FC Porto beat Italian champions Juventus 2-1 in their Champions League last-16 first-leg tie on Wednesday with early goals at the start of each half by Mehdi Taremi and Moussa Marega doing the damage.
Taremi put the Portuguese side ahead after just 63 seconds as the visitors gifted him an easy finish with a horrible defensive showing. Moussa Marega then netted 19 seconds into the second half.
Federico Chiesa, however, scored what could prove to be a vital away goal for Juventus in the 82nd minute to pull them back in the game in hopes of salvaging something.
Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t have a very productive night as he was kept quiet on his return to his homeland.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MATCH
The last time the two sides met at the same stage four years ago, Juventus beat Porto home and away without conceding a goal in the tie.
But this time, it was gift galore as Porto was handed the lead after barely a minute when midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur attempted to play a back pass to goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, not realizing Taremi was right behind him to intercept and slot home from six yards.
Juve appeared very sluggish and lacked energy and even bright ideas on the night and it got even worse in the 35th minute when captain Giorgio Chiellini limped off with a calf injury.
Porto on the other hand was the complete opposite of their opponent. They were quicker off the mark and at the start of the second half, Wilson Manafa ran down the right before rolling across for Marega to turn in at the near post.
Andrea Pirlo introduced Alvaro Morata shortly after the hour mark and his side looked more dangerous after he came on.
Porto hadn’t conceded a goal at home in the Champions League this season but that streak came to an end when Adrien Rabiot burst down the left and crossed for Chiesa to fire into the far corner.
Chiesa became the first Juventus player apart from Ronaldo to score in a Champions League knockout game since Blaise Matuidi in 2018.
The second leg will be on March 9 in Turin.
Sevilla 2-3 Borussia Dortmund: Erling Haaland scored twice as Dortmund rallied back from a goal down to win in Spain
Erling Haaland grabbed an assist and a brace as Borussia Dortmund ended Sevilla’s nine-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League.
The hosts went in front early through Suso Fernandez deflected strike but Dortmund didn’t show signs of slowing down with a goal of their own by Mahmoud Dahoud while Haaland added a double before half-time at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium.
Luuk de Jong scored Sevilla’s late second goal to improve the Spanish team’s chances in the return leg.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MATCH
The Dortmund win ended Sevilla’s strong run and put the German side back on track after a series of poor results that had left coach Edin Terzic under pressure in Germany.
Before this win, Dortmund had won only one of their last six German league matches. Meanwhile, Sevilla’s last loss in all competitions had been a 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid on January 12.
Juves not having the best season so far. Maybe they can still turn things around.
Oops