Porto storm into Champions League knockout stages after Galatasaray nail-biter
Portuguese champions FC Porto underlined their dominance over their UEFA Champions League Group D rivals on Tuesday evening, ending Galatasaray’s undefeated home streak en route to the UCL knockout stages.
Goals from Felipe, Moussa Marega, as well as a second half Sergio Oliveira strike, was enough for Sergio Conceicao's men to outwork a plucky Galatasaray side inside the Turk Telecom Arena, winning by a score of 3-2 in one of the Champions League's more entertaining games this season.
Galatasaray responded to Porto's early initiative with a late first half penalty from Sofiane Feghouli and a strike from Swiss forward Eren Derdiyok. Feghouli spurned an opportunity to level the scores in the second half, with his second penalty kick rebounding off the crossbar.
The Turkish side, who were undefeated in their last six European home games, were wasteful throughout with Rodrigues and Onyekuru both spurning golden opportunities early in the second half to tie the game at two goals apiece.
With Galatasary's European future dependent on Lokomotiv Moscow's result against Schalke, the Turkish side pushed forward at almost every opportunity in an attempt to salvage at least a point, but their adventure was punished by Porto's Oliveira, who took advantage of a tidy opening on the right flank to score their third on 57-minutes.
The two-goal buffer was short-lived however, as Derdiyok found the net on 65-minutes slotting home from a right-wing cross from Garry Rodrigues.
Incredibly, just two minutes later Fatih Terim's side had an opportunity to level the game after a terrible defensive lapse by Maximiliano Pereira in concession of a penalty, though his blushes were saved by Feghouli's errant strike.
As the game extended towards its climax, and with Galatasaray needing two goals to guarantee that they would play European football in the new year, it seemed inevitable that their forward pressure would yield more chances on Iker Casillas' goal, even with the reinforcements drafted in by Porto coach Conceicao to bolster his rearguard, but the equalizer never came.
Perhaps the largest cheer of the night inside the Turk Telecom Arena, however, came just before the final whistle as word of a Schalke goal against Lokomotiv Moscow filtered through the stadium – a strike which ensured Galatasaray's involvement in the next stage of the Europa League at the Russian side's expense.
