It was the away side who got off to the perfect start as a goal from Bruno Alves in the opening minutes of the game put them ahead. Alves rose from the second Porto corner of the match and headed the ball over Sergio Asenjo as Atletico were rocked in the opening stages. Porto then countered some Atletico pressure before Falcao put them 2-0 up inside the first 15 minutes as Sergio Asenjo failed to hold a long range shot. Diego Forlan and Simao had chances before the second goal went in, to put the home side back into some form of control but Helton made a couple of good saves to keep any pressure away from his side. Atletico came back with good spells of pressure as Simao and Sergio Aguero both went close. However, there was a clear lack of quality in the Madrid side and the organisation of Porto prevented any real threats from emerging within the first half an hour of the match. Forlan should have clawed a goal back for the home side as the half-time break approached but Helton pulled off another magnificent save as he looked to have rubbished the days when many were calling him hopeless in matches against a variety of English teams. He then put another wide as the only thing seemingly holding Atletico back from scoring was a poor standard of finishing. The second half started in much the same way as the first. Atletico had all of the running and two substitutions injected fresh energy into the side. However, Porto displayed their organisation and soaked up all of the pressure in dangerous areas of the field. Rodriguez missed a great chance to put his side 3-0 up just before the hour mark but could only watch tensely as his effort went marginally wide of the Atletico goal. It seemed that nothing the home side could do would break through the Porto defence and the away team were always a threat on the break. Juanito strained inside the Porto area as he missed a difficult header to put his side back in the match but Porto always looked comfortable and just waited for the break in order to try and extend their healthy advantage. Falcao should have put the match beyond all doubt as the game entered the last 20 minutes but Asenjo made up for his earlier error and got down well to keep out the shot that was going right into the bottom corner. Atletico substitute, Antonio Lopez, probably had the home side's best chance of the second half but he could not get his effort past Helton in the Porto goal who was probably having one of the best games of his life. However, all efforts were fruitless as Hulk scored Porto's third of the night and put the match to bed. The front man danced around the Madrid defence before unleashing a thunder bolt that rattled the bar and bounced into the net below. Porto saw out the match and capped off a brilliant group stage of the Champions League. They will be a team to keep an eye on when the draw for the next round is made.
Atletico Madrid go into the Europa League at the last 32 stage, I think they are very lucky to do so. Lets hope it's better performances than this.
http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/fixturesresults/round=2000028/match=2000459/report=rp.html?vid=930948&autoplay=true
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