Inter knock out Barcelona with Plzen victory, Porto thrash Club Brugge
Club Brugge - Porto 0-4
Club Brugge saw their perfect record in this season’s UEFA Champions League campaign snapped thanks to a 4-0 thumping at the hands of Porto. Luckily for the hosts they can still clinch first place in Group B with a win against already eliminated Bayer Leverkusen on matchday six.
While Brugge came into the night having already qualified for the knockouts, the chance to finish atop the group was a golden one.
However, the Belgian side were under pressure from the off as Porto looked to close in on their first progression in two seasons.
The Portuguese outfit were rewarded for their efforts with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half when Mehdi Taremi was slipped in behind the exposed Brugge defence by Otavio, and the striker slid home with aplomb to silence the boisterous crowd inside the Jan Breydel Stadium and become the first team to puncture the Brugge rearguard in the competition this campaign.
Porto’s joy would not last long into the second interval however, as the hosts were awarded a penalty after David Carmo was adjudged to have kicked out at Brandon Mechele in the box.
Initially, Hans Vanaken saw his attempt from the spot saved by Diogo Costa, but his blushes were saved by the referee who demanded the penalty be retaken after a Porto player encroached into the box ahead of the penalty attempt.
Astonishingly, Costa denied the subsequent retake from Noa Lang, keeping his side in the lead in dramatic fashion by saving a penalty for a third consecutive UCL match - the first player to do this in competition history.
To make matters worse for the hosts, Porto doubled their lead less than 10 minutes later thanks to some shambolic Brugge defending, which allowed Evanilson to score from close range.
The final nail was driven into the hosts’ coffin moments later when Stephen Eustaquio scored from almost an identical spot in the hosts’ six-yard box, capping off a thoroughly dominant Porto performance on the night.
The onslaught continued for the visitors, as Taremi scored his second of the night in the final 20 minutes, signalling a mass exodus around the stadium.
With their counterparts having come into the night with a perfect defensive record in the group, Sergio Conceicao’s men will be overjoyed to come away with an emphatic away victory.
If results go their way later on matchday six, Porto can top the group, and will just need to avoid defeat against Atletico Madrid to progress to the knockouts.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mehdi Taremi (Porto)
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Inter Milan - Viktoria Plzen 4-0
The Nerazzurri have been notoriously slow starters in the UCL of late, scoring just two of their last 14 goals in the competition before half time.
That tally was doubled in a dominant first-half display that alleviated any nerves among the home faithful.
Jindrich Stanek was doing his level best in the Plzen goal to deny them, making a number of impressive saves before Inter finally found their breakthrough.
The overlapping Alessandro Bastoni delivered a brilliant lofted cross to the back post where Henrikh Mkhitaryan was waiting, stooping to force his header into the back of the net.
That lead would be doubled by Edin Dzeko, who netted for the seventh time in five appearances against the Czech champions.
Nicolo Barella’s glorious ball out to the left found Federico Dimarco, allowing the full-back to deliver the Bosnian forward a simple tap-in and leave Plzen with a seemingly unassailable task in the second half.
Michal Bilek’s men had conceded at least four goals in three of their group games so far, and another drubbing was certainly on the cards as Inter looked to put shine on the scoreline. In the early going of the second half, Mkhitaryan rattled the post and Stanek denied Lautaro Martínez as the visitors clung onto their pride.
The inevitable third goal did eventually arrive, as Martínez unselfishly gave up his own chance of a goal to slide in Dzeko, who produced an incredibly classy finish to put the result beyond a shadow of a doubt.
The returning Romelu Lukaku, playing his first game since August, netted a fourth after some neat interplay with Joaquin Correa, allowing him the space to slam home his side’s fourth of the night.
A dominant display from the Italian giants sealed Barcelona’s fate, eliminating them from the UCL group stage for a second successive season.
Inter progressed, though will have to rely on beating Bayern Munich and hoping the Rekordmeister drop points against Barcelona to win the group.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Federico Dimarco (Inter Milan)