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Arsenal suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at the hands of two-time champions FC Porto in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie on Wednesday, February 21. The Gunners saw their perfect start to 2024 come to an abrupt halt at the Estadio do Dragao by a spirited Porto display.
Jose Mourinho famously led FC Porto to the UEFA Champions League title in 2004, and even he would have been impressed by their performance against the north London outfit. The Portuguese side restricted their opponents to zero shots on target before hitting them late.
Mikel Arteta's team had won five matches in succession since the turn of the year, defeating Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, West Ham United and Burnley. They were firm favourites against FC Porto in what was their first knockout clash in the Champions League since 2017.
Manager Sergio Conceicao set up his Porto side to frustrate their opponents, and his players played their roles to perfection.
Several fans were unimpressed by the Gunners' performance on the night and made their feelings known via X (formerly Twitter).
"Serial bottlers ," one fan lamented.
"Said they want Madrid but can't beat Porto," another chimed in.
Arsenal kept up their unenviable record of losing five successive UEFA Champions League knockout matches with their defeat to Porto. They have failed to progress past the last 16 in each of their last seven attempts.
FC Porto stun Arsenal with brilliant showing
FC Porto had the perfect game plan and executed it to perfection in defeating Arsenal by a single goal at home.
Marshalled from the back by 40-year-old Pepe and goalkeeper Diogo Costa, FC Porto shut down the Gunners for much of the encounter. They were unlucky not to go ahead in the first half after Wenderson Galeno saw his effort come back off the woodwork before shanking the rebound wide.
The 26-year-old Brazilian, however, made amends in the 94th minute with a delightful curling effort from distance to seal the win. Arsenal now have it all to do in the return leg in London on March 12.
