Juventus earned a huge 2-0 victory away to 10-man Porto thanks to substitutes Marko Pjaca and Dani Alves after Alex Telles saw red.
See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.
Juventus earned a huge 2-0 victory away to 10-man Porto thanks to substitutes Marko Pjaca and Dani Alves after Alex Telles saw red.
See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.
The first leg of this Champions League Round of 16 was the fourth meeting between these clubs and Porto had never won, earning a draw and two losses, including the 1984 Cup Winners’ Cup Final. Leonardo Bonucci was in the stands as a disciplinary measure after a touchline row with Max Allegri, so not 100 per cent fit Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli started in defence. Gigi Buffon marked his 100th Champions League appearance for Juve. Porto were unbeaten since January 1 and lost only three out of 35 competitive games this season.
Nobody had beaten Porto at home in a Champions League knockout round since Manchester United, 1-0 on April 15 2009, in the quarter-final. It was followed by a 2-1 win over Arsenal in 2010, 1-0 victory over Malaga in 2013, then in 2015 4-0 against Basel and 3-1 over Bayern Munich.
Paulo Dybala threaded through for Gonzalo Higuain, but Ivan Marcano made a decisive tackle as Pipita was preparing to shoot from 12 yards.
Iker Casillas rushed out to kick clear from Mario Mandzukic, but Porto self-destructed. Former Inter full-back Alex Telles dived into two reckless tackles on Juan Cuadrado and Stephan Lichtsteiner in the space of 74 seconds at the touchline, earning an inevitable double booking.
Down to 10 men, Porto replaced striker Andre Silva with defender Miguel Layun, and it gave Juve more confidence. Dybala tested Iker Casillas from distance and Sami Khedira nodded an Alex Sandro cross just wide.
Casillas had to be alert on a massive deflection, palming the ball out from the near bottom corner.
Dybala went very close on the stroke of half-time, his snapshot from the D thumping the base of the upright.
Within 30 seconds of the restart, Dybala had the ball in the net, but the offside flag was raised and it was an extremely tight decision.
Moments later, 10-man Porto had their best chance of the game so far, Hector Herrera sneaking up on Alex Sandro for a header just wide of the far post.
Layun got a crucial block on Dybala as he ran on to a Pjanic slide-rule pass and Khedira’s control and volley flashed wide.
Higuain’s right-foot curler was inches past the far top corner in a great chance for Juventus, but the deadlock was eventually broken by a man who had never previously scored in a Juventus jersey.
Pjaca came off the bench and made the most of a bit of luck when Dybala’s through ball for Lichtsteiner bounced off Layun’s shin into his path, firing it across Casillas.
The second goal was also by a substitute, as Dani Alves had been on the pitch for all of 80 seconds when he found the net. The Brazilian chested down an Alex Sandro cross and stretched into the left-foot volley from eight yards.
It was very nearly 3-0 when Khedira ran on to a Pjaca through ball, but prodded it beyond the on-rushing Casillas and just wide of the far post.
Porto 0-2 Juventus
Pjaca 72 (J), Dani Alves 74 (J)
Porto: Casillas; Maxi Pereira, Marcano, Felipe, Alex Telles; Danilo Pereira; Herrera, Ruben Neves (Corona 61), Brahimi (Diogo Jota 73); Andre Silva (Layun 30), Soares
Juventus: Buffon; Lichtsteiner (Dani Alves 73), Barzagli, Chiellini, Alex Sandro; Khedira, Pjanic; Cuadrado (Pjaca 67), Dybala (Marchisio 85), Mandzukic; Higuain
Ref: Brych (GER)
Sent off: Alex Telles 27 (P)