FULL TIME: Porto 2-1 Chelsea
The very last act of the game sees Diego Costa busy himself on the edge of the Porto box. He runs towards some space by the penalty spot, then loses control, unable to get his shot away. Kenedy rushes in from the right and whips a snapshot wide left, with Casillas falling backwards and the goal gaping. No equaliser, and Porto celebrate a hard-fought victory. Which was ultimately deserved on the balance of play - though that late penalty shout puts a different complexion on the argument all right. And, oh yes, Jay-Jay Okocha.
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90 min: Marcano lets a long ball bounce down the inside-right channel. Diego Costa strides into the box and crosses. The ball hits Marcano on the top of the arm and goes out for a corner. Diego Costa is beside himself with anger. He’s livid, even by his own standards. But he’s not getting the decision. He should do, though. Marcano moved his shoulder into that a little bit, and though the two players were awfully close to each other, it looked deliberate.
89 min: Imbula is booked for a trip on Willian in the middle of the park. Seven yellows this evening, though it’s not been a dirty or especially cynical match. “Eric Djemba-Djemba,” chirps Simon Cherry, almost immediately. Of course. Of course.
88 min: Free kick for Chelsea, 40 yards out down the left. A chance to load the box. Fabregas takes. But it doesn’t clear the first man, Osvaldo, who heads powerfully clear.
86 min: Osvaldo comes on for the superlative Brahimi. “Apart from Mr Andre Andre, can you think of any other double named footy players?” asks Jared Brown. “Boutros Boutros Ghali and Ford Maddox Ford probably had a kick around with their mates but apart from them I’m flummoxed.”
85 min: Matic has a crack from long range. It’d have gone down well at the Rugby World Cup. “It’s just this second hit me,” writes Dan Lane. “BT commentator Ian Darke sounds everso slightly like Stephen Toast. I can’t unhear him now.” I can hear you, Steve McManaman.
82 min: Danilo is now booked for taking a handful of Hazard’s shirt.
81 min: Corner for Porto down the right. Layun whips it to te near post, where Danilo glances a wonderful header past Begovic and onto the left-hand post. Marcano tries to convert the rebound, but is wrestled to the ground by Ivanovic. A very light wrestle, though. No penalty. Chelsea clear. The woodwork’s been rattled at both ends.
80 min: Layun replaces Andre Andre.
79 min: Imbula bustles through the centre circle. Chelsea can’t get the ball off him. Matic, frustrated, tugs him back. He’s booked.
78 min: Ruben Neves is replaced by Evandro.
77 min: Chelsea attempt to establish a semblance of control in the middle of the park. Willian, Fabregas and Hazard pinging it around in pretty triangles, without really going anywhere. The clock’s not really Chelsea’s friend right now, but even so, this is probably a sensible tactic, given how dramatically they were rocking around the 70-minute mark.
74 min: I’ve not seen Chelsea getting battered like that since the late 1980s. Porto were coming at them from all angles! But no third goal, and now Chelsea should be level! A corner down the left. Willian hits it long, Casillas comes and flaps, and Ivanovic should head home from ten yards into an empty net. But he sends his header wide! What a miserable evening he’s had.
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72 min: Porto are relentless. From that corner, Brahimi has another batter from the left. Begovic saves at his feet. The second corner is cleared. Mourinho responds to this pinball nonsense by replacing Ramires and Pedro with Kenedy and Matic.
70 min: They’re dicing with trouble all right. Imbula, his back to goal 30 yards out down the left, takes the ball down brilliantly, turns and sends a dipping screamer just over the bar. In the very next phase of play, he’s battering a shot from 25 yards. Begovic parries. Brahimi fizzes a ball through the six-yard box from the left. Nobody there to convert. Danilo has a whack from the right. The shot breaks to Imbula, who has another dig from distance. Corner.
69 min: Aboubakar very nearly scoots clear into the Chelsea area down the left, but loses control and wanders the ball over the byline and out of play. Chelsea are all over the shop right now.
66 min: Azpilicueta is booked for a cynical tug on Andre Andre, who was threatening to break into a lot of space down the right. He makes no argument.
64 min: Fabregas slides Hazard into space down the inside-right channel. Striding into the area, he beats Maicon to the ball by a millisecond. Maicon is sliding in recklessly, and if Hazard chooses to go over his leg, that’s a penalty. But he opts to stay up, and from a tight angle lashes a shot into the side netting. Honest Eden.
62 min: Brahimi latches onto a loose ball down the inside-left channel, Chelsea again snoozing to a man. All bar Mikel, who chases Brahimi as he glides inside and prepares to shoot. He slides in to rescue the situation. A wonderful tackle. And his last act of the game, as he’s replaced by Hazard.
60 min: The first lull since the restart. The first 15 minutes of this half have just flown by. The players deserve a breather.
58 min: Willian in acres down the left. He sends a simply wonderful cross through the six-yard box. Pedro was in the middle, six yards out, with no defenders hassling him, and made no effort whatsoever to get to that! Eh?
56 min: Chelsea are rocking at the back though. Brahimi twists Ivanovic this way and that yet again, entering the box and getting a shot away. But to Ivanovic’s credit, he gets back in the game this time, and closes the shot down. The ball balloons off to the other wing, where Danilo blasts goalwards from a tight angle. That effort’s deflected too, and eventually cleared by Zouma. It could have been 2-2, it could have been 3-1. What a start to the half this has been!
54 min: Chelsea are almost immediately level, and are so unlucky to still be losing. Diego Costa, out on the left, touches the ball inside, and with an insouciant yet very powerful swing of his right boot, sends a blistering curler towards the top right from 25 yards. It’s beaten Casillas all ends up, a sensational effort, but crashes off the underside of the bar and out to safety. That is beyond unfortunate. A simply stunning strike.
GOAL! Porto 2-1 Chelsea (Maicon 52)
Ivanovic is bypassed yet again down the left by Brahimi, who dances and dribbles and wins a corner with a deflection. The corner’s whipped to the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. Maicon, who had been on the line, rushes out to meet it, stoops and guides a clever header backwards and into the bottom left! Not a single Chelsea defender responded to that. This is most unMourinhoesque.
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51 min: Willian is brought down by Maxi Pereira as he tears down the left. A chance to load the box. Willian’s long loop into the area flies harmlessly wide right.
49 min: Ruben Neves has a dig from distance. It’s not far from whistling into the top right. Let’s hope the rest of the half continues in this manner. Both teams have come out with a very positive mindset.
48 min: Azpilicueta slips Willian into space down the left. Willian enters the box and slips a pass inside for Diego Costa, who can’t get a shot away from the penalty spot. It deflects out for a corner, and Ramires relieves the early pressure on Porto with a needless shove on Aboubakar. But Chelsea already look more determined, playing with a higher tempo.
We're off again!
Well, Ramires and Willian combined brilliantly to get Chelsea back on terms there. With a little help from Casillas, perhaps. Diego Costa has been impressive, too, and there have been flashes from Fabregas. But no other Chelsea players came out with much credit from that opening 45. A fair chance Jose Mourinho will have made this point with some force and feeling during the half-time interval. No changes, though. Chelsea get the ball rolling again.
Half-time advertisement (dir. Alan Parker): Anyone for some of the local dessert wine?
HALF TIME: Porto 1-1 Chelsea
And that was the very last kick of the half, the referee blowing up the second the net started billowing. Chelsea were hanging on for a little while there, but now look! It’ll make for a fascinating second half. No flipping!
GOAL! Porto 1-1 Chelsea (Willian 45 +2)
What a free kick by Willian! He whips the ball up and over the wall, and into the right-hand side of the net. Casillas was planted to the ground. He should have been dealing with that, it was on his side, but take nothing away from Willian’s delivery!
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45 min +1: And here come Chelsea again, through Ramires down the left. He dribbles inside, lovely close control, and draws a foul from Maxi Pereira. A free kick just to the left of the D.
44 min: Or can they strike back before the whistle? Willian makes good down the left, a direct and determined run into space. He rolls a little pass inside, and it’s not far from finding the feet of Diego Costa, just inside the area. But the ball’s hacked clear.
43 min: Chelsea are struggling to string more than a couple of passes together at once. Half time can’t come quickly enough.
41 min: Cahill is booked for a late lunge on Aboubakar. From the free kick, Maicon attempts to beat Begovic, who had sauntered off his line, from inside his own half. The ball flies wide right of the goal ... but not that far wide. Porto are full of confidence. Chelsea, not so much.
GOAL! Porto 1-0 Chelsea (Andre Andre 39)
And this had been coming. Brahimi dances into the Chelsea box from the left. He waltzes past a static Ivanovic and looks for the top right. Begovic sticks out a strong arm and saves brilliantly, but it’s all he can do to parry the ball towards Andre Andre on the penalty spot. The man so good they named him twice sweeps a first-time shot into the unguarded net. Poor Ivanovic. A Chelsea legend, but time marches on and this can’t continue.
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36 min: Chelsea continue to offer up half-chances. Aboubakar and Andre Andre combine down the inside-right channel, the ball breaking to Maxi Pereira on the edge of the box. He lashes his shot miles wide left. But Chelsea are playing a risky game here.
34 min: Aboubakar sashays down the left wing before smoothly gliding infield. Zouma, backing off, offers him space and time to shoot. He curls powerfully towards the top right from 25 yards. Not sure Begovic was getting that had it been on target. But that’s irrelevant, Aboubakar getting far too much on the shot, the ball flying miles wide right and high.
32 min: Fabregas, down the right, pings a gorgeous diagonal ball towards Diego Costa on the left-hand edge of the Porto D. The striker brings the ball down beautifully, then evades two challenges with some ball-on-string close control. A lovely touch for a big etc., and so on, and so forth. He can’t quite get a shot away, but it would have been absolutely sensational if he had, so fair’s fair. He’s playing very well tonight.
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30 min: Maxi Pereira drops a shoulder to skate past Willian down the right. He enters the box and looks to curl one into the top left. The effort deflects off Azpilicueta. Ivanovic heads the corner away from danger, a fine clearance. Perhaps that’ll calm him down, because he’s looked very edgy so far. A minute or so previously, 30 yards out down the right with Chelsea on the attack, he pea-rolled an awful pass out for a goal kick with plenty of options ahead of him. On the touchline, several gallons of hot steam poured out of Mourinho’s lugs.
27 min: Diego Costa and Fabregas are Chelsea’s main men right now. The pair combine in a very pretty fashion down the right wing. Fabregas nearly dances his way to freedom in the area, but is eventually forced to check back by Martins Indi.
25 min: Marcano is booked, quite correctly, for a ludicrous high leg across Diego Costa. The resulting free kick, 30 yards out down the right, is looped to the far post by Fabregas. Cahill rises, and sends a harmless header across the face of goal and out to the right.
23 min: But more mistakes at the back from Chelsea. A poor clearing header by Ivanovic, then a dangerous looking scissor tackle which doesn’t quite catch Aboubakar, but could have. Aboubakar eventually gets up, Porto working the ball down the left. He lashes a shot wide right of goal from a position on the left. A half-chance, nothing more. Fabregas goes over to give Zouma some encouragement, or perhaps a bollocking.
22 min: A suicidal pass by Zouma, in the middle of his own half, out left from a central position. If Andre Andre was on the front foot, he’d have zipped clear down the Porto right. Fortunately for Zouma, he isn’t.
20 min: A free kick for that challenge, deep on the left, and a chance for Chelsea to load the box. Willian’s delivery doesn’t beat the first man. Dismal. Before the kick was taken, Diego Costa instigated three nose-to-nose arguments at once with members of the Porto wall. Marvellous pantomime entertainment. He’s a singular man.
19 min: Martins Indi is booked for a really unpleasant lunge on Pedro. Sliding in, he crumps his studs on Pedro’s ankle. A nailed-on yellow card, and he can be thankful the referee is in a good mood, because you’ve seen players get red for that.
17 min: Willian slides a pass down the left and very nearly sets the lively Diego Costa free down the wing. Marcano clatters in with a brilliant saving tackle, taking both man and ball. Diego Costa will have appreciated the no-nonsense nature of that.
15 min: Corner for Porto down the right. It’s hoicked high into the area, and Ivanovic heads back towards his keeper in a very uncertain manner. Begovic punches clear with purpose, but Porto come straight back at the visitors and win another corner, Maicon’s shot from distance deflected out on the right. The second corner is a total non-event, but Chelsea still look very unsure of themselves in defence. It’s the story of their season so far.
13 min: Costa and Willian combine in the middle of the park to set Pedro free down centre. He looks for the bottom-left corner from the edge of the box, but is denied by a fine save from Casillas, who is out quickly to make himself big and blocks instinctively. Stunning football all round. Perhaps Chelsea should be ahead, but credit the save.
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11 min: Maxi Pereira very nearly bursts clear down the right, but Azpilicueeta puts a stop to his gallop with a fine sliding tackle. From the resulting throw, there’s a bit of room for Aboubakar to whistle a shot wide right from 25 yards.
9 min: A bit of space for Pedro down the inside-right channel. He reaches the byline, but his pullback is nowhere near a team-mate. It’s mopped up by Martins Indi and cleared.
8 min: After chasing shadows for a while, Chelsea begin to get a semblance of control to the midfield. They go nowhere but that’s not really the point. The crowd volume decreases a tad.
6 min: Diego Costa zips down the left like a stroppy Garrincha. It’s a brilliant run. He twists and turns Maicon, wonderful skill. He’s got space in the area, and considers shooting from a tight angle, but lays inside and pulls back to Fabregas instead. Fabregas shoots from the left-hand edge of the D, the ball heading into the bottom left. Casillas turns the ball round the post for a corner, which comes to nothing. But that’s wonderful play by Diego Costa.
5 min: Brahimi appears to be closing everyone down at once. He’s a force of nature right now. Chelsea are struggling to retain possession.
3 min: This is a bright start. Porto come at Chelsea again, Aboubakar holding the ball up on the right-hand edge of the box and playing a lovely reverse ball down the channel for Andre Andre. There’s a little too much juice on the pass, and it evades Andre Andre’s outstretched leg. Begovic is off his line quickly to gather. But space opening up there at the back for Chelsea, and that’s not the first time we’ve said that this season.
2 min: A bit of space for Brahimi down the inside-left channel. He has a lash from just outside the area, looking for the top right, but it’s straight at Begovic, who gathers happily.
And we're off!
Porto get the ball rolling. They lose the ball soon enough, and it breaks through to Begovic, who by hoofing long gives it straight back. But Chelsea soon get another go, and they’re coming at Porto, Diego Costa dancing down the inside-left channel and nearly breaking into the box. Not quite.
The teams are out! Porto sport their famous blue-and-white striped shirts, while Chelsea wear black on the outside, because black is how José has been feeling on the inside. Let’s hope he doesn’t react like Johnny Nice Painter. Pennants are swapped, hands are shaken, coins are tossed We’ll be off in a minute!
Just tell me this isn’t magnificent. God bless you, sir. I wonder if portions of this costume animate every time Porto score a goal? You wouldn’t want the bow tie to spin, it’d take his nose off and catch in the brim of his hat. Perhaps each side of the tie bends forward, like a seal clapping. And I imagine the hat rotates slowly, to the accompaniment of a cristal baschet, like the opening titles of Picture Box.
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José speaks! And he’s at pains to stress that nobody’s been dropped as punishment for the first 45 minutes at Newcastle United. “This is the most difficult match we have in the group phase. They are a real opponent for first position in the group. I bring two fresh players, Ramires and Mikel to the midfield, because Porto played Friday in their league and had one extra day. The game is going to be very intense. I decided to use fresh legs. We are playing much better than at the beginning of the season. We had a good 15 days. I hope the first half against Newcatle was out of context. I have been really happy with the evolution of the team.” So he’s not unhappy at all, then. Pulitzer, please!
Iker Casillas makes his 152nd Champions League appearance tonight. That’s more than any other player in the competition’s history, one ahead now of Xavi. Iván Marcano meanwhile returns to Porto’s back line, having been suspended for the opening 2-2 draw with Dynamo Kyiv. Vincent Aboubakar, who scored twice in Ukraine, and has a further four goals in six league matches so far this season, leads the line. Chelsea meanwhile keep John Terry on the bench, where he’s joined by Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matić. José ringing the changes there. Unhappy José.
The teamsheets
Porto: Casillas, Maxi Pereira, Maicon, Marcano, Martins Indi, André André, Danilo, Rúben Neves, Imbula, Brahimi, Aboubakar.
Subs: Helton, Osvaldo, Tello, Evandro, Corona, Layún, Alberto Bueno.
Chelsea: Begović, Ivanović, Zouma, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Mikel, Fàbregas, Ramires, Willian, Pedro, Diego Costa.
Subs: Blackman, Baba Rahman, Terry, Matić, Loftus-Cheek, Hazard, Kenedy.
Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)
🎼 ♫ Die Meister! Die Besten! Les grandes équipes! The champions! ♪
“Are we serial champions?” That’s the question José Mourinho is asking of his Chelsea squad, after a stuttering start to the season. Last year’s Premier League title is not enough. The man wants more. This is why he’s a serial champion. But this latest incarnation of Chelsea? Are they? Not yet, not yet.
Gauntlet’s down, then. Chelsea have been ordered to raise their game. Though there are stuttering starts, and stuttering starts. The Blues lost four of their first six fixtures this season, yes, but since defeat at Everton, the listing ship’s been steadied: three wins, a draw salvaged from two goals down at Newcastle, where they historically struggle anyway, and the net found a dozen times in those four games. We should all struggle so badly.
Chelsea will also be buoyed by their fine record against Porto. They’ve played the two-time European champions (1987 and 2004) on six occasions, winning four and losing just the one, a dead rubber in the 2004-05 groups. They prevailed on their last visit to the Estádio do Dragão, Nicolas Anelka scoring the only goal in November 2009. They’ve won their last eight matches against Portuguese opposition, a run which includes the 2013 Europa League final victory over Benfica. Hats off to Rafa Benitez for that one, hip hip hooray, all the Chelsea fans sing.
But Porto will fancy their chances tonight as well. They’re unbeaten in 12 matches in all competitions. They’re undefeated at the Estádio do Dragão since mid December, when Benfica beat them 2-0. And they’ve conceded just one goal at home since then, and it took Bayern Munich to score that. Yes, they’ll fancy their chances tonight all right.
So this promises to be quite the event. Because of all that, but also because Mourinho is back visiting the club where he made his name, winning the 2003 Uefa Cup and 2004 Champions League. It’s a family reunion. It’s a family feud. It’s on!
Kick off: 7.45pm in both Porto and London.
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