Arsenal was stunned by a very tactically astute FC Porto in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 first leg in Portugal this evening.
The Gunners were full of confidence ahead of the game against the Portuguese giants as they had scored 11 goals in their previous two matches.
But Porto is in the knockout stage of the UCL for a reason and showed it as they defended resolutely against the Gunners who had the bulk of the possession.
The Portuguese side could have opened the scoring on the 21st minute when Galeno’s shot rattled the crossbar and he put the rebound wide of the post.
Arsenal continued to search for an opening, but the Porto defence led by Pepe was unmovable and defended everything that came at them.
Tellingly, Arsenal had no shots on target in the entire match while Porto had two, one of which would become the winning goal as Galeno scored a Goal of the Season contender four minutes into added time to stun Arsenal.
This was a tough day at the office for the Gunners, but Porto was tactically very aware of the danger they faced from Arsenal who will have to work much harder to win at the Emirates.
It is only half time in the tie and we can rescue it if we prepare and play well in the second leg at the Emirates.