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Luca Bruno / Associated press
Porto qualified for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League despite a 3-2 overtime loss to Juventus on Tuesday at Juventus Stadium in Turin, Italy.
The Portuguese giants went through away goals with an aggregate score of 4-4 after winning 2-1 in the first leg.
Sergio Oliveira delivered the decisive blow from a free kick in the 115th minute. His long-range effort narrowly snapped inside the post and passed a Wojciech Szczesny dive.
Adrien Rabiot picked up one for the hosts two minutes later to add even more drama. However, Juventus’ return attempt has run out of steam. A double from Federico Chiesa was not enough.
Porto appeared to gain a foothold in the quarter-finals thanks to a 19th-minute goal from Oliveira from the penalty spot. The contact between Merih Demiral and Mehdi Taremi was minimal but enough for the referee to point to the spot.
Overall it was a terrible first half for Juventus.
Juve manager Andrea Pirlo likely had this one-goal deficit in mind when he listed Cristiano Ronaldo replacing a 3-1 win over Lazio on Saturday. It was a big call as a loss would almost certainly have ended any hope for the club of winning a 10th consecutive league title.
At first, the rest that Ronaldo received didn’t seem to make much of a difference.
With their Champions League life on the line, Juventus had little choice but to throw everything forward in the second half. They looked like a different team almost immediately after play resumed.
In the 49th minute, Ronaldo got involved leaving the ball to Chiesa, who fired an unstoppable shot in the upper right corner.
The momentum was starting to change in the direction of Juventus even before Porto encountered another big setback.
Taremi was already on a yellow card when he kicked the ball after the referee whistled in the 53rd minute. In a largely empty room, the Iranian striker couldn’t claim he hadn’t heard the whistle in this case, and he got a second yellow.
Minutes later, Chiesa almost capitalized on the man’s advantage when he found himself behind the Porto defense. He couldn’t make good contact with the ball in front of an open goal and saw his shot hit from the post.
Juan Cuadrado gave the Italian winger another chance in the 63rd minute, and he didn’t miss this time. Chiesa propelled her head in front of Agustin Marchesin.
From that point on, the question seemed to become whether Juventus would find a fourth (overall) goal during settlement or require extra time.
Chiesa escaped Jesus Corona in the 18-yard box, only for Marchesin to make a point blank save in the 82nd minute. In added time, Alvaro Morata was slightly offside to clear a tidy finish in the lower right corner, and Cuadrado had a left-footed shot on the crossbar.
Of course, Porto only needed one goal to effectively end the tie. They’ve lived on a razor’s edge for much of Tuesday night, but have just enough to thwart Juve.
The result is nothing short of a disaster for Pirlo’s side, who have come out of the Champions League round of 16 for the second season in a row.
Signature Ronaldo in 2018 was a sign of Juve’s desperation in pursuit of European glory, having dominated domestically. Instead, they remain unable to overcome the hump after reaching the final in 2015 and 2017.
And after?
Porto are awaiting the results of the quarter-final draw on March 19 to know their opponents for the next round. Waiting, they hope to catch up with the leaders of the Sporting championship on Sunday at home against Pacos de Ferreira. Juventus seek to close 10-point gap between themselves and Serie A leaders Inter Milan Saturday against Cagliari.
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