Direct free-kick taken by Sérgio Oliveira gave the victory to FC Porto in Krasnodar, 1-0, in the first leg of the third elimination round of the Champions League.
This Wednesday, FC Porto beat Krasnodar (1-0), at the Krasnodar Stadium (Russia), for the first leg of the third elimination round of the Champions League. A direct free-kick superbly taken by Sérgio Oliveira, 89 minutes in, gave the advantage to the blue and whites in the first part of the round. The second leg is played on August 13, at 20h00, at Estádio do Dragão.
FC Porto started the match on top of Krasnodar and quickly took control of the match, a condition that rarely changed in the first 45 minutes. The only reason the blue and white superiority didn’t make the scoreboard change was the lack of efficiency when shooting for goal, namely 13 minutes in: Sérgio Oliveira passed to Marega and the Malian was face to face with the goalkeeper, but the shot went out, despite being the best goal opportunity in the first-half.
Shortly after, Marega, again, beat his marker on the right and crossed to Soares, but the striker missed the shot. Picking up the spare ball, Corona shot straight at Safonov (23m). FC Porto had more ball possession, more corner-kicks, more attacks, and more shots than Krasnodar, but the break came without goals. The second-half was similar to the first, but it’s only fair to say that the home team was more daring.
Luis Díaz, Zé Luís and Otávio were sent in by Vítor Bruno during the second-half to freshen the blue and white attack, but the Dragons couldn’t get to the opposing goal with as much danger. On the other end of the pitch, Marchesín did the save of the evening to a shot from Cabella (80m). The tie seemed inevitable until, 89 minutes in, Sérgio Oliveira scored the only goal of the match from a direct free-kick just outside the area. It was the best and the most decisive moment in a match that clearly had to end with a victory for FC Porto.
Source: FC Porto