Winning is the secret recipe

FC Porto beat Bayer Leverkusen by 2-0, getting the first three points in the Champions League and rising to the second place in Group B of the biggest clubs competition in the world. Forced to win and leave a much better image than the one seen in the last European matchday at Estádio do Dragão, the National Champions took control facing of a tough opponent from Germany, which forced the team to work hard and Diogo Costa to work overtime to keep a clean sheet.

Sérgio Conceição only made one change to the starting team in comparison to SC Braga (Rodrigo for João Mário) and, during the first third of the match, the stands only had reason to stand up when a tribute to Mehdi Taremi was made by temporarily painting the South corner with the colours of the Iranian flag. In the same period, the German team scored a goal that was disallowed as there was a clear foul on Pepê in the midfield that only the VAR was able to see. 27 minutes in, the best attacking play for the blue and whites ended with Evanilson being pushed inside the area and that was when the scenario started to change.

The end of the first-half was worthy of a Hitchcock film, starting with Matheus Uribe shooting from distance what seemed like a missile into the corner, forcing goalkeeper Hradecky to a great save. The response was immediate and forced Diogo Costa to two saves, then quickly launching a counterattack that was perfectly finished by Mehdi Taremi. But, aware of what was happening 1500 kilometres away, the video referee, in the UEFA headquarters, disallowed the goal and turned it into a penalty against FC Porto for David Carmo's handball at the start of the play. Called to the penalty spot, Patrick Schick shot with power, but a huge goalkeeper by the name of Diogo Costa was there, determined to keep the clean sheet.

For the second-half, Otávio replaced Bruno Costa, and a corner-kick ended in Taremi causing panic for the opponent, followed by the attempts of Eustaquio and Evanilson. With Zaidu and Galeno replacing Wendell and João Mário, Evanilson was once again fouled in the area, before the moment of the night: an excellent attack from the back, an impressive run from Galeno, an accurate cross from Taremi and a perfect header from Zaidu on the far post for the first goal.

Visibly tired, Evanilson was replaced by Toni Martínez, and the blue and whites regrouped with the Spanish striker up front and Pepê continuing to drible the world, especially on the right wing, finding Taremi, who would offer the goal to Galeno first and then to Eustaquio. Galeno's goal came after Uribe was substituted by Grujic: in a perfect run, the number 13 received a fantastic pass from Taremi, taking the role of playmaker, and made it 2-0 for FC Porto. Until the final whistle by referee Anthony Taylor, who sent-off Frimpong for his second yellow card close to the end, Otávio wasted the chance to make it 3-0 from good position.

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