So FC Basel limp out of the Champions League in meek fashion, Walter Samuel’s late red card capping a sorry evening for them. They were out of their depth, but take nothing away from Porto, who played very well indeed. Dark horses? Maybe. They’ll look forward to their quarter-final. Thanks for reading. Night.
FULL-TIME: Porto 4-0 FC Basel (Porto win 5-1 on aggregate)
It’s over! Although, in truth, it’s been over since the 14th minute.
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WALTER SAMUEL IS SENT OFF!
90 min+1: Oh dear, this is ending very sadly indeed for Basel. Walter Samuel, already on a booking, takes out Aboubakar off the ball needlessly - brainlessly - and his evening is prematurely over. He heads off to the dressing room to prepare the bath for his team-mates, who’ll be joining him shortly.
90 min: Streller stings a shot just over from the edge of the area. There will be two minutes of stoppage time.
88 min: Elneny sends one down Fabiano’s throat from 30 yards.
86 min: They could probably blow up now.
83 min: Streller’s cross from the left almost catches Fabiano out at his near post, but the Porto goalkeeper pushes the ball behind for a corner.
82 min: You’re all following events at the Bernabeu, aren’t you.
79 min: Porto make another change, Ricardo Quaresma - remember him? - coming on for Evandro.
77 min: Baasel make their final change, Davide Calla replacing Shkelzen Gashi.
GOAL! Porto 4-0 FC Basel (Aboubakar, 76 min; 5-1 agg)
Who needs Jackson Martinez? His deputy, Vincent Aboubakar, has just scored a peach of a goal. Basel lose the ball on the halfway line and Aboubakar runs at the backtracking Walter Samuel, turning him inside out, and then bends a cracking shot into the top-left corner from 20 yards. Porto have scored some super goals tonight.
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74 min: Porto bring on Ruben Neves for the impressive Yacine Brahimi.
71 min: Embolo tries to burst past Martins Indi, who leans into the striker, causing him to go down. It was a bit soft and Martins Indi doesn’t shy away from letting him know. They’re soon friends, though.
69 min: Basel are trying gamely, giving it a good go, but Porto look too strong. Every time Basel hint at a menacing move, Porto slam the door in their face.
66 min: Porto are taking the sting out of the game. This is over.
63 min: Basel make another change. Yoichiro Kakitani replaces Fabian Frei.
62 min: Aboubakar sees his shot from 20 yards deflected wide. Nothing comes from the corner.
61 min: Embolo’s introduction means that Basel are playing with a back three now. The young striker has joined Streller in attack.
60 min: This is the first proper save Fabiano has had to make tonight. Gashi escaped down the left and pulled a cross back. Zuffi arrived at speed and his sidefooter drew a good save from Fabiano.
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59 min: “Ole! Ole! Ole!” The Porto fans are enjoying themselves now. Breel Embolo has replaced Fabian Schar for Basel.
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58 min: I’ve just got my breath back after that goal.
WHAT A GOAL!!!!!!!!! Porto 3-0 FC Basel (Casemiro, 56 min; 4-1 agg)
This is astonishing! Casemiro lines up the free-kick, 30 yards out, takes a long run-up and then absolutely screams an absurd shot over the wall, through the air and towards the top-right corner. It dips, swerves, wobbles, sings, whistles and taunts Vaclik as it soars past his frankly inconsequential side. That was a Brazilian bullet!
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55 min: Marcano is holding his head in his hands. He’s been booked as a result of that multi-player row and he will be suspended for Porto’s next mach. Safari is also booked.
54 min: This is bizarre. Basel wanted the ball put out of play, but they had possession. Frei stood still in the middle of the pitch and allowed Tello to nick the ball, before taking the Porto winger out around 30 yards out. A fracas ensues. I have no idea why everyone’s so riled.
50 min: Basel need to score twice and they’ve hardly been a threat at all. It’s not going to happen, is it. It’s a step too far.
48 min: Walter Samuel is booked for an ugly studs-up challenge on Tello. The referee has been very lenient tonight.
GOAL! Porto 2-0 FC Basel (Herrera, 47 min; 3-1 agg)
This could be the end of Basel’s hopes and it’s a fine goal. Brahimi cut inside from the left and laid a pass off to Hector Herrera, who got the ball out of his feet, opened up his body and curled a fine shot into the far corner with his right foot. Vaclik got a hand to the shot, but it wasn’t enough. Porto have that two-goal cushion that they’ve been craving ever since Brahimi’s opener and they are well on course for a place in the quarter-final now.
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46 min: Here we go again. What wonders does the second half have in store for us?
Half-time: Porto 1-0 FC Basel (2-1 agg)
The half ends with Herrera walloping a volley wide from 20 yards. Porto are in control thanks to Yacine Brahimi’s free-kick, but it’s not over yet. Basel only need a goal.
45 min+3: A lull.
45 min: There will be five minutes of stoppage time because of the earlier injury to Danilo.
44 min: Porto have been so dominant, but the tie could be level. Safari pops up on the left and sends a fine cross into the area. Streller attacks it, but is beaten to the ball. However the clearance falls to Gashi, 20 yards, and he slithers a left-footed shot a yard or so wide of the far post. Porto have been warned.
42 min: Basel have their first shot on target, Fabiano comfortably holding Gonzalez’s ambitious volley from 25 yards. Up the other end, Tello cuts on to his left foot and shoots straight at Vaclik from the right side of the area.
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40 min: Basel are hanging on. Tello is played clean through on goal by a cute pass inside Safari and he chips the ball over the onrushing Vaclik. He rushed the finish, however, and only directed the ball into the six-yard box, where a covering Basel player was able to boot it clear.
38 min: Gonzalez is booked for a naughty raker down Brahimi’s ankles. The ball was long gone. Gonzalez will miss Basel’s next match and he so easily could have been sent off for that.
35 min: Martins Indi dabs a cross into the area, where Aboubakar prods tamely at Vaclik, with Samuel in full-on bouncer mode close by.
33 min: Aboubakar almost doubles Porto’s lead with a magnificent effort! The ball sits up invitingly for him to have a go from 25 yards and he lets fly with his right foot; it looked like it was heading into the top-left corner, but one last swerve took the ball past Vaclik’s dive and inches past the post.
32 min: Basel have a shot! Admittedly Streller sends the ball into the top tier from 25 yards, but still, that’s progress of sorts.
31 min: The slippery Brahimi skips past Xhaka on the left and storms into the area. Eventually the ball ends up with Casemiro and he rams a shot over from 30 yards.
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29 min: Gashi picks up the first booking for sticking his elbow in Martins Indi’s jaw as the Porto defender slams the ball clear.
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28 min: Another raking ball over the top gets Porto’s defenders facing their own goal. Gashi tries to reach it, but again Fabiano heads it away, making sure not to knock someone out this time.
27 min: The corner is taken short; nothing of any importance occurs.
26 min: Indi Martins slides a low cross into the Basel area, but Samuel shuffles it away. Moments later, Porto win a corner on the left.
24 min: Now Aboubakar is wincing and rolling around on the deck after being caught in the thigh by a knee from Samuel. He should be fine.
22 min: After that unpleasantness, we can continue.
21 min: Danilo is carried off on a stretcher. Let’s hope he’s okay. That looked nasty and I think he’s out cold. Bruno Martins Indi, who played for Holland at the World Cup, is on in his place for Porto.
20 min: I doubt that Danilo is going to continue. The ambulance has been called for.
19 min: Fabiano is on his feet again after a spot of treatment, but Danilo is still down. That was a heavy blow to the jaw.
17 min: A long ball through the middle from Basel shouldn’t be a problem for Porto to deal with, but for some reason Fabiano comes charging out of his area to head it away and ends up colliding with Danilo, his own right-back. They’re both down. Fabiano might have knocked himself out.
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15 min: Porto are rampant. Thirty yards from goal, Casemiro spots Vaclik out of position and tries to catch him out with a searing effort, aiming for the top-right. The ball whistles just over, but Vaclik was worried.
GOAL! Porto 1-0 FC Basel (Brahimi, 14 min; 2-1 agg)
Oh, this is sumptuous. Yacine Brahimi is a lovely player. The free-kick is in a central position, just inside the area, and he gives it the soft touch with his right foot, delicately floating the ball over the wall and into the top-left corner. Vaclik didn’t move a muscle and FC Basel are up against it now. But what a goal that was! Sometimes there’s no need for force.
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12 min: Basel give the ball away in a dangerous position and Casemiro feeds a pass into Cristian Tello, who turns brilliantly away from Samuel on the edge of the area. The veteran Argentinian lumbers and brings the Porto winger down clumsily and cynically, handing Porto a free-kick in a very promising position.
10 min: Brahimi turns up for the first time on the left. He tries to trick his way past Xhaka and then collapses in Di Marian style in the Basel area. The referee looks at the Porto winger with pity.
8 min: The two teams are just feeling each other out (ie, it’s pretty scrappy). “With all due respect, Handel’s music is glorious on its own,” says Joseph Trivers. “No need to change. Besides, it gives us British content on the evening doesn’t it?”
You can’t stand still in this game, though. I appreciate what Joseph’s saying, but I’d like to see them add a techno beat for this year’s final.
7 min: Guardian brain Jonathan Wilson has his musical thinking hat on. “You speak of getting Platini involved in choosing the anthem,” Wilson says. “Of course, he did just that for the Europa League and ended up with a tune written by Yohann Zveig, who just happens to be married to Marine Platini, Michel’s daughter.” So you’re saying he’s got the proper credentials?
5 min: It’s been a fairly timid start. Not much has happened. Evandro lifts a ball into the Basel area, but it’s too close to Vaclik.
4 min: The suggestions for the new Champions League anthem are flooding in at a sickening rate.
@JacobSteinberg look no further than this offering: https://t.co/0h1a7hMwy7
— Parlour Games AFC (@ParlourGamesN5) March 10, 2015
2 min: Alex Sandro lets Gonzalez know that he’s around. The Porto left-back doesn’t whisper it in the Basel man’s ear, he takes him out from behind, which seems a bit much, it’s no way to host a guest.
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And we’re off! Basel, decked out in white, and kicking from left to right, get the first half away in front of a fair few empty seats.
Here come the teams! Which means that it’s time for the Champions League anthem. Here, it’s a good tune and all that, but it’s been going for a while. Anyone else think that it’s time to jazz it up a bit? Maybe it could be a rap. Or we could add an accordion or the banjo or some oboe. Or some jazz flute. Maybe the subtle sound of Michel Platini playing it on the triangle. Actually, that’s an idea, let’s get him involved. It could be a different tune every week. Michel Platini would host a reality-tv style show on French television, broadcast every Saturday evening, contestants asked to play their efforts in front of a live studio audience and three judges, Pierluigi Collina, Gianni Infantino and Will.I.An. What say you?
A couple of responses are coming my way...
@JacobSteinberg I've been saying for years, the Europa League is where the excitement and fun is. Just as spectacular, too.
— Marius Hollenga (@MariusHollenga) March 10, 2015
@JacobSteinberg I'm also a EL hipster, but new players new stadiums new styles. We know what everyone else brings.
— John Hancock (@mls01010) March 10, 2015
@JacobSteinberg Point is not to "watch the best" which gets boring but be entertained, and for some of us that means not the same old.
— John Hancock (@mls01010) March 10, 2015
The teams!
FC Porto: Fabiano; Danilo, Maicon, Marcano, Alex Sandro; Herrera, Casemiro, Evandro; Tello, Aboubakar, Brahimi. Subs: Helton, Martins Indi, Quaresma, Quintero, Torres, Ruben Neves, Paciencia.
Basel: Vaclik; Xhaka, Schar, Samuel, Safari; El-Nenny, Frei, Zuffi; Gonzalez, Streller, Gashi. Subs: Vailati, Traore, Degen, Arlind Ajeti, Kakitani, Embolo, Calla.
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)
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Preamble
Is it just me or is the Champions League becoming more predictable every year? Would anyone be surprised if this year’s last four is comprised of Chelsea, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid? Okay, one of those teams could be replaced by Atletico Madrid, or even PSG, or even Arsenal, or even Manchester City, but the point stands.
Porto could be forgiven for asking the question. It’s 11 years since they won this competition and everything was so different back then. They were managed by some handsome bloke in a Matalan coat, they claimed the trophy with a 3-0 win over Monaco and it was the last time the final had been contested between two sides who were not from England, Spain, Germany or Italy. A final between a French side and a Portuguese side now? It’s unheard of now. There have been a couple of eyebrow-raising winners since then. Liverpool in 2005, Inter in 2010 and Chelsea in 2012 spring to mind, but they were big clubs from the big leagues, they just happened to have unfancied teams at the time.
A Porto win this year, though? An FC Basel win? Porto are a good team with good players and their 1-1 draw in the first leg in Switzerland means that they are the slight favourites against an Basel side that continues to punch above its weight in Europe, but both of these teams are rank outsiders and it is slightly tempting to wonder what the point of all this is; in our heart of hearts, we all know that this is just building up to a seismic, monumental, gladiatorial, historic, seismic (did I already say seismic?) clash between Barcelona and Bayern in the final. All very glamorous, yes, but has it every struck you that it might be nice to see some new faces every now and again? Your answers to the usual address. Please.
Kick-off: 7.45pm in good old Blighty, 8.45pm local time.
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