FULL TIME: Juventus 1-0 Porto (agg 3-0)
Nothing happens in them, and that’s that! Juventus make it into the quarter finals! Ten-man Porto had a couple of decent chances to get back into the tie in the second half tonight, but couldn’t take them. Paulo Dybala’s first-half penalty, coupled with Maxi Pereira’s sending off, had broken their spirit. Juve were always in charge. But never mind that: tonight’s all about Leicester City. Just look!
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90 min: There will be three added minutes of this.
89 min: Jota pearls one straight at Buffon from a more respectable range, 25 yards or so. The veteran keeper grabs it close to his chest.
88 min: It was about this time, last week, when Barcelona started their late three-goal comeback against PSG. With this in mind, Felipe tries to beat Buffon from deep inside his own half. Nope! It’s fair to say Porto are really cutting this fine now.
87 min: Pjaca dribbles in from the left, and nearly finds enough space to shoot. Nearly. No shot.
85 min: Juve revert to hogging possession in the middle of the park.
83 min: But Porto have had their chances in this half. Otavio flicks a pass down the left to free Diogo Jota. He glides into the area, and though Buffon comes out and closes the angle, the Porto man really should dink home. But he floats the ball over the keeper and into the side netting. That’s two golden chances, both spurned.
81 min: The Porto fans are giving it plenty, by the way. Standing by their team. Defiance in defeat, a bittersweet melody.
79 min: The goalscorer Dybala is replaced by Tomas Rincon.
77 min: Jota goes on a power sashay down the middle of the park. It’s a great run, springing into the Juve half from deep, and he’s got Layun free on the right. He should send Layun clear on goal, but his pass has too much weight on it. Layun’s pushed out wide, and the chance of a goal ... and a late Barca-style comeback ... is gone.
75 min: Dybala finds time and space down the right. He slides a low ball into the Porto box. Dani Alves nearly latches onto it, racing down the right channel, but is beaten to it by the toe of Felipe. Dani Alves goes over but doesn’t claim the penalty. It’s a corner instead, which comes to nothing.
74 min: See 72 min.
72 min: Porto hog the ball in the middle of the park. A sense that everyone involved just wants to hear the final whistle now.
70 min: Porto make their final swap: Otavio comes on for Oliver Torres.
69 min: More of the Juve keep-ball. Then Alex Sandro glides down the left and crosses deep; the relentless Dybala volleys harmlessly wide right from ten yards.
67 min: Brahimi is replaced by Diogo Jota.
66 min: Another little bit of something! Higuain once again busies himself, breaking into the area down the right and powering a low shot just wide of the left-hand post. Casillas was rooted to the spot; had that been on target, it was in.
65 min: Juve play a bit of keep-ball for 90 seconds or so. “Essentially we’re now watching a Juventus training session,” observes Jim Beglin on BT Sport. His subscription service paymasters will be relieved to see the home side suddenly pick up the pace, Higuain taking a shot from the edge of the Porto box. It’s blocked. But it’s something.
63 min: Boly and Danilo accidentally clatter into each other as they attempt to stop Higuain haring down the right. There’s a brief pause as the pair are sponged down by the physio and given time to recover.
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61 min: Benatia, so recently embarrassed by Soares, is hooked and replaced by Andrea Barzagli.
60 min: Dani Alves crosses deep from the right. Mandzukic, on the penalty spot, donkey-flicks the dropping ball on to Pjaca, who chests down and, level with the left-hand post, ten yards out, lashes low and wide right. He should have steered that home, though the chest down was wonderful.
59 min: This is just an exercise in running down the clock right now. A lot of scrappy nonsense. Hey, it’s Monaco versus Manchester City tomorrow night.
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57 min: Juve seem happy enough to let Porto enjoy a period of possession; the visitors are doing very little with it, after all.
55 min: Felipe embarks on a determined dribble down the inside-right channel. It’s skilful and entertaining, and he reaches the right-hand corner of the Juve six-yard box. But his pull-back into the centre is slightly aimless, and the danger is gone.
54 min: Marchisio crosses from the right, and very nearly finds Mandzukic on the penalty spot. A strange, subdued atmosphere right now.
53 min: Juve knock it around the middle of the park awhile, just because they can.
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51 min: That miss has rather doused Porto’s spirit. Andre Andre has a dig from distance, but no, no, no. It’s a rather half-hearted, soft effort.
49 min: Farcical scenes at both ends. First Dani Alves whips a low ball into the Porto box from the right. Boly crashes a header towards the bottom right corner of his own goal; Casillas does rather brilliantly to snatch it off the line, with a little help from the post. Then Porto go straight up the other end, Soares bustling down the left wing and overpowering Benatia. He’s clear on goal! He’s got to throw Porto a lifeline! But he sends his low shot across Buffon and wide of the right-hand post. What an opportunity spurned. On the touchline, his coach Nuno Espirito Santo wears the pained look of a man who knows the jig is up.
47 min: Alex Sandro tries to float a cross into the Porto box from the left; Dani Alves looks to drive one in from the right. Neither ball finds a man. But early signs that Juve are looking to wrap this one up nice and early, if indeed that hasn’t already been sorted.
OK, we go again. Both teams make a change. Porto swap Andre Silva for defender Willy Boly, a sign that damage limitation is their goal. Juve meanwhile remove Cuadrado and send on Marko Pjaca.
The pause in proceedings gives us the chance to contemplate the untimely passing of our friend Dan Lucas. His contributions to the OBO were routinely magnificent; his rugby MBMs were unquestionably the best out there; his work always bubbled with passion, verve, knowledge and wit. He’ll be sorely missed, but fondly remembered; some heartfelt messages from readers in Jacob Steinberg’s MBM for the Leicester-Sevilla game attest to that.
HALF TIME: Juventus 1-0 Porto (agg: 3-0)
There are still 45 minutes to play. Can ten-man Porto find the three goals they need to progress to the quarter finals? Hmm.
45 min: Mandzukic very nearly opens Porto up down the left. Corner. From the set piece, the ball’s sent back upfield, then returned into the Porto box. Cuadrado takes it down, just inside the area on the left. He goes for the spectacular, but leans back, and that’s over the bar.
44 min: But of course that’s surely settled this tie. Unless we’re due another strange, strange, other-worldly comeback. If Porto are to have any chance whatsoever, they need to get to half time, and regroup.
GOAL! Juventus 1-0 Porto (Dybala 42 pen); agg 3-0
Dybala steps up and lashes the penalty into the bottom right, Casillas going the other way. Porto just need the three without reply, then, and they’re through on away goals.
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RED CARD! Maxi Pereira (Porto) and PENALTY for Juve!
40 min: The corner’s flicked towards the left-hand post. Casillas parries. Higuain, from close range, hooks goalwards. Maxi Pereira spreads himself, Peter Schmeichel style, and the ball hits his arm. The referee has no option but to brandish red and point to the spot!
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40 min: Andre Andre tugs back Higuain down the left. Free kick. Dybala takes. Benatia heads goalwards, but his effort is flicked away for a corner on the right. From which...
38 min: Cuadrado, tight on the right touchline, flicks a gorgeous pass inside to release Dybala into the area. Dybala drops a shoulder to reach the byline, and it nearly opens up for him, but he has to settle for a corner. The set piece is flicked across the face of goal, right to left, by Mandzukic, and nearly trundled in at the far post by Bonucci. But the ball flies by too quickly, and out of play to the left. Juve haven’t exactly peppered Porto’s goal, but they have looked the more likely.
36 min: Higuain dribbles down the middle of the park, and is taken by the neck by Andre Andre. That’s a booking for the Porto man. And nearly for Higuain, too, because the referee’s not impressed by the striker waving an imaginary card.
34 min: This was so nearly very entertaining, though. Dybala curls one in from the left, and Mandzukic is this close to connecting with a diving header. Marcano eyebrows the ball away from danger seconds before the ball is Keith Houchen’d into the net.
33 min: Juve stroke it around the middle awhile, the clock being on their side. This is not exciting, but the Italian champs have no obligations.
31 min: Layun completes a miserable 60 seconds by tripping an in-flight Cuadrado, and picking up a booking.
30 min: Andre Silva has a dig from deep, and wins a corner with the deflected shot. Layun takes the set piece, and it’s nearly as laughably poor as Brahimi’s free kick earlier. Once again, a dismal failure to beat the first man with a dead ball.
28 min: But there are signs that Juve are beginning to cause Porto problems. Dani Alves cutely plays Higuain into the Porto box down the right. He reaches the byline and dinks one into the middle. Dybala is there, six yards out, but the ball somehow eludes him; he sticks out a leg but, falling backwards, he can’t connect. Porto clear.
27 min: A little space for Soares down the left. He’s got Andre Silva lurking in the middle, but his cross is wild and high, and sails over his team-mate’s head. The home support is a little subdued right now, with Porto giving as good as they’re getting.
24 min: That’s sparked Juve into life. Dani Alves, in a deep position on the right, curls a fine high cross into the Porto box. Casillas comes to claim, but doesn’t get there. Higuain would loop a header over him, but the presence and insistence of Felipe puts the striker off. Close enough to the opener, though.
23 min: This is a lot better from Juve. Dybala, deep on the right wing, lays the ball back for Cuadrado, who whips high and deep towards Mandzukic, level with the left-hand post, ten yards out. Mandzukic plants a fine downward header goalwards, but it’s plumb centre and snaffled by Casillas. There was juice in that header.
21 min: Marchisio, deep on the right, tries to find Higuain in the centre, but his cross is dealt with by the Porto back line. Juve haven’t threatened much since Dybala’s early flurry.
19 min: This has the potential to explode in glorious uberviolence. Dani Alves plants his boot on Andre Silva’s ankle as the latter attempts to execute an elaborate spin in the middle of the park. Again, no punishment, but expect umbrage to have been taken.
17 min: Layun comes through the back of Cuadrado. That’s a bit of saucy payback, and the Juve man felt it all right. No punishment, other than a free kick on the halfway line. Cuadrado has the good grace not to complain too much, perhaps well aware that, on another day, in a match officiated by a different referee, he could have walked for his out-of-control challenge earlier.
15 min: Danilo makes good down the right, and his dinked cross very nearly finds Brahimi in the Juve area. Not quite. But the away side have found their feet in this game, and are beginning to cause the hosts a few problems.
13 min: Brahimi’s delivery of the free kick, with many Porto players loaded in the Juve box, is laughably inept. It fails to beat the first man, and is headed clear of danger by Bonucci with ease.
12 min: Cuadrado is booked for a ludicrous studs-up slide on Layun, who is flung into the air to the left of the Juve box. He’s throwing the slapstick shapes tonight all right. But this is a free kick in a very dangerous position.
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10 min: But it’s Porto who get the first shot on target this evening. Soares drops a shoulder, cuts in from the left, and curls a fairly lame effort straight at Buffon from the edge of the box. Danilo was free to his right, and informs him of this fact in the trenchant style.
8 min: Alex Sandro tears down the left and slips the ball inside for the busy Dybala, who very nearly finds Khedira with a floated chip into the Porto box. Not quite. But Juve are on the front foot.
6 min: Mandzukic playes a clever little ball down the left channel, allowing Dybala to stride towards the Porto box. To the left of the D, he has a lash towards the bottom right. It’s off target, but boy was that travelling.
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5 min: Porto pass it around the middle awhile. Eventually Andre Andre turns on a sixpence, 30 yards from goal, and nearly makes space to shoot. But he’s closed down, the Juve defence working in the time-honoured Italian style. Andre Silva tries to keep the move going, latching onto a loose ball, but he’s bustled out of it as well.
3 min: Dybala makes some space down the inside-right channel. A clever little dinked header, which he chases and gathers himself, sees him zip into the Porto area. From a tight angle, he goes for the spectacular, sticking his pleasingly retro black boot through the ball. Hoof! That’s over the bar. Higuain, unmarked in the middle, six yards out, isn’t best pleased. The confidence of having two away goals in your back pocket, right there.
2 min: Mandzukic threatens to break down the left. He’s eased off it by Maxi Pereira. Juve come again down the other flank through Dani Alves. His cross from deep is met on the penalty spot by Higuain, who heads powerfully but inaccurately wide right of goal.
And we’re off! Porto get the ball rolling. It’s played back to Layun, who slips as he shapes to lump the ball upfield, and nearly falls flat on his face. Buster Keaton would have admired that. He regains his composure and blooters the ball upfield.
After one of those new-fangled light shows they have these days, the teams take to the pitch at the Juventus Stadium! A cracking atmosphere. Juve are in their third-choice white kit with black stripes over the shoulders; Porto are in second-choice black. Those black-and-white and blue-and-white first-choice strips, and Juve’s second-choice blue, have caused all manner of combination problems. We’ll be off in a minute!
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Tonight’s game is contested by European royalty. Both of these famous clubs have two European Cups to their name: Juve beat Liverpool to the trophy in 1985 and Ajax in 1996, while Porto bested Bayern Munich in 1987 and Monaco in 2004. Juve have also reached six other finals; no other club has lost as many.
In the other big competitions, Juve edge it, with three Uefa Cup wins (1977, 1990 and 1993) to Porto’s two (2003 and the 2011 Europa League). Juve also have one Cup Winners’ Cup to their name, and to claim that they defeated none other than ... Porto. Juve triumphed 2-1 in the 1984 final: Beniamino Vignola struck early, António Sousa equalised, and Zbigniew Boniek netted the winner. Juve could name some side back then: their line-up also included Claudio Gentile, Gaetano Scirea, Antonio Cabrini, Marco Tardelli, Michel Platini and Paolo Rossi. The manager wasn’t half bad either: Giovanni Trapattoni. Ah, Serie A in the 1980s; football’s never been as glamorous.
Juventus make four changes to the team sent out to squeak past Milan last Friday. Juan Cuadrado, Claudio Marchisio, Alex Sandro and Mario Mandzukic are back; Marko Pjaca, Andrea Barzagli, Miralem Pjanic and Kwadwo Asamoah make way.
Porto make just the one change to the XI which started the 4-0 win at Arouca on Friday. Miguel Layun replaces the suspended Alex Telles in defence.
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Tonight's teams
Juventus: Buffon, Dani Alves, Bonucci, Benatia, Alex Sandro, Khedira, Marchisio, Cuadrado, Dybala, Mandzukic, Higuain.
Subs: Neto, Chiellini, Pjanic, Barzagli, Pjaca, Lichtsteiner, Rincon.
Porto: Casillas, Maxi Pereira, Felipe, Marcano, Layun, Danilo, Andre Andre, Olivier Torres, Brahimi, Soares, Andre Silva.
Subs: Jose Sa, Boly, Ruben Neves, Depoitre, Herrera, Diogo Jota, Otavio.
Referee: Ovidiu Haţegan (Romania).
Good evening!
Porto have it all to do, all right. They’re two down from the first leg of this tie, played at the Estádio do Dragão three weeks ago, Marko Pjaca and Dani Alves having scored Juventus’s second-half goals. It’s a result that puts them in the tightest of tight spots: only twice in Champions League history has a side overturned a home first-leg defeat to go through. Ajax did it against Panathinaikos in the 1995-96 semi-finals, while Internazionale turned over Bayern Munich at this very stage in 2010-11.
Barcelona ripped up the comeback rulebook last week, of course. So anything can happen. But it’s one hell of a tall order. For starters, Juve are on a 20-match unbeaten home run in European competition, a sequence stretching back to 2013. They’ve also won all 36 of the European ties in which they’ve won the first leg away from home. Porto, by comparison, have only won one of the six European ties in which they’ve lost the first leg at home: against serial bottlers Panathinaikos in the 2002/03 Uefa Cup quarters.
Juve have also won their last 31 home games in Serie A. 31! Ulp. Porto can snatch at a lovely thick shaft of straw, mind: the first-leg defeat set aside, they’ve won their last nine Liga fixtures, rattling up 11 goals in their last two games. So they’re in pretty decent form themselves. Does that translate to genuine hope? Possibly not, but then few seriously proselytised for Barca this time last week, and look how that panned out. Will Juve serenely glide to the quarter finals, as expected? Or will Porto serve up another comeback for the ages? It’s going to be a blast finding out. It’s on!
Kick off: 8.45pm at the Juventus Stadium in Turin, 7.45pm in Oporto and at Guardian Central back in London.
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