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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Matt Verri

Porto 1-0 Arsenal: Gelano nets stunning late winner as Gunners fall to Champions League defeat in last-16 tie

Arsenal were left stunned as Gelano netted a stunning 94th-minute winner to give Porto a 1-0 victory in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

In the knockout stages of the competition for the first time since 2017, and looking to end a 14-year wait for an appearance in the quarter-finals, the Gunners headed to Portugal on a run of five straight wins, with 21 goals scored in the process.

There was very little of that attacking form on display at the Estadio do Dragao though, as Arsenal failed to register a single shot on target.

Porto were not hugely threatening themselves, until Gelano curled a sensational finish into the top corner from distance with near enough the final kick, to leave the Gunners with work to do.

It was a match lacking in any real quality or rhythm, with a constant stream of fouls halting any momentum either side threatened to build up.

The two big first-half chances fell to Galeno, in the space of about three seconds. The Porto man pounced on some hesitation from William Saliba to meet a loose ball and fired a huge opportunity against the post, before somehow turning the rebound wide from a few yards out as the ball fell back to him.

Gelano had the final say, but Arsenal will still be confident of getting the job done in the second leg in north London on March 12.

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