Inter earn Champions League quarter-final spot with Porto draw
After trailing 1-0 in the first leg in Milan, the early assignment for Porto was to quickly try to level the score and Dragões nearly succeeded when Mateus Uribe unleashed a powerful 30-yard strike towards the top corner that André Onana just tipped behind.
A 2-1 defeat at Spezia last time out led to a change of approach from Inter at the Estádio do Dragão and the Nerazzurri restricted Porto to long-range attempts, which caused few problems for Onana who smothered Stephen Eustaquio’s strike from distance.
Setup to counter in the hope of improving on their dismal run of one win in their last eight matches in Portugal, Inter soon showed their attacking threat when Edin Džeko found space in the area and forced Diogo Costa, making his 100th Porto appearance, into a strong save.
Porto desperately needed to find the form of a side that had won nine of their previous 10 at home to find at least one goal to stay in the Champions League, but Inter continued to frustrate the hosts and nearly sealed the tie when Nicolò Barella curled inches wide from the edge of the area.
Inevitably, Inter remained compact, kept the home side at arm's length and professionally closed out the tie, despite a late flurry of Porto attacks before the game was settled as Pepê was dismissed for a second bookable offence.
Having won their last two home matches during the Champions League group stages, Porto would have fancied their chances of clawing back into this clash, but the Dragons lacked the creativity needed to breakthrough.
Inter deserve the credit for a much-improved defensive display as Filippo Inzaghi’s side showed plenty of grit to avoid a third consecutive away defeat as they progress to the final eight of the Champions League.
Flashscore Man of the Match: André Onana (Inter Milan)
