Narrow defeat in first leg

Match summary

VfB began with plenty of energy at the sold-out MHP Arena but were unable to capitalise on their strong start. As the game went on and some defensive sloppiness crept into Stuttgart’s play, Porto ruthlessly took advantage.

VfB fall behind

The Portuguese visitors had their first chance in the 20^th minute, when William Gomes struck the bar with a shot from just outside the area. Just 60 seconds later, the Stuttgart net was rippling. After Alexander Nübel’s kick was intercepted, the VfB defence got caught out of position; Borja Sainz played the ball into the unmarked Terem Moffi in the box, and Nübel had no chance against the firm shot from eight metres.

Porto clinical

When Jeff Chabot then played a misplaced pass in midfield on 27 minutes, Porto countered at lightning speed through Zaidu Sanusi, whose left-wing cross was turned in by Rodrigo Mora to make it 2-0 to the away side.

Undav pulls one back

However, Sebastian Hoeneß’s men managed to get back into the game before the break thanks to Deniz Undav’s goal in the 40th minute.

VfB upped the work rate and the tempo in the second half as they pushed for an equaliser, but Porto kept it tight defensively and were always a threat on the counter.

Stiller goal chalked off

Hoeneß’s side tried everything and thought they’d equalised through Angelo Stiller in the 72nd minute, only for VAR to rule it offside. After Diogo Costa made a fine save from Chris Führich’s powerful shot in the 82nd minute, it stayed at 2-1 after a hard-fought 90 minutes.

The teams will meet again a week today in Portugal to decide who progresses to the quarter-finals. 

Goals

21st minute: From Nübel’s intercepted pass, Porto advance quickly as Moffi plays a one-two with Sainz and receives the ball back in space in the penalty area before driving in from close range.

27th minute: Porto break with Sanusi, whose cross from the left is collected by Mora in the box and fired into the left corner.

40th minute: Undav outmuscles Thiago Silva after a long ball into the box and then buries the ball perfectly into the bottom right corner.