Porto continue impressive Champions League campaign as Braga and Benfica draw in epic clashes with Leicester and Rangers

FC Porto have one foot in the Champions League round of 16 after easing to victory over Andre Vilas-Boas’ Marseille, while there was drama aplenty in the UEFA Europa League with both Braga and Benfica battling to intense draws in two highly entertaining fixtures.

Porto knew that a point in France would be enough to guarantee them at least a place in the Europa League knockout stages - but they went one better after beating Marseille in convincing fashion.

The Portuguese champions took the lead just before half time, Zaidu Sanusi stabbing home from close range after his first effort was saved, putting Porto in a commanding position in the group behind Manchester City.

Sergio Conceicao’s side continued to be the dominant force throughout the second half, but the game became far more complicated in the 67th minute when Liverpoool loanee Grujic was given his second yellow of the game for a poor and unnecessary sliding challenge at the halfway line, reducing Porto to 10 men.

But Marseille failed to capitalise on their man advantage, and not only gave Porto a penalty just minutes later, but also saw equilibrium restored when Balerdi was given a second yellow for pulling down Moussa Marega in the box.

Sergio Oliveira was the man chosen to take the penalty, and he successfully converted from the spot, slotting past Steve Mandanda to double Porto’s advantage and secure all three points.

Braga, meanwhile, shared the spoils in a dramatic meeting with Leicester City at the Quarry, leading three times before having to settle for a point after Leicester struck late through Jamie Vardy to crush Braga’s hopes of securing victory.

Al Musrati gave Braga an early lead with a thunderous drive from range, his low and accurate first-time shot finding the bottom corner and beating Kasper Schmeichel.

But Leicester weren’t behind for long, and Harvey Barnes managed to level proceedings in the 8th minute, beating Matheus at his near post with a powerful shot.

Braga continued to impress though, and they soon had the lead yet again, star striker Paulinho tapping home from close range after some excellent build-up play, which included Ricardo Horta rounding the keeper.

The Minho outfit, who currently occupy 2nd place in the Portuguese top flight, could have extended their lead further, forcing Schmiechel into a couple of very smart stops, but they had to settle for a narrow 2-1 lead going into the break.

The second half was more tense as Braga continued to drop deeper to protect their advantage, and with Leicester bringing on some high-profile attacking players and putting on increasing pressure, it only felt like a matter of time before Leicester would once again peg Braga back.

And sure enough, with just over 10 minutes left on the clock they hit the back of the net again, Matheus unable to keep out Luke Thomas’ close-range effort, and Leicester looked the more likely to take the lead in the closing stages.

However, with stoppage time fast approaching, Braga launched a lethal counter-attack, Matheus throwing the ball out to the left flank quickly to unleash Galeno, who ran at the back-peddling Leicester defence before slotting in second half substitute Fransergio, who calmly slotted in past Schmeichel to give Braga a late lead that was assumed to have given his side all three points.

But, there was one final painful twist for Braga to endure, with Jamie Vardy given freedom at the backpost to tap home in the 95th minute of the game and send the English outfit through to the next round with two games to spare.

The point does ensure that Braga are in full control of qualifying for the next round of the competition though, sitting 4 points clear of both AEK Athens and Zorya with just 2 games left to play.

Benfica then finished the night for Portuguese football, facing an impressive Rangers side in Scotland and in a city where they had never won before.

And things got off to a terrible start for Jorge Jesus’ side, Scott Arfield converting with a third effort on goal in quick succession to put the hosts ahead after just 7 minutes, and Benfica failed to find a way to break down a resilient Rangers defence over the course of the first half, unable to even register a shot on target.

Indeed, despite seeing much of the ball, Benfica rarely looked threatening in an attacking sense, clearly missing the spark and creativity of their star striker Darwin Nunez, who was forced to miss out on the fixture due to coronavirus restrictions, and they continued to prove very ineffective on the ball in the second half.

And when Rangers doubled their advantage in the 69th minute through a tremendous shot from Kemar Roofe, it looked like Benfica were sure to suffer a costly defeat at Ibrox.

However, the introduction of young forward Goncalo Ramos had the desired impact, the youngster critical in forcing Benfica’s first goal of the night and handing the Lisbon giants a lifeline in the 78th minute, his shot saved before rebounding off a Rangers defender to hit the back of the net.

And Benfica, who for so long looked second best, suddenly started to engineer some good attacking opportunities, and scored what will surely be one of the goals of the tournament after some intricate play between Pizzi, Rafa and Goncalo Ramos resulted in Benfica finding the leveller through a thunderous Pizzi shot.

Benfica ultimately settled for the point in the end, which keeps them level on points with Rangers, well clear of the two other competitors in the group.

Jardel. Photo author: Вячеслав Евдокимов. License link.