PORTO, Feb 22: Wenderson Galeno came through for Porto with the final whistle about to blow. Now, Arsenal needs to rally to return to the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time since 2010.
Galeno scored deep into stoppage time to give Porto a 1-0 win in the first leg of the round of 16 on Wednesday.
The English team will need a victory in the return leg in London on March 12 to make it back to the last eight of Europe’s elite club competition.
Galeno broke the deadlock with a right-footed shot into the far corner four minutes into added time. His strike from outside the area came in what was supposed to be the final minute of stoppage time at the Estadio do Dragao.
“I think the credit for that goal goes to the whole team, for what they did in the 90 minutes,” Galeno said. “We played well, we defended well, we left all our energy on the pitch. We will try to replicate in London what we achieved here. We will try to stay solid and give our best, as we always do.” The Brazilian forward, who had hit the post in the first half, was named the man of the match.
“When it’s 0-0, you look up at the clock and it’s 93 minutes gone, if you aren’t going to win the game then don’t lose it,” Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice said. “Maybe have the bit of savviness about us to stay in and get a draw in a tough stadium against a tough opponent.
They caught us on the counter and he’s stuck one in the top corner which is really disappointing.”
Porto was mostly in control and kept Arsenal from having any attempts on target. The English side was coming off five consecutive wins in which it scored 21 goals in total.
Porto was eliminated in the round of 16 last season. The Portuguese team is trying to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2021.
Arsenal, making its first Champions League appearance since 2016-17, failed to get past the round of 16 in seven consecutive tries from 2011-17. It has lost its last seven first-leg matches in the last 16.
Arsenal beat Porto at this stage when it last advanced in 2010.
BARCELONA HELD
It was hyped as a matchup between high-scoring center forwards Robert Lewandowski and Victor Osimhen and both strikers found the net in a 1-1 draw between Barcelona and Napoli in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16.
Lewandowski shot through the legs of Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo and inside the near post on the hour mark for his 93rd goal in the top club competition.
Osimhen replied 15 minutes later with a shot from near the penalty spot after leaving his marker on the ground for his sixth goal in Napoli’s last six home matches in the Champions League.
“We conceded practically nothing besides that goal,” Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández said. “I really liked the way team played.” The second leg is scheduled for March 12 in Spain.
Porto beat Arsenal 1-0 in the night’s other match.
Napoli had struggled until Osimhen’s goal to construct much of anything in the debut of new coach Francesco Calzona, who was hired only 48 hours before kickoff by the struggling Serie A champion.
Barcelona is back in the knockout rounds after two consecutive group-stage eliminations.
It still had Lionel Messi the last time it made it to the round of 16.
Barcelona has been eliminated in the Copa del Rey, is eight points behind leader Real Madrid in the Spanish league and Xavi recently announced he will leave the club at the end of the season.
Napoli has won only one of its last six matches and is only ninth in the Italian league standings, which led to Walter Mazzarri being fired on Monday.
Barcelona controlled at the start and produced a series of shots on target that were stopped by Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret. (PTI)
