Porto 1-0 Arsenal
by Layth Yousif
at the Estadio Dragao

A LAST-GASP long-range strike by Rodrigues do Nascimento Galeno in the 94th minute was the unexpected climax to this slow-burning Champions League Round of 16 first-leg tie.

Just as Arsenal’s first knockout clash for seven long years at Europe’s top table appeared to be heading for a palatable goalless draw for Mikel Arteta’s side, Galeno, a 26-year-old Brazilian-born attacker struck from outside the box to hand a vital 1-0 victory to the home side.

The goal prompted utter pandemonium on and off the pitch, as the Porto team, bench and all manner of random individuals ran onto the turf to celebrate the unexpected winner. Amid the genuinely unnerving ear-splitting noise in which you struggled to hear yourself think, the sold-out crowd of nearly 50,000 erupted in raucous, booming unison.