October 20, (THEWILL) – Luis Diaz’s second-half goal gave Porto their first Champions League victory of the season, as they defeated Milan 1-0 to send the Italians out early.
In their previous European outing, Sergio Conceicao’s side were thrashed 5-1 by Liverpool, while Stefano Pioli’s side lost last-minute heartbreak to Atletico Madrid, leaving both sides winless in their first two Group B games.
Diaz had a chance to take the lead early on but was denied by the woodwork after only four minutes, and Medhi Taremi then missed a series of chances.
However, Diaz managed to break the deadlock after the break at Estadio do Dragao, condemning Milan to their first European away defeat since April 2012.
Diaz came dangerously close to giving the hosts the perfect start, drilling a low drive against the left post before Taremi curled narrowly wide.
Olivier Giroud’s header was misdirected after Rafael Leao’s cross created Milan’s first presentable opportunity, Taremi missed a headed chance of his own before poking wide as Porto’s first-half dominance went unrewarded.
After capitalising on Fikayo Tomori’s error, Taremi remained tenacious in his pursuit of the opener after the break, dragging a left-footed strike narrowly off target.
Before Mateus Uribe arrowed just the wrong side of the left-hand post, Tomori made amends with a last-ditch block to deny Otavio, but Porto did not have to wait long for their deserved opener.
The visitors claimed Taremi fouled Ismael Bennacer in the build-up, but referee Felix Brych disagreed, and Diaz fired into the bottom-right corner after 65 minutes, with Pepe attempting a rare left-footed effort that sailed wide three minutes later.
Porto kept their seventh clean sheet in their last eight group-stage matches, and Pioli’s side never looked like finding a late equaliser to unceremoniously drop out of the competition.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
