When even port gets bitter. Before the match in Portugal, Arsenal delighted their fans with two big wins in the league, 6-0 and 5-0, but they did not have a single shot on target in Porto. The last time he was equally barren in the Champions League was thirteen years ago with Barcelona.
And when the match was headed for at least a goalless draw, the enthusiastic English team froze the goalkeeper with a great technical attack from behind the goal, the hero Wenderson Galeno.
“It’s a real kick in the teeth because we only conceded in stoppage time,” Isles midfielder Declan Rice lamented to TNT Sports. “When you play 0-0 and you look at the time and it’s the 93rd minute, if you don’t want to win, at least you won’t lose it. Maybe we should have been smarter at that moment and scored a draw on the field of a difficult opponent,” he regretted the loss due to a “last minute” goal.
Photo: Peter Cziborra, Reuters
Martin Odegaard after the decisive goal. Reuters/Peter Cziborra
The 26-year-old Brazilian scored for the fifth time in this year’s Champions League, and thanks to three assists, he is currently the most productive player in the club’s most prestigious competition with eight points. His last hit was almost perfect. “A blow below the belt,” declared former England international and Gunners legend Martin Keown in the role of pundit.
“You don’t know what to expect, but you can never underestimate anyone, especially not in the Champions League. But we know what to do next. We’re not going to hang our heads, it’s about getting back and recovering in the Premier League. And then we will be 100% ready for the rematch,” added the English representative Rice towards the rematch, when he and his teammates will want to erase the one-goal deficit in front of their own fans in three weeks. The Gunners lost their Champions League knockout stage game for the fifth time in a row.
“We have to do much better. We can’t win by holding the ball and passing. We weren’t a threat, we lacked aggression, especially in the attacking third of the pitch. We have to improve. “If we want to progress to the quarter-finals, we have to beat our opponents and that’s exactly what we will do at the Emirates Stadium,” promised Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta.
2024-02-22 05:07:39
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