OPORTO, Portugal —
Wenderson Galeno gave Porto the victory just before the final whistle blew. Now, Arsenal need to come back if they want to reach the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time since 2010.
The Brazilian attacker scored in stoppage time and the Portuguese team won 1-0 in the first leg of the round of 16 on Wednesday. The English club will need to win at home on March 12 in London to return to the round of the best eight in this competition.
Galeno scored with a right hand to the far post in the fourth minute of replacement to give the home team the victory. His shot from outside the area came in what should have been the last added minute at the Estadio do Dragao.
“I think the credit for that goal belongs to the entire team, for what they did in the 90 minutes,” Galeno commented. “We played well, we defended well, we left all our energy on the field. We will try to repeat in London what we have done here. We will try to stay solid and do our best as always.”
Galeno, who had hit a post in the first half, was named player of the match.
“When it was 0-0, you look at the clock and 93 minutes have gone by. You think if you’re not going to win the game, you’re not going to lose it either,” said Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice. “Maybe we had the experience to take care of ourselves, to get the tie in a difficult stadium against a very tough opponent. But they took us on a counterattack and he put a ball in the corner. “It’s very disappointing.”
Porto exercised the initiative at home against an Arsenal that was unable to finish on goal. The English team had just had five victories in which they scored 21 goals in total.
“There’s a lot to play for in the second leg,” Rice said. “We are really optimistic as a group. We have had a very good start to 2024. We are not going to let this discourage us. We have to change our posture at home and give absolutely everything.”
Porto was eliminated in the round of 16 of the last edition. The Portuguese team is trying to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2021.
“It was a good game, a Champions League game,” said Porto coach Sérgio Conceição. “Our rivals had more of the ball, but Porto was always more dangerous.”
Arsenal, which had not appeared in the Champions League since 2016-17, failed seven consecutive times in its attempt to advance from the round of 16, from 2011 to 17. It has lost its last seven first legs in the round of 16.
2024-02-22 00:39:41
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