Champions League - 1st Leg
FC PortoFC Porto0JuventusJuventus2

FC Porto 0-2 Juventus

By Luke ReddyBBC Sport
Marko Pjaca
Marko Pjaca scored his first Juventus goal since joining from Dinamo Zagreb in July

Substitutes Marko Pjaca and Daniel Alves struck goals within two minutes of one another as Juventus punished 10-man Porto to take charge of their Champions League last-16 tie.

The hosts saw left-back Alex Telles dismissed after two bookings in a 74-second spell, the second after a wild sliding tackle on Stephan Lichtsteiner on 27 minutes.

His side spent long spells in their own half and survived a Paulo Dybala strike against the post before the interval.

But Juve - who had 77% possession - broke through when Pjaca drove low into the net five minutes after coming on and Alves finished from six yards 80 seconds after his own introduction.

The goals ensured Juve's fourth successive 2-0 win on the road in all competitions and their advantage now looks huge ahead of the return on 14 March. Other than a penalty shootout defeat to Inter Milan in December, the last time the Old Lady lost on home soil was in August 2015.

Telles' telling moment

Iker Casillas and Gianluigi Buffon faced one another for the 17th time. Buffon, 39, played in goal when Juve last met Porto in 2001
Iker Casillas and Gianluigi Buffon faced one another for the 17th time. Buffon, 39, played in goal when Juve last met Porto in 2001

In Porto the Italian side were bettering possession when Telles lost control, first fouling Juan Cuadrado before hacking Lichtsteiner down with no apparent danger. The left-back was clearly emotional as he walked to the tunnel with his shirt covering much of his face.

It allowed Juve to totally dominate, though Nuno Espírito Santo's side improved after the break and looked like they may hold out, deploying a compact 4-4-1 formation to stifle the Serie A leaders.

But with the game in its final quarter, Pjaca benefited from a ricochet off Miguel Layun - who came on at left-back after Telles' dismissal - to slam his first goal since joining the club in July past Iker Casillas.

Alves chested down Alex Sandro's delivery and hooked in on 74 minutes to tighten Juve's grip. Massimiliano Allegri's side hold a seven-point lead at the summit of Italy's top tier and remain undefeated in the Champions League, increasing their hopes of a first win in the competition since 1996.

Man of the match - Miralem Pjanic

Miralem Pjanic
Pjanic controlled midfield and had 128 touches of the ball - a game high. He also completed 90% of his 113 passes - another game high. Juventus were patient and the former Roma player kept them ticking over at all times.

"I have a good feeling" - the key quotes

Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira: "I think we can be happy tonight. It's a really good result. After the red card we had to win this game. We played 90 minutes with control and patience.

"We are happy for tonight but in three weeks we have to be very careful for the game because now they are angry. We know football is crazy, anything can happen.

"Sometimes you have a feeling and this year I have a really good feeling."

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri: "This team still has plenty of room for improvement but the lads showed great maturity tonight. "We're entering a crucial period of the season and we need to approach it with enthusiasm, determination and be as clinical as possible.

"But we can't believe 2-0 is enough to see us through. We have to broach the return as if it's still nil-nil."

Line-ups

FC Porto

Formation 4-1-3-2

  • 1Casillas
  • 2Pereira PáezBooked at 45mins
  • 28Felipe
  • 5Marcano SierraBooked at 89mins
  • 13Alex TellesBooked at 27mins
  • 22Danilo
  • 16HerreraBooked at 85mins
  • 6NevesSubstituted forJM Coronaat 61'minutes
  • 8BrahimiSubstituted forJotaat 73'minutes
  • 10André SilvaSubstituted forLayúnat 30'minutes
  • 29Francisco Soares

Substitutes

  • 4Boly
  • 12
  • 17JM Corona
  • 19Jota
  • 20Brás André
  • 21Layún
  • 30Torres Muñoz

Juventus

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Buffon
  • 26LichtsteinerBooked at 50minsSubstituted forAlves da Silvaat 73'minutes
  • 15Barzagli
  • 3Chiellini
  • 12Alex Sandro
  • 6Khedira
  • 5Pjanic
  • 7Ju CuadradoSubstituted forPjacaat 67'minutes
  • 21DybalaSubstituted forMarchisioat 86'minutes
  • 17Mandzukic
  • 9Higuaín

Substitutes

  • 4Benatia
  • 8Marchisio
  • 20Pjaca
  • 22Asamoah
  • 23Alves da Silva
  • 24Rugani
  • 25Neto
Referee:
Dr. Felix Brych
Attendance:
49,229

Match Stats

Home TeamFC PortoAway TeamJuventus
Possession
Home24%
Away76%
Shots
Home3
Away19
Shots on Target
Home0
Away4
Corners
Home1
Away8
Fouls
Home12
Away13

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, FC Porto 0, Juventus 2.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, FC Porto 0, Juventus 2.

  3. Post update

    Hand ball by Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus).

  4. Booking

    Marcano (FC Porto) is shown the yellow card.

  5. Post update

    Gonzalo Higuaín (Juventus) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  6. Post update

    Foul by Felipe (FC Porto).

  7. Post update

    Attempt missed. Sami Khedira (Juventus) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Marko Pjaca with a through ball.

  8. Substitution

    Substitution, Juventus. Claudio Marchisio replaces Paulo Dybala.

  9. Booking

    Héctor Herrera (FC Porto) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  10. Post update

    Marko Pjaca (Juventus) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  11. Post update

    Foul by Héctor Herrera (FC Porto).

  12. Post update

    Corner, FC Porto. Conceded by Mario Mandzukic.

  13. Post update

    Corner, Juventus. Conceded by Felipe.

  14. Post update

    Offside, FC Porto. Iker Casillas tries a through ball, but Soares is caught offside.

  15. Post update

    Foul by Gonzalo Higuaín (Juventus).

  16. Post update

    Maxi Pereira (FC Porto) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  17. Post update

    Corner, Juventus. Conceded by Felipe.

  18. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Miralem Pjanic (Juventus) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Paulo Dybala.

  19. Post update

    Corner, Juventus. Conceded by Marcano.

  20. Goal!

    Goal! FC Porto 0, Juventus 2. Dani Alves (Juventus) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Alex Sandro with a cross.

As It Stood

A

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Arsenal64201861214
2PSG6330137612
3Ludogorets6033615-93
4FC Basel6024312-92

B

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Napoli6321118311
2Benfica6222101008
3Besiktas6141914-57
4Dynamo Kyiv61238625

C

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Barcelona65012041615
2Man City6231121029
3B Mgladbach6123512-75
4Celtic6033516-113

D

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Atl Madrid650172515
2Bayern Munich6402146812
3FC Rostov6123612-65
4PSV Eindhoven6024411-72

E

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Monaco632197211
2B Leverkusen624084410
3Tottenham62136607
4CSKA Moscow6033511-63

F

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1B Dortmund64202191214
2Real Madrid63301610612
3Legia Warsaw6114924-154
4Sporting610558-33

G

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Leicester641176113
2FC Porto632193611
3FC Copenhagen62317259
4Club Bruges6006214-120

H

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Juventus6420112914
2Sevilla632173411
3Lyon62225328
4Dinamo Zagreb6006015-150
View full Champions League tables