In a thrilling fightback encounter, Barcelona secured an impressive victory over Porto on Wednesday following goals from Cancelo and Felix. Porto, who scored the opening goal of the match in the 30th minute, couldn’t maintain their lead as Barca fought back in style with an equalizer by Joao Cancelo just a couple of minutes later and then the winner by Felix in the second half.
It was a power packed encounter, with Porto giving the Home Team a run for their money, scoring the opening goal in the first half. But Barcelona delivered when it counted. Led by two Joãos, they defeated Porto in a tight match that occasionally looked like it could have been Portuguese. The Portuguese pair were outstanding and made the difference at Montjuïc on the night when Barcelona’s hopes of winning Europe and Xavi’s future were both possibly in danger.
From the beginning, Porto did a good job of both attacking and defending; the opposition had a goal disallowed just before they scored to take the lead. However, Barça fought back in just thirty seconds, as Cancelo scored a spectacular goal following the restart to ensure that his team’s score was tied at halftime. The crowd at Estadi Olimpic were ecstatic with the equalizer that came as a quick answer back against Aquino’s opener for Porto.
Following the interval, a new Barcelona emerged, one demonstrating confidence and a will to attack, which was precisely what they did, as João Félix struck the crossbar after thirty seconds and then saw another attempt miss a minute later.
With a perfectly placed cross from Cancelo, the former Benfica player provided the winning touch on the ball that got past Diogo Costa and gave Barça the victory. After that, Porto made several half-clear attempts to attack and win the match, but Barcelona’s confidence and the support from the crowd won, a result that is bound to please Xavi.
Under Xavi, Barcelona made history by defeating Porto 2-1 at home to guarantee their spot in the knockout stages of the Champions League. Pepe Aquino’s goal in the first half gave the visitors the lead, but Joao Cancelo’s outstanding effort two minutes later pulled one back for the visitors. Joao Felix, his fellow citizens from Portugal, came close to giving Barca the lead moments after the interval when his powerful shot struck the crossbar, but the forward would go on to score the game-winning goal in the 57th minute after converting Cancelo’s cross.
