Izuchukwu OkosiArsenal endured a torrid night at the Estadio do Dragao on Wednesday as they lost 1-0 to home side Porto in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 game.
A late stunner from Galeno in stoppage time sees the Portuguese side with the slim advantage heading into the retiwn leg on March 12 at the Emirates stadium in London.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe Gunners dominated possession for large spells in the game but had no single shot on target for 90 minutes – the first time they would not be able to do that since they lost to Barcelona in March 2011.
Galeno thought he had scored on the first half when his shot came off the crossbar before he skied the rebound wide.
The game was characterised by fouls – totalling 36 – which means the affected players would have to play with caution in three week’s time.
The Gunners would have to avoid an early shock in the reverse fixture and would hope to have some of the missing players on the night like Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Thomas Partey due to injuries.
Arsenal have not won in their previous four visits to Portugal to face Porto in the competition albeit the Emirates have been a fortress for the north London side.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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