Inter 1-0 Porto: Late Lukaku winner rescues lacklustre Nerazzurri

Simone
Inzaghi’s
men
appeared
to
be
heading
for
a
disappointing
goalless
draw
that
would
have
arguably
put
Porto
in
the
driving
seat
for
the
second
leg,
but
Lukaku
came
to
Inter’s
rescue.

The
Nerazzurri
had
been
wasteful
during
a
tense
first
half,
with
Lautaro
Martinez
spurning
a
great
opportunity
and
Alessandro
Bastoni
forcing
Diogo
Costa
into
a
brilliant
save.

They
then
struggled
to
make
the
most
of
their
dominance
in
the
second
half,
but
shortly
after
Porto
midfielder
Otavio
was
sent
off,
Lukaku
turned
home
to
score
for
the
second
time
in
less
than
a
week.

Martinez
would
have
been
frustrated
to
miss
the
target
with
an
unchallenged
header
from
Federico
Dimarco’s
13th-minute
cross.

That
chance
punctuated
the
largely
dull
early
exchanges,
but
the
contest
showed
signs
of
life
in
the
final
eight
minutes
of
the
half.

Marko
Grujic’s
fierce
strike
hit
Andre
Onana’s
knee
and
Galeno
nodded
the
follow-up
wide,
before
a
remarkable
reflex
save
from
Costa
kept
Bastoni’s
header
out.

Inter
then
owed
a
debt
of
gratitude
to
Onana
just
before
the
hour.
He
made
a
fine
save
to
deny
Zaidu
Sanusi
and
then
somehow
kept
Mehdi
Taremi’s
rebound
out
on
the
line
with
the
Iranian
seemingly
destined
to
score.

Otavio’s
dismissal
for
a
lunge
on
Hakan
Calhanoglu
12
minutes
from
time
gave
Inter
a
numerical
advantage,
and
they
duly
made
the
most
of
it.

Substitute
Lukaku
headed
Nicolo
Barella’s
cross
against
the
post
but
was
on
hand
to
slam
the
rebound
beyond
Costa.

What
does
it
mean?
Inter
go
to
Portugal
with
something
to
protect

This
certainly
was
not
a
classic
and
Inter
were
underwhelming
for
much
of
the
game.
There
would
have
been
few
arguments
about
a
draw
being
a
fair
result.

But
Inter
finished
the
match
really
well
and
deserve
praise
for
getting
the
win
over
the
line
when
they
had
previously
looked
unconvincing.

The
tie
is
by
no
means
done,
but
now
Porto
have
to
win
the
second
leg
–
Inter
have
only
lost
one
of
their
past
14
matches
across
all
competitions,
so
that
will
be
no
easy
task
for
Sergio
Conceicao’s
side.

Onana
shows
his
worth

There
was
a
flashpoint
in
the
first
half
when
Onana
and
Edin
Dzeko
appeared
to
be
engaged
in
a
heated
argument.
While
it
was
unclear
what
that
was
about,
there
was
little
about
the
goalkeeper’s
performance
that
could
be
criticised.

He
made
four
saves
in
total,
but
among
them
were
the
fine
block
from
Grujic’s
piledriver
and
the
double
stop
to
deny
Sanusi
and
Taremi
in
the
second
half,
the
latter
essentially
denying
Porto
a
certain
goal.

Otavio’s
petulance
proves
costly

There
was
no
doubt
about
the
booking
for
his
second
yellow
as
Otavio
caught
Calhanoglu
with
a
nasty
challenge.

However,
that
would
not
have
led
to
a
red
had
he
not
made
the
bizarre
decision
to
rile
Inter
in
the
first
half.
The
hosts
had
put
the
ball
out
of
play
to
allow
a
player
to
get
medical
treatment
–
when
Porto
restarted
with
a
throw-in,
Otavio
started
darting
towards
the
Inter
goal
when
he
knew
the
protocol
was
to
give
possession
back.

A
melee
ensued
and
he
was
booked
–
he
must
feel
a
little
silly
now.

Key
Opta
Facts

–
Inter
have
won
consecutive
games
in
the
knockout
stages
of
the
Champions
League
without
conceding
a
goal
(1-0
v
Liverpool
in
March
2022
and
1-0
v
Porto)
–
only
under
Jose
Mourinho
in
2009-10
had
they
previously
won
consecutive
knockout
stage
matches
without
conceding
(a
run
of
three).

–
Porto
have
failed
to
progress
from
six
of
their
previous
seven
knockout
ties
in
the
Champions
League
when
losing
the
first
leg,
with
their
only
progression
coming
against
Roma
in
the
round
of
16
in
2018-19.

–
Inter
have
won
three
consecutive
home
games
in
the
Champions
League
for
the
first
time
since
November
2010
in
a
run
of
seven,
during
which
time
they
lifted
the
trophy
in
the
2009-10
campaign.

–
Lukaku’s
strike
was
the
first
winning
goal
scored
by
a
substitute
for
Inter
in
a
Champions
League
game
since
Giampaolo
Pazzini
in
March
2012
(v
Marseille,
also
in
the
round
of
16).

–
Otavio’s
dismissal
was
the
22nd
red
card
Porto
have
been
shown
in
the
Champions
League,
with
only
Juventus
(27)
having
been
handed
more.
Otavio
was
the
first
Portuguese
player
to
be
sent
off
for
Porto
in
the
Champions
League
since
Secretario
in
March
2002
(v
Panathinaikos).

What’s
next?

These
two
will
tussle
again
in
Porto
on
March
14.