:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/VO5SSBUA6BBBPBVKIAUXYCZVIQ.jpg "Inter drew 0-0 against Porto and qualified for the quarterfinals of the Champions League")
He Inter de Milan started the 0-0 tie he needed in Porto to qualify this Tuesday for the quarterfinals of the champion league, thanks to the positive result (1-0) obtained at the Giuseppe Meazza in the first leg. Porto dominated the entire game and had several chances to have at least taken the tie to extra time, but the Italians defended well to secure their place among the eight best teams on the continent.
The Portuguese team, which already entered the match with the significant casualties of Joao Mario and Otavio, found itself with the last-minute absence of veteran Pepe, forcing the Portuguese coach Sergio Conceiçao to rebuild the defensive line.
Despite all these inconveniences, Porto came out determined to tie the tie early and the Colombian Matheus Uribe could have done it with a powerful shot that the Cameroonian Inter goalkeeper André Onana (3) took out of the squad, which was once again decisive a few more minutes late in another shot by Eustaquio (19).
In the first half, Inter completely disregarded the ball and only once came dangerously close to the Portuguese area, with a shot by Edin Dzeko that Diogo Costa saved in minute 21, although in general they defended well, like a play in which Dimarco blocked a dangerous shot from Evanilson (40), to maintain the advantage achieved in the first leg at halftime.
Now without the physical strength of the start of the match and as the minutes in the second half progressed, the importance of the absence of Otavio became more and more evident, the player who generates a large part of Porto’s offensive game, sent off in the first leg.
The Portuguese team found it more and more difficult to generate danger on the goal of an Inter that defended itself very efficiently, often with its eleven players inside the first penalty area.
But it is also true that playing so far back carries many risks and Inter was able to pay dearly for a shot from Serbian Marko Grujic that Onana saved, avoiding the goal that would have forced extra time (76).
That occasion and a final effort led Porto to overturn the Inter goal, which in turn sought the sentence on the counter with Romelu Lukaku, author of the first goal and who jumped onto the pitch to play the last 20 minutes.
Porto tried until the end, but did not get a prize, such as a spectacular Chilean striker from the Spanish striker Toni Martínez who went wide (90+4), a shot from Namaso that Dumfries took out under the sticks (90+6) and two balls to the wood in the last seconds (90+7).
The tears of several Porto players after the final whistle were a reflection of the frustration of the Portuguese team, which perhaps deserved to have at least forced extra time.
AFP.
Minute by minute Porto vs. Inter
Porto vs. Inter: previous
Porto comes to this match with the aim of turning the key around, since the Italians were victorious at the Giuseppe Meazza, thanks to the timely appearance of Romelu Lukaku. Thus, now the Portuguese must become strong at home and show that they have arguments to get among the eight best in the Champions League.
In their last game in the Primeira Liga, those led by Sérgio Conceiçao rescued an important 3-2 victory over Estoril Praia, with goals from Marko Grujić (9′), André Franco (31′) and Mehdi Taremi (73′). . Tiago Gouveia (27′) and Francisco Geraldes (67′) scored the goals that complicated the work of the ‘Blue Dragons’.
Porto vs. Inter: match schedules and channels
- Peru: 3:00 p.m. / ESPN and STAR Plus
- Ecuador: 3:00 pm / ESPN and STAR Plus
- Colombia: 3:00 pm / ESPN and STAR Plus
- Mexico: 2:00 pm / ESPN STAR Plus and HBO Max
- Venezuela: 4:00 p.m. / ESPN and STAR Plus
- Bolivia: 4:00 pm / ESPN and STAR Plus
- Chili: 5:00 p.m. / ESPN and STAR Plus
- Argentina: 5:00 pm / ESPN and STAR Plus
- Uruguay: 5:00 p.m. / ESPN and STAR Plus
- Brazil: 5:00 pm / ESPN and STAR Plus
- Paraguay: 5:00 p.m. / ESPN and STAR Plus
Regarding this match against the ‘blue and black’, the Portuguese strategist was cautious when analyzing what we could find at the Dragão stadium, as they will have to be patient so as not to despair of reaching the result. Let’s remember that it is only a goal difference, but if the visitors find them badly off, they can have a very bad time.
“Patience will be important, but there are many ways to look at it. We cannot forget that we are in the middle of the match and we have ninety minutes to try to turn the result around. I think we have to be smart. If intelligence has to do with a more patient or more aggressive posture in the search for a quick result, any of them can come to fruition, depending on the defined strategy.”, he stated.
“Being the same teams, it will clearly not be the same games. Within the structure of Inter, it depends on who plays. I don’t know if Milan Skriniar will play, if Matteo Darmian will appear as a winger or center back and Denzel Dumfries will be on the right. Robin Gosens and Federico Dimarco are different in the way they attack and defend. Two of the three strikers will play safe. Being similar in some aspects, Lukaku, Edin Dzeko and Lautaro Martínez are having different movements up front.”, he added, analyzing the strengths of his rival.
Inter Milan, for its part, reaches this definition at a very irregular time, since of its last three games it has lost two and against hypothetically inferior rivals. The tano team has entered a mini-crisis and will have to shake it off if they don’t want their classification to be affected.
In their last match for Serie A they fell 2-1 against Spezia, a vastly inferior team, but who knew how to take advantage of their opportunities to surprise the day in Italian football. It is necessary to see how Simone Inzagui raises this game and if he is able to find a way around the bad moment that his team is experiencing.
Porto vs. Inter: where will the match be played?
Porto vs. Inter: possible alignments
- Porto: Diego Costa; João Mário, Pepe, Iván Marcano, Zaidu Sanusi; Marko Grujic, Mateus Uribe; Eduardo Gabriel Aquino Cossa, André Franco, Wenderson Galeno and Mehdi Taremi.
- inter: Andre Onana; Milan Skriniar, Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni; Matteo Darmian, Nicolò Barella, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Henrij Mjitarián, Federico Dimarco; Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku.
Receives our newsletter: we will send you the best sports content, as Depor always does.
