FC Porto couldn’t shake off their bad luck, settled for a draw v Forest | OneFootball

FC Porto and Nottingham Forest drew 1-1 in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals. The Dragons started better and, after ten minutes, were already ahead on the scoreboard. Even so, the very next move completely changed the course of the match, with an own goal by Martim Fernandes leaving the Estádio do Dragão in shock.

The Porto side were unable to respond, and the scoreline remained unchanged, with several difficulties in decision-making in the final third.

As such, the outcome of the tie will be decided in the second leg, in Nottingham, on April 16.

The game had barely kicked off and FC Porto were already showing danger signs. After just a few seconds, the Dragons launched a counterattack, with Fofana sending Moffi through, but his shot was saved by Ortega. Borja Sainz still tried the rebound, but was once again denied by the goalkeeper.

In the 6th minute, the Porto side threatened again with a well-worked move started by Pablo Rosario, who found Gabri Veiga further forward. The Spaniard laid it off to Borja Sainz, whose weak shot went straight at the keeper.

However, the strong start by the blue and whites was rewarded in the 11th minute with the opening goal of the game. In another well-crafted move, Gabri Veiga delivered a precise cross to the far post, where William Gomes arrived to tap in.

FC Porto did not expect what happened immediately after the 1-0: a bizarre moment ended up handing Nottingham Forest the equaliser. When everything seemed under control, Martim Fernandes played the ball back to Diogo Costa, but the pass had too much weight on it and only stopped inside the net. Farioli immediately tried to lift the young full-back’s spirits.

The situation became even more complicated for Martim Fernandes, who then suffered another setback. Following a foul by Gabri Veiga on Ndoye, the full-back was caught and ended up going off injured. Alberto Costa came on in his place.

The own goal disrupted the rhythm of the game and FC Porto became less confident on the ball. Nottingham Forest took advantage and began to grow into the match, having until then been largely limited to defending.

Even so, the Dragons kept getting into the visitors’ area, although their end product in the final third remained well below the desired level. Deep into first-half stoppage time, Fofana did well down the right flank and crossed for Moffi’s header. The danger was there, but Ortega held on.

The match went into the break, a moment FC Porto needed to reorganise and try to counter the difficulties created by Forest after the 1-1. At the Estádio do Dragão, the stadium announcer also revealed that the mark of 1 million spectators at official matches had been reached this season.

At the start of the second half, Vítor Pereira changed his team, taking off Murillo and Chris Wood to bring on Milenkovic and Igor Jesus, respectively.

FC Porto started well again and William Gomes was once more the main spark, with a shot to the near post that went just wide. However, the Dragons still looked somewhat uncomfortable and Francesco Farioli made his first substitutions in the 58th minute.

Pepê, Deniz Gul and Victor Froholdt came on for Borja Sainz, Moffi and Gabri Veiga. There were also whistles at the Dragão aimed at Terem Moffi, who took quite a long time to leave the pitch, irritating the fans.

Soon after, it was Diogo Costa’s turn to stand out, with an excellent save from a powerful long-range strike by James McAtee.

In the 63rd minute, Nottingham Forest did find the net through Igor Jesus, but the move was a messy one. Diogo Costa and the Brazilian challenged for the ball, the Porto goalkeeper went down on the pitch clutching his head, and in the follow-up Jesus ended up putting the ball in the net. VAR reviewed the incident and concluded that the ball had touched the striker’s arm.

FC Porto breathed a sigh of relief and William Gomes threatened again. In a very characteristic move, the winger cut inside and curled a shot, forcing Ortega into a fine save.

Shortly afterwards, Deniz Gul drove forward, combined well with William Gomes and picked out Froholdt in the middle of the box. The ball then broke back to the Turk, but his shot went off target. After that move, Fofana made way for Alan Varela.

In the 78th minute, FC Porto won the ball back in midfield and Alberto Costa immediately played a long pass forward. Pepê believed in it, kept the move alive and managed to set up Froholdt with a backheel into space. The Dane hit a cross-shot that skimmed the right post.

Despite the attempts, neither side managed to alter the score again before the final whistle. FC Porto continued to struggle to create quality chances in front of Ortega’s goal, a limitation that marked the entire match.

So, everything will be decided on April 16 in Nottingham, in the second leg, which will determine which team goes through in the Europa League.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.