Champions League | Porto 0-0 Inter: Heroic Nerazzurri hold out

Inter held on in stoppages with a goal-line clearance and Andre Onana fingertip save onto the woodwork, resisting the FC Porto siege to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.

Romelu Lukaku’s late goal sealed the 1-0 first leg result, with Otavio sent off and therefore suspended at the Estadio do Dragao. Veteran captain Pepe, Joao Mario, Francisco Meixedo and Robin Gosens were injured, with Milan Skriniar not 100 per cent fit after muscular problems.

Matheus Uribe’s ferocious long-range strike swung inches wide of the far top corner in the opening minutes, then Eustaquio tested Andre Onana at the base of the near post after Denzel Dumfries gave the ball away cheaply.

Edin Dzeko forced a tricky save with his angled drive, while Nicolò Barella and Mehdi Taremi didn’t make the most of promising opportunities.

Matteo Darmian took one for the team with a yellow card on Galeno after Barella accidentally sparked a very dangerous counter-attack with his misplaced pass.

Federico Dimarco had to make a desperate block on Evanilson from eight yards after Inter lost the ball playing out from the back, while Galeno felt he was shoulder-barged by Dumfries in the box.

Lautaro Martinez rode two tackles before stinging Diogo Costa’s gloves at the near post, but Eustaquio just failed to meet the dangerous Pepê ball across the six-yard box.

Uribe’s volley flashed just over after a poor Dumfries clearance at the dawn of the second half, while Barella blasted wide and Galeno’s first touch let him down on a splendid Pepê cross-field pass.

Barella completed a give and go with Dumfries to see his strike deflected for a corner, but Darmian needed a sensational last-ditch tackle on Galeno inside the penalty area after a rapid counter.

Darmian did it again on Galeno at the by-line, but Inter started to lose elements when Alessandro Bastoni went off with a thigh issue.

Onana did well to keep the Grujic daisy-cutter under control when it squirmed through a sea of legs and Hakan Calhanoglu blasted over the bar after sprinting into the box.

Lautaro Martinez and Lukaku combined to create a dangerous opportunity, denied by a crucial block in the six-yard box.

Porto poured forward through seven minutes of stoppages, with Toni Martinez sending his acrobatic bicycle kick wide, but the siege really took hold in the final moments.

First Dumfries made up for a poor performance with a desperate goal-line clearance on Marcano, then another move saw Taremi’s header fingertipped onto the upright from point-blank range by Onana, as tit continued Grujic’s header bounced off the bar, although by that point he was offside.

Pepê saw red for a second bookable offence and Inter were finally able to celebrate progress to the Champions League quarter-final.

Porto 0-0 Inter (0-1 agg)

Sent off: Pepê 97 (P)