers triumphed 3-0. Jackson Martínez (five goals from four games in the group stages) and Yacine Brahimi (four from five) are their stars of the show in attack, while Casemiro has stood out in midfield.
These two have never met. Until now! Kick-off is 20.45 local time or 19.45GMT. Team news to follow.
