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Porto’s UEFA Europa League (UEL) play-off tie with AS Roma is finely poised after a 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Estádio do Dragão, with the Giallorossi now having won just one of their previous 16 games in this competition outside of their homeland.
Before the beginning of the league phase, both of these teams would have had eyes on an automatic spot in the last 16, but instead only one of them will reach that stage. The first half of this encounter was not the easiest on the eye, yet the teams’ intensity could not be faulted, even if they overstepped the mark on several occasions as referee Tobias Stieler dished out six yellow cards.
Overall, there were very few shots on goal, with Porto’s Diogo Costa the busiest of the two goalkeepers as he made routine saves from Paolo Dybala - who was forced off with an injury after 40 minutes - and Lorenzo Pellegrini. They were far from dominant, but Roma were the better team, and on the stroke of half-time, they took the lead. A ball into the box found Artem Dovbyk, and while he couldn’t get the ball under control himself, his touch fell into the path of Zeki Çelik, who fired past Costa from close range.
After the restart, Porto tested Mile Svilar within 60 seconds, but the Belgian denied Francisco Moura from close range. Chances were at a premium for the most part, but the game burst into life shortly after the hour mark. Just seconds separated Costa’s stunning reflex save to stop Bryan Cristante’s header and the equaliser, as the hosts raced down the other end of the pitch and found the back of the net courtesy of Moura’s deflected strike.
Given the steady flow of yellow cards, it was little surprise to see one of the 22 men on the pitch given a second, and it was Cristante who was given a red after a foul not far from his own box. Porto now had the momentum, and Gonçalo Borges tried his luck at the back post from a corner, but he could only fire over the crossbar.
Ultimately, despite their pressure, Porto were unable to find a winner and have now won just five of their past 26 UEFA knockout fixtures. Roma, meanwhile, will be happy to come away with a draw as they have won only one of their previous 20 away UEL matches themselves and were reduced to 10 men, so Claudio Ranieri’s side should be confident of getting the job done on home turf next week.
