He Arsenal has qualified for the quarterfinals of the Champions League after winning 4-2 at Port on penalties, a shootout that smiled at the English thanks to two stops from David Raya against Wendell Nascimento and Wenderson Galeno, at the conclusion of a match that had ended 1-0 to equalize the score from the first leg at the Estádio do Dragão.
It was time to hold on to the Emirates Stadium if the gunners They wanted to lift their poor result in Portugal, and the first minutes witnessed it with a weak header from Ben White over the crossbar along with two left-footed shots, the first from Bukayo Saka and the second from Martin Odegaard, both well repelled by goalkeeper Diogo. Coast. Evanilson de Lima responded for the visitors in the 22nd minute, after receiving a precise pass in the area and shooting with his right foot, although the Spanish goalkeeper David Raya did a good stretch at mid-height to avoid the goal and shake off the shock from the body.
About to reach the half hour, a cross-shot from the right wing by White brought danger to the goal defended by Diogo Costaalthough the ex-Madridista Pepe cleared with his head for a corner when there was behind him Kai Havertz with the cane ready to push the 1-0.
Not in vain, the insistence of the locals was rewarded after a delicacy from Odegaard. Following a long pass, Wendell failed to clear it and the ball fell at the feet of the Norwegian, who combined with his teammate in a three-quarter line. Trossard on one side. In that left corner of the area, the Belgian returned the ball to Odegaard and, with four rivals on his horizon, he filtered a pass with music; Trossard controlled, outlined and scored with a low left foot, close to reaching a break that barely encouraged Porto.
And when they returned from the locker room, Sérgio Conceição’s men continued to crouch behind. But the duel had slowed down and the pace had thickened, so Arsenal found no way to threaten Diogo Costa who, despite appearances, was somewhat uneasy. In fact, a error of understanding between you and Pepe After a long pass, Odegaard scored the Gunners’ second in the 67th minute, although it was ultimately unsuccessful because Havertz had grabbed the visiting defender’s shirt tightly in his sprint struggle.
Goalkeeper duel
To find depth in attack, and perhaps thinking about extra time, local coach Mikel Arteta introduced Gabriel Jesus in the 83rd minute. And a few seconds after entering the field, the Brazilian striker put Diogo Costa in trouble with a shot from point-blank range on the side of the area. Two minutes later, Of He shot from the balcony of the area after a dribble and, once again, the Porto goalkeeper excelled; Odegaard He did not score the rebound from that play and both teams brandished weapons for extra time, with a scare ‘in extremis’ for the London fans.
That push by Mehdi Taremi did not go any further and the French referee Clément Turpin decreed the path of extra time, an instance that Arteta’s men faced well at the beginning due to the work of Saka and especially Gabriel Jesus, who remained the only replacement for his coach. Sérgio Conceição had moved the bench more and, in addition, he removed his son Francisco from the field in the 101st minute. Among the ‘gunners’ we had to wait for the extra-time break to see fresh legs, with Eddie Nketiah strengthening the offensive line and helping Saka.
From a triangulation of them together with Odegaard, a good shot was born from the local ‘7’ in the 110th minute, a right shot covered by the blue and white defense. But Arsenal achieved little else against an opponent well planted in all its lines and captained by a remarkable Pepe at 41 years old. Tiredness took over almost all the players and the timer ran out, leading the decision to a penalty shoot-out. And then Raya vindicated himself after several weeks of criticism in his fight with Aaron Ramsdale for being the owner. This time, the Spanish goalkeeper became the hero of the Emirates after deflecting shots from Wendell and Galeno.
2024-03-12 22:54:29
#Arsenal #eliminate #Porto #penalties
