Inter ended up winning their match against Porto on Wednesday, a very equal meeting, thanks to a Romelu Lukaku goal. The Belgian striker scored in the 86th minute, as Porto, unbeaten since October 21, went ahead after Otavio was sent off in the 78th minute. The first leg therefore ended 1-0 at San Siro and Porto will try to bounce back in the second leg, at Do Dragao, to reach the quarterfinals of the 2022-23 Champions League. Lukaku is the star, but also Nicolò Barella with his cross and André Onana with his saves.
The first instance of this first attack between Inter and Porto was carried out by Inter player Hakan Calhanoglu, with a strong left-footed shot. Diogo Costa, Porto’s goalkeeper, denied the ball with his fists. Lautaro Martínez had a chance with a header.
Porto also created a danger. Marko Grujic’s shot is high. Lautaro, by stepping up to help with defensive duties, was a savior for Inter against Otavio and Mehdi Taremi.
In minute 37, moments of trouble for Inter. Onana saves a shot from Grujic (assisted by Taremi with a heel). The ball went to Galeno, who failed to finish the empty goal. No one scored, but both teams created danger.
In the 41′, Inter called for a penalty on Matteo Darmian, but the referee said it wasn’t and he didn’t check the VAR. Porto restarted the game with a side kick, which caused a fight between the two teams of no great consequence. Galen and Dimarco were scolded. In first half injury time, Diogo Costa made a fantastic save to prevent Alessandro Bastoni from scoring.
In the second half, in 53′, Barella crashed the ball against the post. At 55′, Onana gets a shot from Taremi. The interista goalkeeper’s success with several interventions frustrated Porto’s chances. Both teams began to show signs of fatigue. Barello shot very high. In the 72′, Simone Inzaghi brought on Brozovic in place of an unconvincing Henrykh Mkhitaryan.
In a nice triangulation of Inter, Lukaku served the ball to Lautaro, perhaps too forcefully, and the Argentine couldn’t get the ball.
In 1978, a heavy blow for Porto: Otavio was sent off after touching Çalhanoglu from behind. The sign of the party has changed. Lukaku, who came on in the 58′ for Edin Dzeko, took advantage of Barella’s pass to first smash the ball against the post and then take the rebound and beat Diogo Costa. Inter will travel with a slight advantage to the north of Portugal to play the second leg on March 14, when Porto, who probably did not deserve to lose, will try to return. The ‘dragoes’ went 22 games without defeat.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
