Ferran Torres, substitute for the injured Lewandowski, scored for Barcelona in the win at Porto

In Group H of the Champions League, Porto and Barcelona face off on Wednesday at 9pm. The reigning Spanish champion won. Ferran Torres, who came on for the injured Lewandowski, scored the only goal in the first half.

The first major chance was seen in the 17th minute at a packed Estádio do Dragão after a relatively quiet opening. A quick action by the home side resulted in a shot by Eustáquio heading straight into the gloves of Marc-André ter Stegen.

At the end of the opening 20 minutes, Porto claimed a penalty as Koundé pulled lightly on Taremi’s jersey. However, referee Taylor did not award a penalty kick.

In the 23rd minute, on the other side of the pitch, Félix shot from outside the box. The former Benfica player, who was booed by the fans of Lisbon’s great rivals from the start of the match, had his shot deflected for a corner by goalkeeper Diogo Costa.

In the 34th minute, Barcelona suffered a noticeable loss with the withdrawal of Robert Lewandowski. The Polish cannonballer had to make a substitution due to a leg injury caused by Carmo’s slip. Ferran Torres came on from the bench.

It was he who opened the scoring in the first half after Baró’s misplaced ball sent the Blaugranas on the counter-attack. Gündoğan promptly passed to the onrushing Spanish striker, who finished on the ground out of the goalkeeper’s reach.

Half a minute after the break, João Mário headed just wide of the right post. Then, in the 53rd minute, Taremi sent Pepê on a breakaway, but he was denied by the returning Koundé. He kicked the ball to safety without fouling. Ten minutes later, Iran’s Mehdi Taremi headed inaccurately.

The home side then tried to equalise with some interesting attacking activity, ter Stegen was then forced into some difficult saves by Wendell and Galeno.

In the 77th minute, an important situation took place. The head referee first awarded a penalty to Porto because of Cancela’s hand in the penalty area. However, the video footage revealed that the same part of the body was played by the attacking Eustaquio before that, and so Barça survived this moment.

In the 83rd minute, the Portuguese team enjoyed a goal, but not for long. The active Taremi scissors in a handsome goal, but it could not stand due to offside.

Throughout the game, the visitors were punished with yellow cards much more often. One of them eventually did not finish the game, as a second such caution was given to Gavi in injury time. However, Barcelona defended well in the end with ten men. Porto still have three points on their account after the 0:1 defeat, the Catalan big club six.

In the regular Group H, Wednesday’s programme also saw Antwerp’s 2: 3 result against Shakhtar Donetsk. The Ukrainian side managed to turn the tide with three goals in the second half, the winning one scored by Sikan in the 76th minute.

Source: UEFA, Premier Sport 1