FC Porto played and Chelsea scored. This is the best way to sum up what happened tonight, in Seville. On the first leg of the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, the Dragons went to Andalucía to face the millionaire team head on. Playing at “home”, at the Stadium Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, the Portuguese champions proved that they are, in fact, one of the best eight teams in Europe. Still, the luck of the British - who scored two goals in three shots and watched as a penalty against them wasn’t called - puts the Dragons behind in the round (2-0).

Sérgio Conceição made four changes in comparison to the team that beat Santa Clara over the weekend, with Mbemba, Zaidu, Marko Grujic and Tecatito Corona replacing Diogo Leite, Nanu and the two players that were banned for the match, Sérgio Oliveira and Mehdi Taremi. Facing a team that was true to the style used since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel, with three central defenders, Chelsea started better and FC Porto took a while to recover. After the ten minutes mark, Matheus Uribe made the first warning, but the shot went slightly over the top bar. Playing high on the pitch, the Dragons showed aggression, aiming at playing in anticipation, in the opponent’s midfield. With serious difficulties in getting to the blue and white midfield, Chelsea tried to play long, but unsuccessfully. 

Thirty minutes in, the opponent improved, finally showing their identity. After a long sequence of passes, Jorginho found Mason Mount between the blue and white left fullback and winger. Zaidu tried to win the ball, but missed his timing and Mount shot low at the far post. On their first shot, Chelsea made it 1-0, whereas FC Porto had already tried to score on four occasions. Before the break, Corona tried to score, but had his shot deflected into a corner-kick, on which Pepe forced Mendy to save into another corner. Right before halftime, Matheus Uribe got the ball and held on to it in the middle of the opposing defence, but the shot was deflected into a corner-kick. On their seventh corner-kick in the first-half, Marko Grujic headed straight at the keeper.

The second-half started without any changes in either team, and, shortly after, Marega forced Mendy to a good save. Getting the ball behind Rudiger, the Malian forward shot from pretty much the same spot where Mount had scored in the first-half and forced the goalkeeper to use his knee to prevent the tie. Five minutes later, after a good run from Manafá, cutting inside from the right, the ball got to Luis Díaz. From just outside the post, the cafetero missed the goal by centimetres. With just twenty minutes to play, Pepe passed to Marega, after receiving the throw-in from Zaidu. With the ball under control, the number 11 again forced Mendy into action. At that time, FC Porto controlled the opposing midfield completely. And that was one of the reasons that forced Azpilicueta to stop another attack with a foul. In the area, the Basque defender pushed Marega in the back, but Slavko Vincic disregarded it. VAR Pawel Gil ignored it as well and the match continued without the penalty being given. 

Right after that, and seeing his team fully pushed back, Thomas Tuchel sent in the heavy guns he kept on the bench (Thiago Silva and N’Golo Kante) to hold on to the advantage. Sérgio Conceição replied with Francisco Conceição, Toni Martínez and Fábio Vieira – replacing Wilson Manafá, Moussa Marega and Otávio – and the statistics was clear: 12-4 in terms of shots for FC Porto. But, as statistics don’t win matches, just seconds after Pulisic hit the post, Corona - by now the right fullback - failed to control the ball and allowed Bem Chilwell to run straight for goal. Face to face with Marchesín, the left winger, former Leicester, dribbled the goalkeeper and increased the unfairness and the lead on the scoreboard (2-0).