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| Tuesday, 07 April 2009 20:57 |
Mariano snatches priceless draw for Porto at Old TraffordManchester United 2-2 FC Porto  Porto’s hopes of reaching the last four of the Champions League are very much alive after the Dragons came away from their quarter-final first-leg match at Old Trafford with two away goals and a thoroughly-deserved draw.Substitute Mariano Gonzalez struck in the 89th minute to earn the Portuguese champions a 2-2 draw on the night, after United, with the help of a horrendous Bruno Alves error, had recovered from Cristian Rodriguez’s third-minute goal to lead through Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez. The visitors could barely have wished for a better opening ten minutes at the Theatre of Dreams, during which they had several good opportunities. The first of which came when Lisandro Lopez received a pass from Rodriguez and skipped away from Jonathan Evans, before smashing a shot towards goal for Edwin van Der Sar to palm away. Jesualdo Ferreira’s men did, however, convert with their second chance after just three minutes. Lucho Gonzalez intercepted a slack pass from Cristiano Ronaldo in midfield, and the Argentine’s cross into the box was poorly dealt with by Evans, leaving Rodriguez with time and space to shift the ball onto his left foot and curl his finish into the bottom corner. Despite finishing Sunday’s last-gasp victory over Aston Villa on a high, United looked hugely fragile at the back and struggled to establish their passing rhythm throughout the team. Lisandro again tested Dutchman van Der Sar in the United goal with a near-post effort after ten minutes of play. Alves errorUnited registered their first effort of any description on 14 minutes when Helton was forced to tip away a Ronaldo header, but the home side’s equaliser was gifted to them by the normally reliable Alves. The Portugal international played a blind backpass to Helton, without realising that Rooney had made a run in behind, and the United man was left with the simple task of beating the Brazilian goalkeeper under no pressure.The goal may have calmed a few nerves among the Old Trafford crowd, but the lapses of concentration in the United defence remained, and Porto came close to taking advantage twice in quick succession. First, Rodriguez headed straight at van Der Sar from Lucho’s cross, before Lisandro was inches away from making contact at the back post with another teasing ball from the Lucho. Another defensive error from United lead to Hulk firing wide from just inside the area, but United began to find their stride somewhat in the last fifteen minutes of the half, with Porto seeing less of the ball in the attacking third and being pinned back inside their own half more than in the early part of the match. Helton on formThe second half was evenly-contested, with Porto matching the hosts in terms of threatening to score again, in what developed into an open and thoroughly entertaining match. After his awful mistake in the last round against Atletico Madrid, Porto goalkeeper Helton was in more reliable form, and proved ready when called upon to make a number of stops to deny United.Having easily dealt with a well-struck Ji-Sung Park shot, Helton then tipped over a superb chipped attempt from Wayne Rooney. From the resulting corner, the Brazilian palmed away Nemanja Vidic’s effort, after the Serbian had met Ryan Giggs’ out-swinging corner with a firm header. For their part, Porto continued to look dangerous on the counter attack and showed a great willingness to commit men forward on the break. Lisandro tried to beat van Der Sar with low shot which was clawed away by the Dutchman, while Cissokho tested the United ‘keeper with a long-range drive and Hulk had a penalty appeal turned down after a going down under a Tevez challenge. United scored what looked to be a winning goal on the night on 85 minutes. Rooney managed to find space inside the box to touch on a throw-in at the near post, where substitute Tevez was on-hand to beat Helton with a well-taken finish to edge the Red Devils ahead in the tie. However, Porto were not to be beaten and responded with a deserved late equaliser. Lisandro’s cross from the right found Mariano Gonzalez at the back post, and the Argentine took a touch before stabbing the ball past van Der Sar to give the visitors a priceless second away goal and every chance of advancing to the last four of Europe’s premier club competition. Man United:Van Der Sar, O’Shea, Evra, Evans (Neville), Vidic, Carrick, Fletcher, Scholes (Tevez), Park (Giggs), Ronaldo, Rooney.Booked: None Porto:Helton, Sapunaru, Cissokho, Alves, Rolando, Fernando, Meireles (Tomas Costa, replaced by Madrid), Lucho, Rodriguez (Mariano), Hulk, Lisandro.Booked: Alves, Helton. Goals:[0-1] Rodriguez, 4’ [1-1] Rooney, 15’ [2-1] Tevez, 85’ [2-2] Mariano, 89’
Comments (4)
united porto 1st leg
4
Thursday, 09 April 2009 09:13
alex UK
Great game. United really underperformed and weren't themselves defensively. No English clubs won at porto - perhaps not for much longer! I believe we'll be sharper away, and score goals. Its still alive. What do you yanks know about football anyway?
Forca Porto
3
Wednesday, 08 April 2009 03:56
Danny1
As a Benfiquista I was cheering my ass off when Porto scored...It's always a joy to see a Portuguese team stick it to one of the big Clubs in Europe...I love how everyone was writing Porto off and saying United were going to crush them...Please Porto have been great all season and since Liverpool kicked the stuffing out of United, they really haven't been playing well...Hopefully Porto can finish the job at home...It won't be easy, but I have faith...Come on Porto...Portugal really need those UEFA points...
Champions League
2
Wednesday, 08 April 2009 03:14
Scott/USA
Obviously Porto should have won, except for the boneheaded play by Alves. Porto is much quicker than ManU. I hope the Estadio de Dragao is sold out and loud next Wednesday.
FC Porto Shows Their Class
1
Wednesday, 08 April 2009 02:54
Tony, CA USA
FC Porto is the one team in Portugal you can count on to put a good performance in CL play. Rarely do you see Porto dominated in CL play and they save their brilliant displays for the big stage. I told all my English friends to watch out for Porto and that no matter what, they would show their quality, class, and honor. Win or lose, FC Porto deserves to be praised regardless of what club you may support in Portugal. As a neutral observer and a fan of all Portuguese clubs, may we show respect and root for Porto in the next game.
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