Last night’s clash in Turin between Juventus and Porto produced a clash for ages- one Porto and football fans alike won’t forget in a hurry. The game was finely poised following Federico Chiesa’s late goal in Portugal two weeks prior, leaving the tie at 2-1 in favour of the Portuguese side.
A brace from the aforementioned Chiesa leveled the tie on aggregate, cancelling out Sergio Oliviera’s 1st half penalty, taking the tie to extra time against the odds due to Porto’s numerical disadvantage being down to 10 men for the majority of the second half and beyond.
Oliviera again found the net in extra time- this time from a speculative free kick, but The Old Lady soon responded with Adrien Rabiot scoring an impressive header, but this wasn’t enough to change the outcome of the game with Porto eventually progressing. After all this, lets see how the players performed in our player ratings.
Juventus player ratings
Wojciech Szczesny- Steady performance making saves expected from a keeper of his calibre however should’ve done better for Oliviera’s decisive free kick. Rating; 5/10
Alex Sandro- Had little to do in the way of defending, failed to deliver offensively in key moments. Rating; 5/10
Leonardo Bonucci- Captaining his side on the night, the Italian veteran was substituted after 75 minutes with much of his good work coming in possession. Rating; 6/10
Merih Demiral- An error in judgement led to Porto’s penalty and never quite managed to come to terms with Porto’s physical forward line. Rating; 4/10
Juan Cuadrado- One of the few in black and white who can feel hard done by on the evening, the Columbian was a constant menace with his dangerous balls in from the right and was unlucky not to score in the dying moments. Rating; 7/10
Adrien Rabiot- A scorer on the night, the frenchman was neat and tidy on the ball but without any real penetration. Rating; 6/10
Federico Chiesa- Had it not been for Chiesa, Juve would have been not only knocked out the competition but embarrassed. Three goals across the two legs and a constant threat. Rating; 8/10
Aaron Ramsey- A plyer often reliant on space to attack and run into, Porto did a good job on containing the Welshman’s threat with their at times imperious low block. Rating; 5/10
Cristiano Ronaldo- Often the man for the big occasion, the most prolific marksman in the competitions history was completely stifled across both legs. Rating; 3/10
Alvaro Morata- Promising so much but delivering little, Morata couldn’t take advantage of opportunities presented to him. Rating; 4/10
Subs- De Ligt; 5, Weston McKennie; 7, Federico Bernadeschi; 6, Dejan Kulusevski; 5
Porto player ratings
Agustin Marchesin- An assured performance displaying excellent levels of concentration due to Porto’s man disadvantage. Rating; 8/10
Wilson Manafa- A tireless display getting up and down the flank, combining well with Corona. Rating; 7/10
Chancel Mbemba- Much was asked of the former Newcastle man but he delivered, masterful positioning and fantastic aerially. Rating; 8/10
Pepe- A colossal performance from the Portuguese veteran making double the amount of clearances as any other player on the pitch; a clinic in positional play. Rating; 9/10
Zaidu Sanusi- A resilient display out of possession as well as knitting play together well on the ball. Rating; 6/10
Jesus Corona- Corona was at the heart of everything positive for Porto today, showing immense defensive application. Rating; 8/10
Mateus Uribe- Did well in closing off space and passing angles for Juve to exploit, struggled in possession at time. Rating; 6.5/10
Sergio Oliveira- Efficient and tidy in possession, good at driving with the ball to offer rest bite from defending, scored the decisive goals to see his team through; an all action midfield display. Rating; 9/10
Otavio- Covered lots of ground defensively and had some joy going the other way. Rating; 6/10
Moussa Marega- A combative display, offering much needed support for Porto with his hold up play. Rating; 7/10
Mehdi Taremi- Dismissed just before the hour mark showcasing poor discipline , Taremi put his team mates in a terrible position. Rating; 4/10
Subs- Melang Sarr; 6/10, Luis Diaz; 5/10, Marko Grujic; 5/10, Toni Mrtinez; N/A, Diogo Liete; N/A, Mamadou Loum; N/A
