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Porto overcome Shakhtar at Dragao
Porto started the game strongly, hitting he crossbar early in the fifth minute with a tremendous shot from 30 yards or so. The ball was deflected by one of defender’s header as keeper Rybka could only witness the trajectory. Just three minutes later the hosts were gifted a penalty following Rakytskyy’s foul on James Rodriguez.
Hulk took the responsibility for the white spot shot but the striker hit the right hand post to the dismay of Porto’s new coach Victor Pereira. The 12th minute saw Shakhtar open the score through Luiz Adriano who took advantage of a poor keeping from Helton who lost the slippery ball only to be denied by the Brazilian striker who brought the lead for the former European champions earlier than expected.
Rakytskyy tried his luck with a shot from range but the ball went of the target. Porto leveled the score in the 29th minute through Hulk who thundered a free kick from 40 yards straight into the left hand post past keeper Helton who could only shave the ball.
Three yellow cards were shown in the 32nd minute to Chygrynskiy for a foul on Hulk and Srna and Pereira. Shakhtar got a late big chance in the 38th minute when Eduardo beat his mark only to be denied by Fernando who rescued his side form a disaster. Luiz Adriano then headed a corner just wide, while Rakytskyy were shown a straight red card for a crazy intervention on Joao Moutinho.
Lucescu replaced Eduardo with Kuche with three minutes left from the first part. As for the second part, it saw Porto chase an early goal through Defour whose shot missed the target following a lucky corner from Moutinho. The hosts were given the lead in the 53rd minute when James Rodriguez beat everyone on the left to feed Kleber in front of the goal from where the striker scored into the empty net.
The visitors broke back immediately as Fernandinho thundered a dangerous shot from the edge of the box which Maicon deflected away. Vitor Pereira introduced Fernando Belluschi for Fernando in the 62nd minute while Lucescu replaced Jadson with Alex Teixeira. Kleber departed for Djalma with 20 minutes left as Porto were heading towards a clear win.
The last change saw Hulk leave the pitch and Silvestre Varela come in with ten minutes left. Despite being in ten men, Shakhtar struggled to stay in touch at least with a draw and they were very close to making it 2-2 when Aadrino missed a big chance with nine minutes remaining. His shot was denied by a vigilant Helton who rescued his side from a late bad surprise.
Chygrynskiy was shown a red card in the 83rd minute for a tough challenge on Defour, but also as result of frustration. Willian was replaced by Hubschman in the 84th minute but Shakhtar would not break through. The game finished with Moutinho’s wide shot from the edge of the box though Porto were just two minutes from the big win.
Said FC Porto coach Pereira after the game: “I know the team well, I was here last year. I know they have the ability to face adversity. We started off well, with quality. We were unfortunate at not having converted the penalty and suffering the goal shortly afterwards, but felt that the team were consistent, confident, circulated the ball, looked for any error and got the better of the right spaces.”
FC Porto share the leading position with APOEL Nicosia who also grabbed a 2-1 win against Zenit St. Petersburg last night at the GSP stadium. Shakhtar Donetsk and the Russian side are thus foot of the table with zero points. Porto will next visit Zenit on September 28, while Shakhtar host the Cypriots the same day.
FC Porto – Helton; Pereira, Maicon, Otamendi, Fucile; Defour, Fernando, Moutinho; Rodriguez, Hulk, Kleber. Reserves: Souza, D. Campos, C. Rodriguez, Silvestre Varela, E. Mangala, R. Bracali, F. Belluschi.
Shakhtar Donetsk – Rybka; Srna, Rakytskyy, Chygrynskiy, Rat; Willian, Mkhitaryan, Fernandinho, Eduardo; Luiz Adriano, Jadson. Reserves: T. Hubschman, O. Kucher, Y. Seleznyov, V. Kobin, D. Costa, A. Pyatov, Alex Teixeira.
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